Oh god I love me some applications, web and otherwise. Lately I’ve been on some kind of backlashy software kick (maybe influenced by the glorious Macdom my work has initiated me into, at long-last) and, true-to-form, I’ve read about and tried so many different things that I sort of ran out of space on a MacBook. Here’s my rundown, which I will flesh out with descriptions and arguments pro/con in due time.

In a move purely to anger search engines and SEO experts everywhere, I’m going to break each section off once I think I’ve blabbed about it enough. I’ll leave this giant post up for link love, however. ♥

Note: with the exclusion of Adobe’s Creative Suite, I mostly use things that are free (ideally opensource) or low-cost. I admit that plenty of things are mere vanityware, but I rationalize this as “supporting developers of pretty things”. It’s my prerogative.

IM

Adium w/Appearance Tweaks FREE
Adium’s a multi-client IM program connecting to ICQ, Jabber, AIM, MSN, and Yahoo! IM. It’s highly customizable interface is its biggest draw, for me.

Service Icons: Service Extensions White With Stroke
Status Icons: Twitterrific
Menu Bar Icons: Amora
Emoticons: NONE (I fucking hate emoticons)
Dock Icon: Flat Balloons 2.0
Color Theme: HUD
List Layout: HUD
Window Style: Group Bubbles
Automatic Sizing: Size to fit vertically; Width 128px
Messages: Modern Bubbling; Glass (Glass & Grey)

Colloquy
Colloquy’s an opensource IRC/SILC/ICB client that supports plugins and looks great. Only choice there is for IRC on OS X imo.

Twitter Client

NatsuLion FREE
No idea why everyone isn’t using NatsuLion aside from its funny name? It is simple, lightweight perfection.

RSS

NetNewsWire FREE
As far as I’m concerned, NetNewsWire has absolutely no competition in the OS X feedreader department. Even the recently-released Times, which some people have cottoned to, merely looks like a CMS theme to me. Go with something that syncs smartly and gets the job done, says I!

Browser(s)

Firefox w/Addons & Theme(s) FREE

Firefox Addons
Web Developer
Firebug
Adblock Plus
Colorzilla
CustomizeGoogle
del.icio.us Bookmarks
Download Statusbar
DownThemAll!
Fasterfox
Google Send to Phone
Greasemonkey
Growl Notifications
MeasureIt
Remember The Milk for Gmail
Screen grab!
Total Validator

Firefox Themes
Whitehart
iAqua
Foxdie Safari (Blue)
GrApple (Eos Pro)
iFox Smooth

Safari w/Plugins (& Developer Menu on!) FREE

Plugins (note: SIMBL required)
SafariStand
del.icio.usSafari

Intel Optimized Camino 1.6.1 w/Plugins & Themes FREE

Plugins
GrowlCamino
UnifyCamino

Themes
Coda Tabs
Camino Neon Theme
Pinstripe Theme

System Utilities

1Password [$34.95]
I finally broke down and bought this, because I can’t be trusted to create (and, more importantly, commit to memory) secure passwords for the literally hundreds of sites I have registrations on. With .mac syncing and their own proprietary syncing system on the way, 1Password seems like the best option out there. Especially with former favorites, such as KeepassX, falling by the wayside.
Hazel [$21.95]
Cutes and most unobtrusive file maintenance and management utility ever! Hazel swoops through my folders, moving things around and relabeling them so that I can see, at a glance, what I’ve been modifying and what’s turning into dead wood. I find it particularly useful for sorting downloaded files into the proper folders on my external HD, as well as managing the flurry of files I create when I’m mocking-up something.
Caffeine FREE
Keeps your screen from dimming, screensaving, or going to sleep. Excellent for movie-watching! Sites in your menubar, turning on and off with a click. I rely heavily upon it ):
Awaken
Alarm clock and timer integrated within iTunes. The feature I’m missing is the ability to set a radio station as the wakeup track (currently, you can choose any mp3 or podcast).
SimplyBurns FREE
ClamXav FREE
JollysFastVNC FREE
Mozy [Subscription]
I’ve grown more and more insane about backups over the years and the predictable disasters of data-loss they’ve contained. Mozy was the first affordable contender, and I’m sort of running out my subscription before switching to…
JunglediskMonitor [Amazon S3 costs apply]
JunglediskMonitor, which does the same crap as Mozy but, instead of hitting me with a subscription fee and account limitations, simply shovels the heavy-lifting onto Amazon. At S3’s reasonable rates, I consider it a great deal.
iBackup FREE
Amazingly adept backup utility. For people who can’t use Time Machine for whatever reason (not ready to purchase its own exclusive drive, hmm?) and don’t want to shell out for .mac and its Backup (or object to the privacy concerns of remote backups), it does all the same stuff. For zero dollars. Like a dream!
Breakaway FREE
Little utility along the line of Caffeine. Hangs out waiting for you to unplug your headphones, and pauses iTunes. Prevent unnecessary embarrassment in cafes!
Onyx FREE
Helps the Terminal-challenged run system maintenance scripts and cleanups.
Candybar [$29]
Pure silliness: gives you an easy way to change the system and application icons. I’ve tried some freeware competitors, but I just can’t say that I like them. Candybar’s just really fun to use and has a great interface.

