I sit here at my desk typing on my new MacBook Core 2 Duo. All I have to say is that I’m loving it. Except of course for my wireless, which refuses to work. I’m pretty sure that my 2Wire router is at fault for not playing nice-nice with Macs.

When I first got my Mac and after finishing up the set up, which takes only minutes, it was time to install some new apps. So I plugged in an ethernet cord and started to pull up a bunch of developer sites. Here is what I thought were the essentials:

1001 – Flickr upload is critical
Adium – The de facto IM client for Mac that’s not iChat
AppZapper – I don’t use this a lot, but having this is extremely useful for deleting any lame apps
Backdrop – Any developer who needs to take screenshots knows how useful this app can be
Camino – I’m a browser freak, and this is #3
Colloquy – My favorite IRC client. I need to keep in touch #randomshapes
Cyberduck – A great open-source FTP client
Disk Inventory X – Easy UI to see which files are filling up your mac
Firefox – #2 browser in my opinion after Safari
Flip4Mac – Great utility to watch WMV files right in QuickTime
HandBrake – Fantastic OSS app that rips DVDs to your HD
iStumbler – Helps you see what wireless networks are around you
KisMac – Another wireless utilty to help look around and maybe hack into
Last.fm – Scrobbles your music to their social network
NetNewsWire Lite – My favorite RSS client for Mac
pngCrushrrr – Make those png files even smaller
QuickTunes – Shameless plug, but I still use it. A simple OSS app for controlling iTunes and putting the song in your menubar
Quinn – Probably the most addictive Mac game: its Tetris
Skitch – Awesome app by the guys at plasq that let’s you do cool stuff with your images
SubEthaEdit – The one and only text editor I use. Even cooler because of its collabritive writing feature
Todos – Another plug. App to see all your other apps and launch them
Transmission – Very nice BitTorrent client
Twitterific – Don’t miss a single tweet
VLC – Sweet player whenever QuickTime can’t handle a movie file

I know there are a few things left out. Big ones people will say are QuickSilver and TextMate, but honestly I just don’t use them. Maybe I’ll be converted to them sometime in the future.

Also, don’t forget my previous posts about the Best Unknown Mac Apps 1, 2, and 3. They have lists of less common apps to download for your computer.

So with that, I’m off to go play some more with my new MacBook, but leave a comment about any apps you find essential after an install of OS X.