My Favorite Mac Programs

It has been two weeks since my new MacBook Air arrived and I think I have everything setup and tweaked to just the way I like it. I love the MacBook Air – it is a great machine.  This process of moving from my old PowerMac G4 has made me realize there is a core group of programs I just cannot live without.  Some I do not use everyday but they are great programs nonetheless.   Here is my list in no particular order:

1. Adium – Chat is a simple thing and Adium does chat very well.
2. Google Chrome – my browser of choice
3. Xmind
4. Viscosity – the best way to connect to OpenVPN on a Mac
5. Transmit  (FTP) – nice integration w/ Coda
6. TrueCrypt
7. CandyBar – when I show off my new Air it has to look cool
8. Domainer – silly little program to organize your domain names
9. SOHO Notes
10. OmniFocus
11. Mars Edit
12. Coda
13. Querious
14. DragThing – Keeping it all organized.

Of course missing from this list are the everyday staples like Office and iWork. These are a given and most of the time you have to use them because the boss wants something done.  The programs on my list are the real programs that help me get more done in my day and enjoy doing it.  The striking thing is that most of the list is free or fairly inexpensive.  Companies like Panic, Rage Software, SparkLabs, et. al. have carved out real niches by making great software that is both affordable and provide real productivity gains for its users.