I get asked a lot of the same questions about Apple Macintosh computers now that the world is abandoning Windoze machines in favor of the Mac and Linux operating systems. So, I'm compiling a list of favorite apps that are either free, cheap or both. This way, I can just refer people to this page and make their lives a little easier.

How to install Applications on a Mac:

A disk image or .dmg file

Software for the mac is usually available in a few formats, the most common of which is the DMG file. It’s what’s called, an Apple ‘disk image’ (see photo at right). Think of it as one of those blister-packs that electronics come in, only you don't need a chainsaw to open it.

When you’re on an application’s download page, look for files with the suffix “.dmg”—don't bother downloading .EXE files as they are Windows files and Macs won't run them. Most apps that you download as .dmg files can just be dragged into your applications folder and, Voila!, they're installed.

An installer “package” icon, double-click and just follow the instructions.

NOTE: Occasionally, software comes as a ready-made installer instead, or what's called a “package” (looks like an open, orange box, see photo at left). Those have to be installed on your computer a certain way. So if you get one of these “packages,” simply double-click on the box icon and follow the installer wizard’s instructions. Do NOT drag a “package” to your Applications Folder or it won't be installed.

1.) Once you find the right file on the application’s website (one that ends with “.dmg”) click on the link to download it. Many free, open-source apps will send you to what’s called a “mirror,” that is, a company or webhost somewhere in the world that hosts the software out of the goodness of their hearts. In those cases, you should look for the mirror that’s physically closest to your home, because a file coming from somewhere in the U.S. will download faster than one coming from, say, Denmark.

2.) After it downloads, the file will appear on your desktop or else in your Downloads folder. Find it and double-click on it. That will “mount” the disk image on your desktop. The resulting icon will look like a little white ‘external hard drive’ when it’s done (see photo at left).

A mounted .dmg file looks like an external hard drive.

3.) Double-click on that white icon and inside, you will find the application itself (or a “package” as we said earlier). If it's an application, just drag it to your APPLICATIONS folder. That's it. Pretty simple, huh?

NOTE: All apps should be put in your Applications Folder! Never leave them on the desktop—it’s too easy to accidentally delete them.

Inside a mounted .dmg file, it looks something like this. Drag the application to your applications folder, duh.

4.) But what if you’re lazy and want to be able to launch the new application right from the dock instead of digging through your apps folder to launch it? Easy, just go into your Applications folder, find the app you want, click on it once and drag the icon into the Dock and then let go. That creates a fake icon “alias” that will stay in the dock and “point” to the actual app without moving it. The icon can be removed from the dock by dragging it away from the Dock (watch for the puff of smoke!) To put it back, repeat Step 4.

Here are some apps you might want to install:

Adium is a free instant messaging application for Mac OS X. With Adium, you can connect to any number of messaging accounts on any combination of supported messaging services and then chat with other people using those services. Kinda like iChat, but works with Yahoo!, MSN, and other services, all from one application.

Skype let's you call other computers, chat and even video-chat with friends (and family, if you must...) for free! Your mac probably has a built-in video camera already...

Seashore is based around open-source technology and aims to serve the basic image editing needs of most computer users, not to provide a replacement for professional image editing products like Photoshop.

Pixelmator A beautifully designed image editor that works very much like Photoshop but only costs $59.

Video

VLC player will play virtually every video format out there, Mac or PC. Even if you have Quicktime, this is a good app to have.

As much as I hate Microsoft software mucking up my computer, Windows Media Components for Quicktime is handy to have when trying to play certain Windows audio or video files.

Boxee is a free video player and TV aggregator that lets you stream Internet video to your MacBook laptop and, with a little DVI-to-mini-DVI cable (from Monoprice.com) to your HDTV. It's pretty sweet.

Miro is an open-source (free) video player that can play pretty much any video file and help you find HD programming. You can use it to organize all your downloaded videos.

Handbrake can be used to rip DVDs to your hard drive, playable with Miro or Quicktime (included with the iMac). But I am not encouraging you to rip copyrighted material because that is illegal and not nice. Instead, why not try:

Hulu is NBCs new online TV site with lots of popular shows.

There you go. Now go have fun.

Other Stuff

OpenOffice, a free Office Suite (Word-processing, Spreadsheets, Powerpoint, etc) much like Microsoft Office.

Audacity, is a free, standalone waveform audio editor.