Good Sites for Freeware - OS X 10.4 Tiger

Could you suggest good sites for downloading freeware? I don't want to go to just anywhere for them.

Have a look at MacUpdate. The software there runs the gamut from freeware, to paid software. You can generally download software from there or click a link to go to the developer's site to download.

They also have not started piggybacking adware onto the software like some other sites I used to recommend. You can also look at the Mac App Store. One of the option there is to search for free software.

Thanks for your answer. I have looked at MacUpdate - it seems good but they don't have freeware for Mac OS 10.4.11 - I have Tiger. They start a bit after Tiger: Unfortunately, apple store also does not "support" Tiger, I cannot even get in there and order something. Do you know of any good freeware site that goes back a little further to Tiger yet is safe to download from?

eschwartz said:

Thanks for your answer. I have looked at MacUpdate - it seems good but they don't have freeware for Mac OS 10.4.11 - I have Tiger. They start a bit after Tiger: Unfortunately, apple store also does not "support" Tiger, I cannot even get in there and order something. Do you know of any good freeware site that goes back a little further to Tiger yet is safe to download from?

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Well, you should have mentioned the fact of using an 'old' Mac OS X in your OP - would have help. Just google 'freeware for os 10.4' and see what hits you may get - cannot promise much and keep in mind that some of these sites might just tack on adware or even more malicious malware - always a danger when going 'outside' the Apple App Store unless using a trustworthy developer.

Also, why have you not tried to upgrade your OS X to a more modern operating system? Might want to provide some specs on your computer - good luck. Dave

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Upgrading my OS

Upgrading my OS would be easy, the catch is that I use QuarkXpress and Adobe Photoshop CS4 and they are ridiculously expensive to upgrade!!! (And there is the cost of a new printer I would need, etc., etc.)

I don't know about QuarkXpress, but CS4 runs on Mavericks just fine.

eschwartz said:

Upgrading my OS would be easy, the catch is that I use QuarkXpress and Adobe Photoshop CS4 and they are ridiculously expensive to upgrade!!! (And there is the cost of a new printer I would need, etc., etc.)

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This is always a very important consideration when upgrading the OS. Like MacInWin mentioned. Photoshop CS4 works fine with MUCH newer versions of the Mac OS than 10.4. So you just need to check what version of Quark you have…and what OS versions it's compatible with.

You should also tell us what exact Mac computer you have (and how much ram it has). So we know what OS versions it is compatible with.

- Nick

Specs of my computer

I have an iMac 5.1 Intel Core 2 Duo - 2GHz Just upgraded to 3 GB RAM - 667 MHz Bus Speed.

eschwartz said:

I have an iMac 5.1 Intel Core 2 Duo - 2GHz Just upgraded to 3 GB RAM - 667 MHz Bus Speed.

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Thanks for info. Newest OS version your iMac can be upgraded to is 10.7.5. Up to you how far you go from 10.4.

Of course check OS compatibility with Quark Express first if you want to maintain compatibility.

- Nick

It's also worth noting that what you really need is a newer computer. You should always reckon on buying a replacement every four years or so -- if you get anything more than that out of it, that's icing on the cake.

It's also worth noting that "replacing" Photoshop CS4 with the very latest version (not that that machine would run it, mind) would cost a whopping $10 per month. And you get Lightroom and other lesser stuff with that. Not what I'd call "ridiculously expensive."

QuarkXpress will be pricey to replace if you have to, that's true. Your current version might still run however.

In either case you need to upgrade that OS version and probably that machine ASAP for security reasons if nothing else. Really not safe to have 10.4 on the web, and 3GB max is crippling Photoshop. Once you get on the newer OS, you might actually consider replacing it with Pixelmator, depending on your use. That said, CS4 should run in Yosemite -- I've gotten CS3 to run on my machine, though I have moved on to CC.

I suggest you do what I did: buy a mid-2012 MacBook Pro. It's a very upgradable model, it can handle up to 16 GB of RAM, you can put an SSD into make it superfast if you want, and it will run the latest everything. You might be able to find a good deal on one, although frankly you could probably get away with a recent Mac Mini, which a brand-new one probably sells for not much more -- maybe even less if you bought refurbished.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! They willl be really helpful to me when I am ready to upgrade.

eschwartz said:

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! They willl be really helpful to me when I am ready to upgrade.

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Don't forget that you can always create an additional boot partition and use it to make an updated OS and any newer software and keep your existing partition to use if the software you need can't be updated. Then just boot and use your older OS X when you need it.

Dear eschwartz, I hope you are not doing a lot of browsing the internet on 10.4 because without current security updates your laptop is pretty much an open door to hackers. You can of course set up a firewall on your router but I wouldn't be keeping any sensitive data on it just in case.