Apple provides plenty of free software to get you started with a new Mac but the applications provided with the operating system are sometimes quite limited in scope and leave a few gaps that can be quite frustrating, particularly if you're coming from a PC. Thankfully a large amount of functionality provided by the Apple supplied apps can be improved upon by some pretty impressive free (and sometimes open source) alternatives.
Here, then, is my list of the ten apps you should download onto every new Mac you buy.
Adium
Adium is the multi-service instant messaging client of choice and far exceeds Apple's iChat by a long shot. It's ready to connect to dozens of chat networks, including MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ, AIM, IRC and Google Talk, yet integrates them all into a clear, faff-free user interface, allowing you to converse with chums and colleagues without having to remember which network they're on. It integrates with Mac OS X's own Address Book and is extensible with loads of additional icons, themes and plugins available from the Adium website too.
Skype
Skype has managed to build itself a commanding position in the internet phone market and almost everyone with a computer has a Skype account now. Talking to friends and family is free if they use Skype too, but you can also use it to call mobile phones and landlines at a fraction of the cost the major network operators charge, especially if you're calling overseas. Just don't rely on it for emergency calls: no broadband = no phoning. Oh yes, and you can even get a client for your mobile phone too.
VideoLan Client, aka VLC
VLC is arguably the most format friendly media player you can download. The number of audio and video codecs it supports is phenomenal - both well known and obscure - and you can be sure that if other players like Quicktime shrug their shoulders at a difficult file, VLC will have no problems and just play the file. And best of all, it'll work with files created beyond the Mac: digital TV data pulled from your set-top box or a movie downloaded via bittorrent? No problem.
Squared 5 MPEG Streamclip
MPEG Streamclip does for media format conversion what VLC does for playback. It is a powerful high-quality video converter, player, editor for MPEG, QuickTime, transport streams, iPod and a load of other formats and allows you to convert various video formats to other formats compatible with things like the iPod, iPhone or Apple TV. It'll even stream and download YouTube videos.
TinkerTool
Mac OS X's own applications and System Preferences utility provide you with a wealth of settings you can tweak to suit your needs and desires but they don't give you access to ALL of their options (no idea why). Want a standard 2D Dock, for example, instead of the 3D one Apple sets as the default? You can have it, if you know where to look. There's no need to go hacking config files as TinkerTool makes it is so much easier. It presents all these 'hidden' preference settings for Finder, the Dock, specific applications such as Safari and Address Book, and even Snow Leopard-specific items.
OpenOffice
OpenOffice is the best replacement for Microsoft Office and best of all it's FREE. OpenOffice should meet most of your word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and other office specific needs with the advantage that it can read and write MS formats and save to the non-propriety Open Document Formats ensuring you'll be able to read your documents in years to come and even open them in other Open Document format compatible applications.
Quinn
Of course, no computer would be complete without a time waster application or two and there is no time waster like Tetris. Of course Tetris is trademarked/licensed/what-ever so getting an official version would cost money. Quinn provides the exact gaming experience you're used to in a Mac friendly way.
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