OB Roundup
As a Mac owner, I am keenly aware that not all peripherals are OS X-compatible. Take scanners, for instance. In order for a scanner to work at all with a Mac, it has to have an OS X driver. In addition, the software that's usually bundled with scanners may or may not be Mac compatible; often it's a mixture, so make sure the scanner includes the Mac software you need. It takes a bit more looking to find a good Mac-friendly scanner than it would for a Windows-compatible scanner, but we've come across some excellent scanners that work well with Macs as well as PCs.
Some document management, OCR, and business-card programs only exist in Windows versions, while others are geared to the Mac. A good bundled software package will include both Windows and Mac software in its suite. What's often the case, however, is that there are different programs for each OS, and it's not uncommon that an otherwise Mac-friendly scanner will be missing parts of the suite. Be sure to check the bundled software before buying a Mac to be sure it has the programs you need.
There are a few Mac-specific scanners on the market, but as we do our scanner testing on Windows machines, we haven't had the opportunity to review them. However, there is one that deserves special mention. The Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M is the Mac version of the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 (4 stars, $495 direct); they have identical hardware, but although they both include both Windows and Mac drivers, the S1500M's bundled software is Mac-specific while the S1500's is for Windows. Although we list the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 below and link to its review, be sure to get the Mac-friendlier S1500M version.
Statistically, there are a lot fewer Mac-friendly scanners than there are, say, printers. It may take a little more hunting to find the perfect scanner for your Mac, but fortunately, there are some very good ones to choose from.
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