Apps and peripherals

[Tyehead]

Im new to Mac and have the IMAC High Sierra os 10.13.6 operating system , I'm having dificulties finding competant suggestions for 1 A back up drive 2 a cd/dvd reader writer. Ive been told that the apple dvd reader will not write with High Sierra and that the apple back up drive is less than good also the common APPS that I used on my windows are not available and even the apps I use on my I phone and I pad are not available . any suggestions would be very much welcomed. Thank you

 

[chscag]

Welcome to our forums.

Please tell us which iMac you have (model and year). From the year 2012 and beyond Apple has excluded the optical drive from its iMacs. The Apple branded optical drive (which is a bit overpriced) will work with those models. However, most of us (myself included) use a non Apple optical drive which for the most part work well. I have both a Samsung and LG DVD drive that I use with my 2017 27" iMac and they work great.

As for a suitable backup drive, most any good quality external USB 3 hard drive should work well. An external backup drive should at least be as large (capacity) as the internal hard drive of your iMac in order to make backups. Most of us here use cloning software to make backups (Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper) in addition to Time Machine.

If you have any further questions, ask away.

 

[Slydude]

What apps are you interested in / tasks are you trying to find suitable apps for? Apps for the iPhone / iPad do not run on the Mac natively. Many of the iPad / iPhones apps do have companion apps designed to run on the Mac.

 

[Tyehead]

First off let me thank you for the replies and help! I have an I MAC desk top 2017 retina 21.5" High Sierra OS 10.13.6 . Im looking for an app for a word game called WORDSCAPES and other fun games> Also Apps or programs to use a DVD writer ;once I get one . and maybe a good photo editer. I guess ill be checking out the Samsung and LG dvd drives and a USB 3 back up. How large a backup drive do you recommend ?

again thank you

 

[Slydude]

As far as pps for using a DVD writer go you have several options. I'll mention the ones I have used. I currently have each of these programs on my Mac.

1. If all you need is some basic DVD burning capabilities check out the possibility of burning the disc using software already on your Mac. See here for one way to do it. Built in to your Mac.
2. If you'd like a litttle piece of software with a somewhat better interface try a free utility called Burn. This quick video explains its use.
3. If you need a bit more in the way of menu building capabilities there's always Toast. I've been using this program for a long time but probably won't upgrade this time. I don't burn enough discs to justify the cost. Besides, IMHO the current interface sucks.

There are some great photo editors for Mac but before you purchase one have a look at the Photos program already on your Mac. It may meet your needs. Here's a tutorial/overview

 

[chemmy3]

What are the apps name you are trying to find out?

 

[Tyehead]

Thanks again.