Christian's Macbook Application Recommendations

I just got a Macbook. It's excellent. However, even with the full featured suite of programs included with my Macbook, OS X was still a bit lacking. I went through many websites and sifted through many files and programs; I ended up with a select few which have been very good to me for a week since I got my Macbook. Some of these programs are great only for Macbook / Macbook Pro users, others might be better for those still on PowerPC (Rosetta, doh!), and others are great for everyone. Without further ado, here is the list of applications that I personally recommend for everyone to check out:

• Adium: full featured multi-protocol IM client.
  
• AppZapper: complete application remover.
• Azureus: Java Bittorrent client.
• Camino: Gecko based web browser.
  
• Colloquy: elegant IRC client.
  
• DAVE: SMB/CIFS back end replacement.
• Flip4Mac: WMA/WMV codec for Quicktime.
• Handbrake: MPEG2 -> H.264 / MPEG4 converter.
• iGetter: download manager/accelerator.
• MacMAME: probably the best Mac based MAME emulator out there. PPC only, but still runs perfectly on Intel machines.
• MacSaber: uses the motion sensor in recent Apple notebooks for lightsaber effects.
• MacTheRipper: rips DVD's onto your hard drive.
• Parallels: fast virtualization software for Intel Macs.
• Quicksilver: very powerful application launcher and oh so much more (that oh so much more part is something I still haven't figured out yet.)
• SlimBatteryMonitor: a smaller and more verbose battery indicator icon.
• StuffIt Expander: an essential for those who download many Mac packages online. (psst: there's a universal binary beta available here. Bad news: it expires on October 1st, 2006.)
  
• Toast: full featured CD/DVD burning application from Roxio.
• UnRarX: probably the only unraring client I could find that can handle multipart volumes.
• VirtueDesktops: virtual desktop manager akin to the virtual desktops found in UNIX and to the upcoming "Spaces" feature that will be in Leopard.
• VLC Media Player: plays almost every movie I throw at it, including DivX and XviD videos.
  

It's not a very exhaustive list by any means, but it covers many of the applications that I found to be extremely useful so far. Your best bet is to Google other application lists, compare and contrast, then choose exactly what you feel would be most beneficial to you.