Mac OS X Panther in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Chapter 5. Applications and Utilities

Apple has included a set of native applications and utilities for Mac OS X, including the famous iApps, including iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, iCal, and iSync.

There are applications for such things as viewing and printing PostScript and PDF files, basic word processing, sending and receiving email, creating movies, and a suite of utilities to help you manage your system.

Use the Finder to locate the applications (/Applications) and utilities (/Applications/Utilities) on your system. You can quickly go to the Applications folder by clicking on the Applications icon in the Finder’s Sidebar or by using the Shift--A keyboard shortcut. To quickly go to the Utilities folder, use its keyboard shortcut Shift--U, or you might consider dragging the Utilities folder to the lower portion of the Finder’s Sidebar.

These aren’t the only programs Mac OS X ships with. The underlying Darwin system involves hundreds of commands, tools, and system service programs (also known as daemons) that run behind the scenes to make the operating system work. These Unix utilities can be invoked as command-line programs through the Terminal (/Applications/Utilities). Chapter 28 covers command-line tools and system daemons.

If you’ve installed the Xcode Tools, you have access to another ...