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Hey Mac owners!
Now that I am officially a Mac owner again* I have a question for other Mac owners: what sort of software do you find essential and why? :)
* I don't participate in the OS wars, but I tend to prefer Macs. Had the PC solely because I was entering grad school and I could get what I needed for cheaper, but now with a virtual machine I can have the benefit of both OSes on one computer. Mind you, the last time I used Macs for longer than a couple of minutes at a time it was back in the days of OS9, before they got all feline in their names.
* I don't participate in the OS wars, but I tend to prefer Macs. Had the PC solely because I was entering grad school and I could get what I needed for cheaper, but now with a virtual machine I can have the benefit of both OSes on one computer. Mind you, the last time I used Macs for longer than a couple of minutes at a time it was back in the days of OS9, before they got all feline in their names.
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Perian (http://www.perian.org/)
Allows QuickTime Player (and thus I think iTunes) to play a bunch of formats it otherwise couldn't. Free. Installs as a System Preferences pane and a QuickTime plugin, so you never need to actually run it.
VLC (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/)
For the things Perian can't let you play. Free. Standalone app.
Handbrake (http://handbrake.fr/)
Free DVD ripping and encoding. It'll need VLC in order to do the best ripping, but it doesn't need to be running at the same time.
1Password (http://agilebits.com/onepassword)
Stores all your passwords.
Dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/)
A place "in the cloud" to store files. 1Password can sync to it, keeping your Mac and phone up-to-date.
ClamXav (http://www.clamxav.com/)
Free virus scanner. Don't forget to make sure virus definitions are set to auto-update, and enable the Sentry on your Downloads folder.
Adium (http://adium.im/)
Free instant messenger. If you decide you need one on your Mac, that's the one to use.
Skype (http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/home)
Duh. Also free.
Growl (http://growl.info/)
Another free System Pref Pane. Allows apps to post visual and audio notifications for various items. Handbrake, 1Password, Adium and others can optionally use it if installed. Not strictly necessary, but kinda handy.
Max (http://sbooth.org/Max/)
Free CD ripper. Gives a bit more control than iTunes. Hasn't been updated in ages, but works fine anyway.
Transmission (http://www.transmissionbt.com/)
Free bittorrent client.