Icons
Sticker System, Sticker Pack 1, Sticker Pack 2

Time Management & Working

Klok FREE
Adobe AIR-based time tracker that exports to spreadsheets. Best free option out there!
Isolator FREE
Dims/blurs/blacks-out your screen aside from the one application you need to focus on. Fabulous distraction-minimizer for those who, like me, can barely work on computers because of how many temptations lie just outside the task at hand.
Anxiety FREE
To-do list that works with iCal and Mail’s built-in lists.
BusySync [$25]
Syncs events between Google Calendar and multiple iCal accounts. The missing link, basically.
Remember the Milk FREE
It’s a to-do list, but also kind of like a personal assistant? Once you’re used to using it, you can fire yours.

Widget
[Quicksilver-required] plugin

Web Design

Design

Adobe CS3 Web Premium [$1,599]
Acorn [$49.95]
I like Acorn for things that aren’t worth waiting for Adobe to load.

Development

Coda
Coda changed my life. I’ve gotten much better at handwriting css, navigating via ssh, and various other skillsets that a lot of other applications seem to focus on removing. I really don’t think that WYSIWYG editors like Dreamweaver are ever going to cut it for me again, because all I’ll be able to think about is how all of my webworking knowledge is withering on the damn vine.
TextMate
A good adjunct to Coda, mainly as it’s an incredibly useful scratchpad for things that are nowhere near development stage. I also like it for breaking down other people’s projects.

Utilities

xScope
Excellent utility! I mostly use its capability to mimic screen resolutions without actually resizing my screen.
iPhoney FREE
Mimics an iPhone, allowing you to check what your sites look like in that interface. Pretty fun.

Thought Management

Notetaking

EverNote FREE [in Beta]
Best software for managing thought processes ever. I used this to write a final paper for my Art History class last semester and was shocked by how easy the process became. Intuitive, vastly-featured (syncs with an online account, allowing you to view your notes from anywhere internet-connected), and a pleasure to use.
xPad FREE
“The Ultimate Notepad” says it all.
MindNode FREE
Just reviewed this recently! Basically, it’s a lightweight mindmapper that exports as its own format, RTF, or PDF. I’ve had great success using it during meetings, if only because it helps me stay engaged with the discussion and rapidly correlate various overlapping relationships among topics and tasks.

Recording

TapeDeck [$25]
I really love TapeDeck! Great little utility for the low-maintenance podcaster or simply someone who wants to create some voicenotes. I can envision myself using it next semester to think things out aloud before committing them to paper. Dictation methodz for the financially strapped.

Entertainment

Video

VLC FREE
Who doesn’t know about VLC? It plays every god damn video file on the planet, is tiny, opensource, and free as a newborn baby.
Xtorrent [$25]
I sometimes question why I paid for Xtorrent when there’s the perfectly acceptable Transmission to be had without a penny, but it really does have some superior features and interface enhancements that I’m just taking for granted at this point. Transmission is great and all, but if you’re kind of maybe a little addicted to downloading torrents of stuff, Xtorrent might be a nice selection.
hulu.com FREE
Pretty great selection of popular tv shows available to watch online for free. Combined with the Adblock Plus addon for Firefox, you can basically create your own television station by queuing up a bunch of shows and letting them run. I go here for my House/Family Guy/Simpsons/King of the Hill fixes.
adultswim.com/video/ FREE
Adult Swim’s episode streamer. It’s antidepressants!
alluc.org [dubious &] FREE
Hey guys there’s this website with basically everything on it, but the videos are all hosted in China and take a thousand years to load. But I’m telling you, it has everything. on. it.

Music

Last.fm FREE
Companion player for awesome website last.fm allows you to create a simple radio station based on an artist or tag. Reliably high-quality selections.
Muxmaster FREE
Companion player for the muxtape website. Would be cooler if you could still download through it, but que sera &c
Pandoraboy FREE
Basically it’s a little mini-browser enabling you to listen to your Pandora stations without worrying about closing the browser tab it’s open in.

Gaming

World of Warcraft
YEAH I PLAY IT SO WHAT
Klondike Forever FREE
Most attractive solitaire possible.
Quinn FREE
Ditto for Tetris.

ComicBookLover [$24.95]
I use this for my vast Alan Moore and Warren Ellis collections!
Delicious Library 2
Catalog every single thing you own and then scroll through your shelves! Use your address book to manage what you lend out! Visually roll in your possessions like a dragon rolling on its pile of cave gold.
Delish FREE
Like Delicious Library, only for your del.icio.us bookmarks. Whoever thought of this actually pulled a real gem from out of their inner halfbakery.