Best business/ website applications

[jasonnyer]

I am starting a small business what apps do you recommend for docs, spreadsheets, and web design? Any feedback appreciated.

[Noggin the Nomad]

For general use MS Office 2011 is as good as any, plus it maximises compatibility with non-Mac users. Easily available for free via a certain Scandinavian torrent download site. Includes Word, Excel, the dreaded Powerpoint and Outlook etc. For website work, Adobe's Dreamweaver is very good indeed, especially when combined with Photoshop and Illustrator. All available from similar sources. I use all this on a regular basis for my work. Best to buy Little Snitch for a few quid (US$35 - http://www.obdev.at ) first, though, if you obtain these through unofficial means! Netshade is handy as well for your protection (http://raynersoftware.com/netshade/, US$29 for a 12 month subscription). The two latter will save you a fortune, particularly on Adobe products. Not that I would ever condone or encourage use of illegally downloaded software.

[jasonnyer]

Great advice thanks!

[Turboladdade]

The two latter will save you a fortune, particularly on Adobe products. Not that I would ever condone or encourage use of illegally downloaded software.

Honestly, the new Adobe Creative Cloud service is such a good deal, there is basically no reason to put up with all the headaches involved with trying to pirate it. For $50 a month I get access to literally every Adobe application, even ones that I never even use like Premier and Flash. You select only the applications you want at any given time, and can install or uninstall them individually at any time as well.

http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud.html