First off, congratulations! I exclusively use Macs and its been a wonderful experience. I don't have to deal with frustratingly slow PC's and viruses.

Must have programs for Mac. Well, I outsource anything that isn't wordpress for web design so I can't help you in that field. Otherwise I'd say get iWork, as far as making and editing videos most of that can be done onboard with quicktime.

You've made a very smart decision. Welcome to the mac world!

I love Screenflow for screencasts. Even though there is now a Camtasia for Mac now, Screenflow kicks butt. I've gotten so many positive comments on my videos whereas before I didn't because they looked like all the other Camtasia screencast videos so that for me is a must-have.

Keynote also rocks. I prefer that over PowerPoint any day.

I use open office and Google Docs vs. Microsoft Office and Kompozer to edit HTML.

I switched to the Mac in 2007, before that I had never used a Mac. At first it was a bit tough since I was so used to the PC but slowly I was able to ween off the PC.

iMovie, FLV Crunch, Open Office, KompoZer.

Welcome! Life will be better now!

There's a similar thread by Paul Myers here with lots of top recommendations for Mac apps:
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...marketing.html

I am have tossed the idea of getting a mac back and forth for some time, the biggest deterrent for me is the gaming aspect...I'm a gamer and mac is not friendly to most of what i play.

Video was my reason.

Ok, firstly welcome to the world of Mac, the place where 'what the heck is a crash' becomes a commently asked question

I find Final Cut Pro to be a very good editing and Video solution.

Here's a great tip - Apple stores do free 8 hour training with this software. Go to the apple website and find your local store. In Europe it's called Q-labs (just find out what it will be called in your area). Sign up to the list and enroll as soon as a spot becomes available. Great quality training for FREE. (You will make your first quality video by the end of the first lesson)

They also do training for lots of other software... check it out, IT's FREE

Firefox with Leechblocker, SEO Quake and Firebug addons. Do that and you are done! (Specially the Leechblocker thingy, try it out, works wonders and makes you work)

Okay, here's my latest list of apps -

Firefox
Safari
Transmission
iWork
Photoshop
Transmit
Skype
VLC
Speed Download
1password (password manager)
Paparazzi
Screenflow
Panic Coda
S3Hub.

Adobe Creative Suite, Iworks, Office.

you know what they say...once you go mac, you never go back.

FileMaker Pro is a must have for database and simple scripting
Automator, don't ignore that little gem
Grab (in the utilities folder) has a great screen capture option to choose only windows etc.)
Network utility (unreal toolbox here in the utilities folder)
BBEdit (well worth the cash if you do any php or other code editing, shell scripting)
Flash Optimizer
Mac Speech (must have dictation app)
1password (great password manager)
Transmit (for FTP)
Art Text (for making cool graphic buttons)
Things (todo list)
Omni Graffle Pro (for mapping projects out)
Box Shot 3d
Comic Life

Welcome to the Mac family! I just became one last year.

3 total Macs in the house (check my avatar).

For windows programs, I run Windows through Vmware on the second
monitor.

- John

There is a very good thread with a similar topic:
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...marketing.html

Matt your lucky you waited till now to buy a MAC - most Marketing applications are cloud now so you can just access them online. But a good word process , spreed sheet , slide presentations would be good.

I am going to buy the Ipad and use mostly cloud applications for that and my DELL for anything else.

Congrats. I've considered switching many times, simply due to curiosity... but I just can't bring myself to do it.

1password

It's been mentioned but thought I'd recommend it too, you'll will use it all day every day.

Here's one I would recommend: A windows emulator.

Now you don't have to spend money you don't have buying all new Mac editions of software you currently use until you're good and ready to do so.

Congrats on the Mac, you'll be very happy with the stability and intuitiveness of Mac OS.

I know it was mentioned earlier but it cannot be stressed enough to get Keynote:

Apple - iWork - Keynote - Create captivating presentations easily.

It's an outstanding program with plenty of flexibility.

Worth the investment.

Best of luck with your new computer.

Michael Cruz

Congrats on your new mac brother. Me and the wifey made the switch 3 years ago and never looked back. Still got 2 pcs that our kids play on and I cant wait until those break down so I can replace them with macs also.

iMovie is awesome and I have used that for most of my vids even though I bought final cut pro. I only use final cut for my green screening effects.

Garageband is awesome for your podcasts or light editing needs.

Ubercaster is awesome if you want to record live interviews using skype and have the ability to have a live switchboard where your guest can hear your effects like clapping or whatever sound effect you want them to hear while it is recording. It is an awesome piece of software for only 79 bucks. You can also edit with it similar to the garageband CP. It also splits the conversations.

