MacMembraneThere are peels everywhere…

OS X comes with a host of really excellent applications, but one of the best things about being a Mac user is the breadth and quality of third-party applications that you can install to enhance your computing experience. Over the past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to load fresh copies of OS X onto two second-hand Macs purchased by my friends. Below is a list of applications that I immediately installed onto the like-new machines.

All of these applications are freeware, but donations are usually accepted.

Update: I have written a second post, 10 Outstanding Freeware Apps for your Mac, as a compliment to the below list. 10 didn’t seem like enough to give a true sense of the range of excellent freeware for the Mac. Make it 20!

Adium:

The most versatile and customizable chat client for the Mac. Doesn’t do video, but whatever the protocol of your preferred chat network, Adium will support it out of the box. Really beautiful interface, too.

Download Adium.

Azureus:

Azureus is the most advanced bit torrent client for the Mac. It’d be difficult to describe the app as light-weight, but Azureus’ feature set can’t be beat. I’ve tried a good number of alternatives, but Azureus has never let me down.

Download Azureus.

HandBrake:

HandBrake is hands-down the best tool to rip DVDs for use on your Mac or iPod. Some of its conversion options are a bit arcane, but the application comes set up with sensible defaults. It’s also a great tool to get your DVDs onto your Apple TV.

Download HandBrake.

iSquint:

The little brother of Visual Hub, iSquint will convert most popular video formats for viewing on your iPod and iPod Touch without hassle. Even if you don’t have an iPod, iSquint can format videos for the AppleTV, too.

Download iSquint.

Senuti:

Senuti (that’s iTunes spelled backwards) lets you download music from your iPod back onto your computer. It’s a great tool to have around should you fall victim to corruption in your iTunes library. It even works with Windows formatted iPods.

Download Senuti.

Flip4Mac and Perian:

Two plugins that allow QuickTime Player to play a wide range of popular video formats that are unsupported out of the box. With these two installed, both DivX and WMV files should play without problem. (Pictured to the right is the Perian icon. I think it’s prettier.)

Download Flip4Mac and Perian.

VLC:

The media player extraordinaire, VLC will play pretty much anything you throw at it, including lossless FLAC audio files. If you ever find yourself confronted with an obscure video or audio format, give VLC a try.

Download VLC.

Skype:

Cross-platform VoIP client. Skype lets you make worldwide audio and video calls to other Skype users for free, and you can call normal phones for a fraction of the cost most telephone companies charge you.

Download Skype.

Miro:

Miro is an all-in-one torrent client and media player that lets you search for Creative Commons torrents from within the app itself. With a bit of effort, you can even set Miro up to automatically download all your favorite mainstream TV shows.

Download Miro.

iStat Pro:

An awesome Dashboard widget that gives you a ton of information about the current state of your Mac. Battery charge, top processes, network usage and lots more. A menubar version is also available.

Download iStat Pro.

Firefox:

A bonus application (Firefox makes eleven, if your counting): I am a Safari user, but it’s bad karma to be running a Mac without Firefox installed. A standards compliant, cross-platform and highly extensible web browser.

Download Firefox.

This list assumes nothing about the user beyond a general interest in music and video and that they have a few friends that they’d like to communicate with online. The list can be easily extended to cater to any individual’s computing needs, but the apps listed above should be a really good start for the majority of users.