So I’ve had a Mac laptop for a while now. First was the Powerbook G4 and of course it was stolen, which left me an opportunity to get a new one! I’ve had my 17″ MacBook Pro for a good month now and There’s some software I’ve come across that’s just a must-have for every Mac out there…Read on for the list.

Firefox
Firefox is the ultimate open source cross platform browser. With all the standards of any decent browser like pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, and more. What makes this browser really stand out is it’s thousands of plugins, themes, and extensions. It’s also a major leader in online security. I haven’t replaced Safari with Firefox just yet, but they sit in my dock right next to each other. If you’re a graphic designer, then Firefox is a must in your arsenal. You’ll need to make sure your page displays properly in all the major browsers, IE, Firefox, Opera, and Safari.
Download Firefox

Adium
Adium is the best messenger available for Mac OSX. If I could pick any messenger as the best out there it would be Pidgin, but since it’s not available for OSX, then Adium is your best bet. Every messenger you can think of is compatible including AIM, Yahoo, Gmail, Jabber, MSN, and even Myspace IM…If that’s not enough for you then there are plenty of plugins available which make even the most rarely used (Xfire for example) messengers available through Adium. With tabbed conversations, and Growl notifications, this is the best messenger you’ll get your hands on for the Mac.
Download Adium

Transmission
Undoubtedly the best torrent downloader for any OS. Unfortunately for you Windows users you won’t find Transmission for XP or Vista, instead you’ll have to resort to uTorrent or Azureus. However Transmission is available for Mac OSX, Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris. Not only is it fast and lightweight but its looks fit right in with OSX. With it’s smooth interface, intelligent banning of peers who send corrupted data, protocol encryption, and connectivity with Growl…Transmission is hands down the best way to get the files you need on your Mac. If you’re looking for some good torrent search engines check out BTJunkie, MiniNova, and The Pirate Bay. (note: some of these torrent search engines display ads that might not be safe for work.)
Download Transmission

Perian
Ok so not necessarily an application in itself, but is as they refer to themselves “the swiss army knife of quicktime components.” If you ever download videos or media onto your Mac and Quicktime won’t play it…you just need Perian. Once this is installed you’ll be able to play any format you can think of (MS-MPEG4 v1 & v2, DivX, 3ivX, H.264, FLV1, FSV1, VP6, H263I, VP3, HuffYUV, FFVHuff, MPEG1 & MPEG2 Video, Fraps, and Windows Media Audio v1 & v2 for starters…) in Quicktime without a bit of trouble. A must-have for any daily-use Mac.
Download Perian

Thunderbird
While there are no serious flaws with Apple Mail, Thunderbird is an open source app developed by the same people that brought you Firefox designed to be a better mail application for Mac OSX. With the tagline “Reclaim your inbox”, Thunderbird is customizable with many extensions, themes, and dictionaries. Everything from download managers to adblockers can be found at the Mozilla foundation website.