For those new to the mac

[scoobydiesel]

I really think this needs to be updated/refreshed or something.

[wastern]

I'm fairly drunk right now, so bare with me if I leave something out or it doesn't flow perfectly. Should be a decent getting started update since this thread was started so many years ago

Handbrake - Rip and encode a DVD for use in Quicktime, iTunes, iPod, iPad, iPhone, etc in 1 step

RipIt - With MacTheRipper all but dead, RipIt takes it's place ripping your DVD images to VIDEO_TS or .dvdimage

iLife - You should already have this. It will take care of your photo management, video editing, music creation, DVD movie burning, and web creation needs? provided you're not a pro

Aperture - If iPhoto doesn't cut it for you and you shoot in RAW, step up to Aperture. It isn't cheap, but if you need the power there isn't much better. (Adobe Lightroom is in the same vain)

RapidWeaver - This is a step up from iWeb, there are tons of plug-in, templates, etc. No coding needed.

Sandvox - This is a step up from RapidWeaver for full web design control

Coda - Web dev tool for those that want to hand code, html and javascript, css editor, reference doc, built in ftp, terminal integration, etc.
Also see: Expresso, CSS Edit

Pixelmator - Nice photoshop-ish photo editing app at 1/10th the cost.
Also see: Acorn, Pixen

Plex - Great Mac only media center based on XBMC, plugins, Apple Remote support, etc.
Also see: Boxee, XBMC, Hulu Desktop

Remote Buddy - Control every facet of your Mac with your Apple Remote, Wii Remote, PS3 BD Remote, iPhone, and others. Great for anyone with a Mac Media center.

1password - Password manager that integrates with nearly every browser on the Mac. Store web passwords, notes, software licenses, etc. They also have an iPhone app you can sync with. Sync your encrypted file with Dropbox and sync your passwords to multiple Macs and access your info via a web interface.

LogMeIn - Web based remote access for your Mac? for free, since Back to My Mac requires MobileMe and is dependent on routers on both ends.

OmniFocus - The premier GTD app on the Mac and iPhone. Not the cheapest, but if you care about flexibility, power, and having your information the latest Apple platform it is the way to go.
Also see: Things, TheHitList

iWork - Word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software. Pretty much everyone I know likes it better than MS Office, but if you need certain features you may need to go over to Microsoft.

AppZapper - The uninstaller Apple forgot. Get rid of all the junk associated with an app when deleting it.
Also see: Hazel, AppDelete

Perian / Flip4Mac - Install both of these to get Quicktime to play almost any video file under the sun

Transmission - BitTorrent.. simple, easy, built in block lists, web interface. Utorrent has a beta app out, but as of this writing it isn't yet up to par.

Mozy - Online backup. like Time Machine up to the cloud
Also see: Carbonite, BackBlaze

Tweetie - Twitter client for the Mac and iPhone
Also see: Twitterific, TweetDeck

The Unarchiver - open all those compressed files OS X can't handle on it's own
Also see: UnRarX I've needed this from time to time for rar files The Unarchiver couldn't handle

[fookhar]

Honestly I prefer "keka" to "The Unarchiver". As far as I remember, "The Unarchiver" has no docking icon, so it's hard to see when the extraction of a larger package is done.

[rickweasel]

Is there something better than using Mail. I just dont like it. Thanks.

[wastern]

Originally Posted by rickweasel

Is there something better than using Mail. I just dont like it. Thanks.

Here are a couple options

http://www.postbox-inc.com/
http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/

If you are a gmail user
http://mailplaneapp.com/

Office 2010 will have Outlook... time will tell if it sucks or not. Probably will.

[rickweasel]

Originally Posted by wastern

Here are a couple options

http://www.postbox-inc.com/
http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/

If you are a gmail user
http://mailplaneapp.com/

Office 2010 will have Outlook... time will tell if it sucks or not. Probably will.

mailplane looks awesomes. Thanks!

xmbc

http://xbmc.org/download/

[phatlip]

Originally Posted by computoman

xmbc

http://xbmc.org/download/

First time I heard of that one. I was looking into Plex recently, it looks really nice.

http://www.plexapp.com/