Imaginative title huh? 
I toyed with the idea of ‘Awesome’ or ‘Amazing’ but not many are really… they just ‘do’ which is what we all really need from an app.
I’ve had my Mac all of 3 weeks now, have tried many apps installed, uninstalled, considered, reconsidered…
Finally unless some miraculous app comes out new I’ve settled on a few must haves along with a few that I’m trying to get into the habit of using..
There are some great looking and functional apps out there, much more than this list, but do we really need them?
Would love to find more ‘that you cant do without’ so leave a comment if you have some must haves with either just the name if you’re lazy or a link if you’re not
QuickSilver
This is in the ‘trying category, I can see huge workflow advantages but breaking the habit of reaching for the mouse instead of keyboard is the hard one for me.
Espresso
I’m not really a hard core coder so would not even attempt to get into the Espresso vs Coda debate but I love some of Espresso’s features such as quick publish, nice and easy CSS editor mode, just wish they had a sites page like Coda…
Skitch
For me just screen grabs although you get space on their server to upload and make collections, easily add your own custom text or boxes/arrows to your screen grabs…
Fluid
Strangely enough I was against using Fluid because of screen real estate but after a recent convo with Chad Engle I decided to give it a try and setup gmail, reader and cal into SSB’s (site specific browsers) as if they are their own apps and then also assign them a space (still not sure about using both spaces & expose)…
This is a screenshot of Helvetical running in an SSB fairly simple really…
1Password
Now I love this app, with it’s iPhone app and Firefox integration it’s a Password and Time lifesaver!
Appfresh
Not sure about you but I HATE apps updating by themselves so always turn off this option then occasionally boot up Appfresh to check for updates and allow the ones I want to install..which as you can see from the screen shot is quite rarely It is in development still which I presume is why you sometimes have items duplicated but it’s free so who’s complaining!
Camtasia
I’m not a Big screen caster but having used Camtasia on Windoze then it was a must have for me on Mac…
Dropzone
We gave a few licenses of this away previously but its a nifty little app that is well worth its small price tag, sits in the dock and enables you to perform many functions such as twitpic upload, shorten url just by drag and drop…
Some other helpful little apps I have installed:
Think
Limit your attention to one application—any application—at any time, bring other apps up quickly if you need them, but put them out of sight again just as quickly.
Let’s rediscover how to focus, and get back to thinking.
Dropbox
Dropbox is software that syncs your files online and across your computers.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a tiny program that puts an icon in the right side of your menu bar. Click it to prevent your Mac from automatically going to sleep, dimming the screen or starting screen savers. Click it again to go back. Hold down the Command key while clicking to show the menu.
Himmelbar
Quickly find, launch and manage your installed applications.
Now this paltry list probably isn’t enough for most and doesn’t include some of the main stays like Adium, Skype, Office software etc. but here are some Mega lists of Mac apps, obviously there are many duplications but there are also some gems waiting to be found:
85 Useful Free Mac Apps for Designers
15+ Incredibly Useful Mac Apps For Freelance Web Designers
30+ Amazing Mac Apps for Developers
100 Free Useful Mac Applications (Part I)
100 Free Useful Mac Applications (Part II)
35 Absolutely Essential Mac Apps
25 Free Mac Apps for Freelancers
28 Excellent Free Mac Apps for Graphic and Web designers
25 Free Mac Apps That Will Boost Your Productivity
15 mac apps web designers should have in their dock
If you have a Mac app roundup that I’ve missed out then please leave a link to your post in the comments!
Nice list, especially for including Quicksilver!
*cough* http://www.fluffypig.com/2008/05/10-mac-osx-app... *cough*
A bit dated now but still has something to offer I think!
Ever considered LittleSnapper? That's a nifty software for capture screenshot and editing. Beside that, managing website gallery is great with it. QuickSilver is a nice tools, but I still stick with mouse and combine it with keyboard. Sometimes you don't need to use all function with keyboard. Setting a shortcut for it can be a problem consider the default shortcut for every application.
Nice one mate, you should definitely check out VLC and Perian too, for all your video compatibility needs!
Nice list. Checking out Camtasia, 1Password, and Think.
When you get a chance, check out my list of 45 free Mac apps.
Camtasia is a good product… but I much prefer ScreenFlow. Not only does it have similar features and, I think, a better UI, it also will be getting a major update sometime this month.
I am running almost all of these applications… Quicksilver is by far the best application on all of my macs. I cannot imagine what OS X was like before I started using it, let alone OS 9. Quicksilver is a great extension of everything, although it does take a while to get used to it.
I found very interesting and informative list.
Grate job you have done here .
Great post. Thanks for sharing!
I have had Camtasia and tossed it early on. iShowU HD is far, far superior and at a fraction of the price.
Thanks for the useful links..Good job
I don't know how some people live without Quicksilver.