But sometimes I will get bored and look for the latest news on things like Google Earth and the new Windows. It is usually articles like this actually that end up sending me to those sites and then I will browse them for a good while.

Paint.NET - digital image editor. Similar to Paint Shop or Photoshop, but it’s legally free and fast for me.

Open Office - I’m sure you know what this is.

K-Meleon - it’s like a skimmed-down faster version of Firefox.

Gaim - like Trillian, but I prefer Gaim.

1by1 - a great lightweight MP3 player. Under 100kb.

I am quite astonished that you’re still using Trillian - I used it for a fair old while myself, until I got utterly sick of how horribly bloated it was (and I’m pretty sure it somehow grew ever more wasteful & memory-hungry the longer I used it, despite the Jabba the Hutt-esque state it started off at) & ditched it for MSN, or ‘Windows Live Messenger’ as they’re calling it these days.

The turning point wasn’t when I noticed that MSN (which I’m still going to call it) was actually significantly better than Trillian in every important way (apart from the multi-messenger bit, obviously); no, it was when I, just for a laugh, decided to see if it was less of strain on my system to run MSN and AIM at the same time than it was to just run Trillian. Thanks to my preamble, it should come as no surprise that the MSN/AIM tagteam won out (although I actually just use MSN these, because AIM is ugly and shit)

Camino - The browser that basically represents a proper OS X version of Firefox. I want to like this browser but it still lacks in some areas but the new betas are showing real promise by fixing these bad parts so I’m tracking these.

Shiira - Again, another browser, but one that looks like it could be the best of the bunch if they get it right. At the moment the betas of version 2.0 are still very much unfinished, and still in Japanese in some areas (localisation from non-English languages to English being pretty unusual), but it could be really cool so I’m keeping an eye on this one.

Midnight Inbox - A personal organisation tool that is based on the Getting Things Done methodology that links into the suite of OS X applications like Mail and iCal. Currently progressing to version 1.0, I’m playing around with the betas of this one in the home that it can sort my own mess out.

Inkscape - Too tight to fork out for something like Illustrator but need an application to knock out vector diagrams? Give Inkscape a bash. Again, it’s another beta application that’s gradually improving and I’ll update this one each time there is a new release, particularly as I’m hoping that eventually they’ll dump the need for X-Windows in the same way as OpenOffice has.

NetNewsWire - Awesome RSS reader application that I probably spend more time in these days than any other application, even browsers.

OmniGraffle Pro - Sort of the Mac version of Visio that can be used for all sorts of purposes. Each version of this application has added essential tools and features so I keep track of what the next version are going to add.

OmniOutliner Pro - By the same bunch as OmniGraffle (who’d have thought that, eh?), this application makes it really easy to make lists and is a darned sight more functional than the likes of Word. Up until I picked up Midnight Inbox I was using this application in conjunction with a bunch of AppleScripts to keep myself organised.

Onyx - General maintenance application for the Mac that’ll allow you to tweak the OS to your liking and run the UNIX maintenance scripts. I keep downloading updates to this application but, to be fair, I’m damned if I can tell the difference between what I have now and the first version that I download a couple of years ago.

SQLGrinder - My standard tool for accessing databases and running queries. It still has a few bugs so I’m always on the lookout for new versions.

VoodooPad - Fabulous personal Wiki application that integrates really well into the OS and makes documentation much easier. The app just keeps getting better so it’s one that I keep an eye on at the moment.

Transmit - The best FTP client I’ve found on the Mac with some great features but has the propensity to choke on directories with huge numbers of files. Given this problem and the fact that I often deal with such directories I’m always looking for an update from the developers that will fix this issue since I know they are aware of it.

I think that’s the major ones for me. I’m also keeping an eye on Merlin 2, particularly in relation to OmniPlan, as being a suitable project management tool on the Mac but I have to confess not having had the time to actually try either application. Still, the blurb for both sounds good and so I’m monitoring developments.