45 Free Applications for Your New Mac

Over the weekend I helped a buddy pick out a brand new Apple MacBook Pro laptop and realized that I’ve slowly but surely become an Apple Evangelist. To help my buddy and other new Apple users make the most of their new Macs here’s 45 free applications for Mac OS X.

Productivity

1. Check off

Very simple to-do checklist that sits in your menu bar.

2. OpenOffice.org

In addition to telling everyone about the awesomeness of Apple computers and the Mac OS X Leopard operating system I also evangelize the heck out of OpenOffice.org. In my eight years of using OpenOffice.org on Windows, Ubuntu, and Mac OS X I’ve found it to be super stable and packed with nearly all the functionality of the much more expensive (e.g. not free) Microsoft Office. So far I’ve had no need to use MS Office as OpenOffice.org provides enough applications to get the job done.

3. TextWrangler

When I got my Macbook Pro three years ago I installed and used Aquamacs Emacs but after installing a fresh Leopard system I took another look at my applications and fell in love with TextWrangler. I especially love that it integrates with my SFTP browser, CyberDuck, for easy editing right on my server.

4. Quicksilver

The new spotlight in Leopard is awesome but still lacks the extensive features of Quicksilver. Launching a terminal window with my first command line already inputted in just two or three key taps is a beautiful thing. You can also control iTunes directly from Quicksilver and a whole host of other sweet commands.

5. The Unarchiver

For the few compressed file formats Leopard doesn’t recognize out of the box, The Unarchiver will uncompress them and even has options to automatically delete the zipped file after its opened up.

6. EventSync

Sync your facebook events with iCal.

7. Anxiety

Another to do check list application. Anxiety is more versatile than Check-Off but for me Check-Off does the job fine but if you need something more robust check out Anxiety.

8. Aquamacs Emacs

I used Aquamacs Emacs for the longest time when I first got my Mac but am now loving TextWrangler. Both are solid text editing programs with their own pros and cons.

9. Tiny Alarm

I prefer using my iPhone as my alarm, but for those who are inclined to use their laptop, Tiny Alarm is a great little app that sites in your menu bar.

10. Cashbox

A great personal finance manager. A while back I picked up Cha-Ching via a Macheist giveaway, but if I didn’t I’d be using Cashbox. Both are great personal finance applications, one is free the other isn’t but both should treat you right.

Communication

11. Adium

iChat is cool but Adium is much, much better. This open source application allows to connect to nearly every messaging system on the planet. The list includes AIM, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ, Facebook Chat, Myspace IM, Bonjour, LiveJournal Chat, Gadu Gadu and more!

12. TweetDeck

The best way to interact with Twitter. Runs off Adobe Air and is fast and easy to use. I didn’t really get Twitter until I downloaded and installed TweetDeck and now I’m tweeting all the time!

13. Skype

Great for making cheap international calls. I also use Skype to set up a business line so my cell phone doesn’t get jammed with calls. You can also instant message, call and video chat with others over the internet for free.

14. Growl

Unobtrusive application/system notification. A great way to explain Growl is to provide an example. It integrates with Adium and will show a small temporary popup window whenever a contact signs on/off or sends you a message.

Audio

15. iPodDisk

Allows you to move music off your iPod without dealing with iTunes. In other words, it turns your iPod into a regular disk drive.

16. Audacity

Great alternative to Garageband for recording audio.

17. GimmeSomeTune

GimmeSomeTune is an iTunes extension that adds a lot of functionality to iTunes, but chief among them is the ability to import missing artwork and fetch song lyrics. It also integrates with Last.fm thus allowing you to have one less application running on your Mac.

Video

18. Burn

Expands on Mac OS X’s built in disc recording and adds a ton more file formats and options while still keeping the interface simple and speedy.

19. Handbrake

This open-source, multi-threaded video converter accepts DVD, DVD-esque (images and some .VOB files), and multimedia files and converts them to MP4, MKV, AVI or OGM / MPEG-4, H.264, or Theora formats quickly and easily.

20. iSquint

    A video converter to make your videos suitable for viewing on an iPod/iPhone.

21. VLC

The best media player on the planet. VLC will play nearly every video and audio format out there.

22. Miro

Another media player but it’s hook is that Miro allows you to setup RSS feeds for torrents and other media files for automated downloading of videos. The list of legally free videos out there is extensive and will keep you entertained for a long, long time.

