Mac newbie, what software do i need ?

So i got a macbook pro 13" today and being someone who's only ever worked with windows i was hoping some more advanced users could help me get the right software to replace the things i use on my windows machine.

I'm looking for the mac alternatives for the following software:

• Trillian (looking for an all in one messenger that can do icq/msn )
• MIRC (looking for a good simple irc client)
• Mplayer classic (what is the best mac software to watch things like xvid and mkv files)
• Browser (do i stick with safari 4 or do i go opera or firefox, i need multi tab browsing with easy download management)
• Filezilla (looking for a good ftp client)
• Azureus (need a good torrent client that won't suck as much ram as azureus for windows does)

And any tips or suggestions for good usable software are always welcome ray:

 

Well, I think it could help if you told people what OS you are using at the same time. Also you could (sorry for sounding extremely stupid) google some of those things too.

 

I'm running Mac OSX 10.5.8 And yes i've been google-ing around all afternoon and there's ton's of software. I'd just like oppinions of long time users to find out what's worth my time and not seeing as i have to have it fully running by the end of the weekend.

 

-adium
-x-chat
-VLC
-firefox
- I havent managed to find a decent ftp client that supports auth tls
-Azureus

All the above are free..if you need any more info then ask

 

filezilla could be a good mac FTP client. But I am not sure.

 

Hmmm I actually like Pidgin as a multi IM client. So Pidgin could be a good mac alternative too .

 

Oh yeah, if you are used to use Peerguardian on Windows, then do not fret. Cause PG is also on Mac OSX

 

Adium is a fantastic Mac AIM program. And Azureus is very fast on the Mac. With all the new Macs having 2GB+ base RAM, you won't have to worry. And the Mac has incredible memory management so less memory goes farther.

 

I use Firefox on the Mac Pro and MacBook. There are several plug-ins available for FTP and mIRC (among many other things), but FireFTP and ChatZilla are the best ones that I've come across. I tried Safari for a while and although it has some nice features, I much prefer Firefox. The tabbed browsing is great and you can easily change options and settings in Preferences.

VLC always played everything I ever threw at it so I'd certainly recommend that. I'd also install Flip4Mac too. XBMC is now available for Linux, Widows and OS X so you could give that a try. I haven't used it since the original Xbox days but I assume it's still as awesome.

I was using Azureus/Vuze for a long time but it did indeed suck up RAM. When the Mac Mini became the 'iServe' I switched over to using Transmission and it gets on a lot better. It's a fully featured BT client and does everything I need it to do.

If you're ever wanting to transcode any video HandBrake is totally awesome and certainly the best application I've ever found. It used to just rip DVDs, but now it accepts any file as a source.

The only IM software I use is MSN Messenger, part of Office '08 for the Mac.

Hope this helps.

 

what is the best mac software to watch things like xvid and mkv files
VLC

do i stick with safari 4 or do i go opera or firefox, i need multi tab browsing with easy download management
Firefox

looking for a good ftp client
Cyberduck

need a good torrent client that won't suck as much ram as azureus for windows does
Transmission

 

Skype is also for MAC OS X

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_instant_messaging_clients

I know some people hate wikipedia but this is quite a guide. and you were talking about MULTI IM well then jabber is not bad either.

http://jabberfox.sourceforge.net/

But I have already mentioned Pidgin, which I think is one of the BEST multi IM clients on windows. So it could/should be at least as good on mac.

Utorrent is also available for mac.

 

Adium is the best IM client I have used on any platform, so use it. Cyberduck is a nice FTP program. Firefox or Safari (64-bit version with Snow Leopard is nice) are both fine. Perian will let you play most all videos in Quicktime, which is awesome to have.

Most other stuff I have isnt free so

 

Borman, does Adium have full compatibility with Skype or does it halt, just like Pidgin, when it comes to the cam part of Skype ? and well while we are at it, should we not have a mac abandonware and freeware links in this thread too ?

 

Adium works the same way as Pidgin, has a custom API plugin for Skype or something. But the cam stuff is all closed source, and I dont think theyve figured it out here. Fundamentally, Adium is basically the same as Pidgin, just with a decent interface stock.

 

Borman, basically you are saying they need to reverse engineer and hack the closed source. Why am I not surprised. Oh well so basically Silverbolt needs only Adium, and the real Skype. To coexist.

 

More like:
looking for a good ftp client
Transmit

need a good torrent client that won't suck as much ram as azureus for windows does
uTorrent

 

I had issues with Transmit screwing up my uploads a while back, tahts the reason why I stuck with Cyberduck. Im sure its been fixed, but bleh

 

Pidgin is a bitch to get working on OSX... or at least was. Another thumbs up for Adium which has some cool features... and some annoying ones. Don't know if it has Skype support though.

 

I actually prefer Safari 4 over Firefox.

 

These have been answered by other people, but I'll go ahead and tell you what I use.

Adium
X-Chat (the one time I needed IRC)
Quicktime (with Perian). It sucks in Windows but it's quite nice in OSX.
I don't like Safari but I have to keep using it until Chrome gets ported (which will be awhile). Firefox on the Mac bites dick, IMO.
Filezilla works fine on the Mac for me.
I'm using Transmission for my torrents. I tried uTorrent, but it doesn't match what's on Windows, and after using Transmission for awhile I find I like it almost as much.