As you all (should) know, I’m a filthy Mac user. It feels so wrong but so good at the same time. 
As a Mac user, I feel that I should share some of the applications that I use with others.
I realise that this has been done umpteen times on other sites / blogs but frankly, I don’t care.
So, to begin;
Firefox (obviously)
FireFox is a Web Browser and being completely honest, I wouldn’t be typing what I’m typing without it. That’s because I’m using add ons ( Note to Self: Make a best-of add-ons list ) which super cool people have made for Firefox so that browsing life is made quicker and easier. For those that are interested I’m currently using FireScribe to write this from within the browser.
If, like me, you constantly have random things that need to be done come into your head while you are doing nothing on the computer, then xPad is for you. It’s pretty much a sticky pad for jotting down random stuff. The best thing about it, though, is its tabbed interface. It means that you can have notes for literally hundreds of different topics, each in their own tab. I feel that I picture is needed to explain this better.
Of course, there are numerous other similar applications. VoodooPad being one of them.
This simply knocks off any Screensavers / Energy Saving events that the OS has in place. It’s handy for making your computer not go to sleep at night so you can download all the hentai you want without worrying about the computer taking a kip. ( Notice that I said YOU, not I. YOU download hentai. *sniggers* )
AdiumX is a free multi-protocol instant messaging client. In English that means that you can use MSN, Jabber, GoogleTalk, AIM etc. all from the same application. As I understand it, it’s mainly a modified version of Pidgin but that’s not a bad thing! I’ve used it since I got my Mac (almost a year ago) and I love it. I think it’s better than the offical MSN client for the Mac – it’s terrible.
VLC is a media player. A brilliant media player at that. It freakin’ plays everything. Well, not literally, of course, but it plays pretty much every movie or audio format without much persuasion. I think that it also has the ability to play DVD’s from different regions but I can’t be 100% certain on that.
HandBrake
Handbrake is an Video encoder and a DVD ripper. It’s fantastically easy to use and it makes ripping DVDs and converting them for my iPod or to DivX’s a sinch. Alternatively, MacTheRipper ( best app name ever ) is also great for ripping and then VisualHub ( Not Free ) to convert to a different format. Honestly, VisualHub is an amazing pieve of software is is easily worth the few €, to be honest.
Vienna is a freeware RSS newsreader and it rocks. I read loads of Photoshop and webdesign related blogs and it’s really nice to be able to read them without actually visiting the site. I know, I know, how lazy of me. But it’s so much easier to have all the feeds in one application than having to go to each site individually and view the post. One really nice thing about Vienna ( the app, not the place) is that it just receives the actually content and none of the fancy pants images and unnecessary information that is on a site. This is good news, I’m sure, for those poor souls still on dial-up.
I agree that the Windows versions of iTunes, Safari and Quick time are indeed – dirt. But on Mac, they are grand and I use iTunes all the time for all my music needs and I have never had any problems with it. I found it awfully slow on my Windows box when I had it installed, however.
Nice post Sean, I might just copy your idea some day, however I use a hella amount of programs. May I suggest a feature on your firefox add-ons of choice?
Frankly the power of http://www.meebo.com/ cannot be underestimated in my opinion if you’re out for ease of use and speed. With the Firefox extension it surpasses Pidgin easily.
I’m not sure of your opinion of Google apps, but I love them. Google Desktop brings you a vista-style sidebar with none of the vista, and a notepad included, very handy. Of coarse, the fact that it indexs and searches faster than the Microsoft equivilent is a bonus.
Video Lan Player does indeed play any region, it is worth mentioning though that the K-Lite Codec Pack allows more media to be played than VLP, especially if you’re a subtitle man like myself.
I’ll make it clear that although I love the mac look and rep, I don’t like any of the Apple windows ported programs. iTunes, Safari or Quicktime. I also don’t like the way the site pressures you to install all three.