23. Caffeine

Caffeine is a light weight application that sits in your menu bar. A simple click turns off the screen saver or delays it for a set amount of time. A great time saver for when you want to watch a video without getting interrupted by your screen saver. I reviewed Caffeine at Only The Internet’s Best Reviews in September ’08 and it still remains one of the highest rated items on OTIBR (scored it a 38/42).

24. Flip4Mac WMV

Plugin for Quicktime letting you play Windows Media Video files on your Mac. The best of both worlds!

Images

25. GIMP

Not as good as Adobe Photoshop CS4 but it’s free (while Photoshop is $600). The GIMP should be just good enough for the majority of users out there and will at least tide you over until you save up for a copy of Photoshop.

26. PhotoBook

A photo browser for facebook. Quick and very easy to use, PhotoBook will display all your friend’s facebook photos in a convenient album format for quick browsing.

27. Inkscape

A sweet vector graphics application.

28. Flickr Uploadr

Drag and drop interface for quickly and easily uploading your pics to Flickr.

29. DeskLickr

DeskLickr will go out to Flickr and import photos and automatically change your desktop background every so often. Nice for those of us who get bored of our backgrounds quite easily.

Mac Maintenance

30. Disk Inventory X

A graphical outline of your hard drive showing what’s using up space and how much of it. Handy for when you’re running low and need to find files to delete.

31. SuperDuper

Sure the new Leopard operating system comes with Time Machine, but Super Duper is great for making bootable clones of your drive. It’s super handy for when you need to bring your Mac in for repairs as it lets you keep working with your files and setup. I’ve used Super Duper extensively over the past two weeks while bringing my Macbook Pro in for repairs and had almost no loss in productivity thanks to Super Duper and a generous friend who loaned me his brand new Macbook!

32. smcFanControl

Control your Mac’s fans from a simple graphical interface. Very handy for diagnosing if your Mac’s fans are busted, as one of mine recently was. Also useful for cranking up the RPMs when you think your Mac is getting a tad too hot for comfort.

33. Clix

A Command Line Interface for OS X/Terminal! Clix stores literally hundreds and hundreds of commands, allowing you to click through and run them through Terminal. It’s handy even for command line experts who can’t remember all the commands or syntax.

34. iStat Pro

Perhaps the most useful Dashboard widget out there. iStat Pro will display your CPU temperatures, hard drive space, network stats, fan speed, running processes (and how much CPU power they take up). All in real time from the convenience of your dashboard.

35. AppFresh

Mac OS X’s built in Software Update is great but only works for Mac OS X and other Apple applications. AppFresh will notify you when all your other applications have updates available by periodically checking osx.iusethis.com.

36. OnyX

A Graphical User Interface for all your Mac’s maintenance needs. You can perform most of these processes from the command line, but if you just got a Mac you’re probably terrified of Terminal right now.

37. AppCleaner

Dragging your applications to the trash can is a very simple way to delete old or unwanted applications but usually leaves files scattered about your hard drive. Using AppCleaner will ensure all those pesky files are gone, freeing up hard drive space and lowering the chance for any conflicts.

Web

38. Cyberduck

The best FTP/SFTP/Amazon S3 browser/uploader/downloader on the planet. Drag n drop interface that is integrated with your Mac’s keychain for a no hassle upload/download experience.

39. MAMP

Easy to setup and use local server for developing and testing your web-sites before they go live. Needless to say this gets a lot of use on my Macbook Pro.

40. NetNewsWire

The best RSS reader on the planet. With a free account at NewsGator.com you can sync your feeds between different locations. I love this app as it allows me to read my feeds on my iPhone knowing that whatever I read or clip (bookmark) will sync back to my Macbook Pro at home.

41. Firefox

I love the speedy Safari, and in fact spend most of my day within its friendly confines, but Firefox has an immense library of extensions and plugins that Safari has yet to match. Besides, it’s free, what’ve you got to lose? Besides a little bit of hard drive space of course.

42. DeepVacuum

DeepVacuum is a graphical interface for the unix command wget, which allows you to download entire web-sites. Useful for developers who want to take a peak at a site’s code or people who wish to browse a site offline.

43. Transmission

Simple but powerful bittorrent client.

44. Dropbox

A great way to store files in a cloud for easy access from any internet connection.

45. Vidalia

A graphical interface for TOR, the safest and easiest way to browse the web anonymously. Very useful for users who live in a country with a strict firewall or for accessing sites you don’t want associated with you. Though, I must state that if a government agency wants to find you they will, so don’t go doing something stupid or dangerous just because you’re behind a TOR connection.

There you have it, 45 free applications I recommend every new Mac user try it. Did I miss a great application? Let me know in the comments below!