Skype Recorder is also great of you just want to record skype call and video calls for only $20. You can also split the conversations too.

Quicktime pro is a must have.

DV Kitchen will blow you away! For only 79 bucks it does so much! You can take one of your vids and choose a variety of different settings and see a side by side comparison of what the video will look like. It will also save your settings you like which quictime doesnt do on its own. It also has a bitrate budget calculator and will upload ftp. They offer a free trial too.

Teleprompter Cant beat 59 bucks for a teleprompter if you need one.

I will check my mac pro tommorow to see what I missed. I am on the wifeys mac right now.

Macs are cool. I've a couple of them and they are suitable for IM purposes.

I'd recommend getting something like Billings if you're doing freelancing. Other apps like Photoshop, Espresso etc are useful, too.

I really wanted to get a Mac laptop recently.
But couldn't justify paying over twice the cost of a HP laptop to get a comparable machine.
cheers, Eric G.

I bought a mac last year and haven't looked back... You will love it. It seems like everyone here has covered most apps, but the couple I would add are Final Cut (video editing) and evernote. Final Cut is used to edit lots of TV shows on machines just like yours -- so its robust enough for anything you or I would ever do... And evernote is not mac specific, but it is useful in that I am able to store everything online and not deal with something being on my pc and not on my mac, etc...

I was actually thinking about getting a Mac and don't get me wrong, I'm no Windows fan but Windows 7 is actually pretty good. I've been really impressed with it. Especially the layout options and the time saving features like previewing pdfs and word doc's whilst scrolling through a folder.

When this PC dies, I think I may jump ship unless Windows 8 or whatever's next is even better than Windows 7!

[DELETED]

Fetch (FTP)
File Juicer
GifBuilder
MacJanitor (Maintenance)
Monolingual (Get rid of unwanted languages)
OnyX (Maintenance)
Snapz Pro X (Screen Video Recording)
Tex-Edit Plus
TextWrangler
Web Devil (Download sites)
Web Dumper X (Download Sites)
WireTap Pro (Record audio)
File Buddy 7 (Make edits with files)
R-Name (Rename a bunch of files, for example, mass .htm to .shtml change)
QuickTime Pro (I really hate QuickTime 10!)

good move. macs rule. youll never have to say the computer crashed again.

grab remote desktop for mac to connect to servers and windows clients remotely. soo convienient.

2 finger scroll rocks and the editing features and control is great on the trackpad.
camedia is great for video recording and skype is seamless.
also the live raido streaming on itunes is so seamless never choppy. i never use a real raidio anymore.

Congrats on seeing the light!

If you're into writing, check out a program called Scrivener.

You can get FreeMind as a free mind mapping program, but MindJet also has a Mac version.

For batch downloading, I found something called Folx.

For video and audio production, there are two versions of their software:

AUDIO: Logic Express and Logic Pro

VIDEO: Final Cut Express and Final Cut Studio

The Express versions are both list-priced at $199 and their bigger brothers are $499. If you take a close look at what's included in the Pro versions, it's simply amazing. Logic Pro contains 55 GB (!) of material, as well as over a dozen different professional-grade audio applications that can do just about anything you can imagine.

I've got Final Cut Express for video, and it's got way more than I could ever use, too.

TIP: mosy around eBay for a copy of the Express versions of either one of these apps that's new in the box. You should be able to find one that's one or two revs down for under $100.

Then hunt around for a LATEST UPGRADE version of the PRO edition of the same tools. You should be able to find one for under $200. That'll save you at least $200 on each one.

(I'd only buy if it's "new in the box". There are morons who actually buy software, install it, register it, then try selling it on eBay claiming it's "new" and that they "just tried it out".)

I'd also echo the folks who've mentioned these apps as MUST-HAVE:

1Password
Screenflow
iWork
Quicktime Pro (although it's a PITA to use b/c it's V7 not V10)

And finally, here's a cute little thing I found for quickie audio recordings:

Recorder 5 -- Voice Recorder: A Voice Recorder & Audio Player for Mac OS X

Enjoy!

-David

For anyone who is looking to be free from the monopolist Microsoft... check out linux. Yes, I am a big fan, and linux is easier than ever. Most of your current applications will have a similar program available (for free) with linux. Easy peasy. Free as a bird. Open Source galore!

I recommend: linuxmint, ubuntu or if you have a netbook, ubuntu remix.. unfortunately I didn't reach the minimum posts yet.. otherwise those who would lbe interested could PM me... well... you can find all kinds of info on the net of course. Just google it up. Its cool. No virusses, no costs...