Here's a little list of freeware and shareware apps that I'm finding pretty much indispensable for use on my powerbook:

1. WindowShades X - by Unsanity. ($10 US). If you were using macs previous to OS X, they had this great feature of being able to minimize windows in place. It would essentially roll up the window to the title bar, and then you could tuck the window away while working in a different one. Totally useful if you work like me (that is on a bunch of things at once) OS X did not continue this feature but thanks to Unsanity you can have it as a haxie.


2. Himmelbar - by Softbend (free). This is a menu-bar app that lets you access all your applications and utilities. Very handy and lets you tidy up your dock as well.
3. G-mail notifier - by Google (free). OK this one rocks! I used to use a Konfabulator widget but much prefer this menu-bar app. It's tidy, small and just makes sense.
4. NewsFire - by David Watanabe ($18.99 US). My hands-down choice for a desktop RSS Reader client.
5. Backpack Dashboard Widget - by Chipt (free) - This was the app that reduced Konfabulator from a 10 to a 5 on the scale of must-have apps. It's so useful that I have it on my desktop all the time.
   (hint: to pull a widget to your desktop begin dragging the widget and then hit F12, repeat on the desktop to bring it back to the dashboard)
6. iTerm - by Fabian and Ujwal S. Setlur (free). Tabbed terminal windows baby - need i say more?


7. For a secure FTP client it's a toss up between:
   
   • Cyberduck FTP and SFTP client - by dkocher (free).
     and
   
   
   • Transmit - by Panic ($29.95 US)
   
   I've used both and am currently using Cyberduck because it suits my needs for now.
8. Menu Calendar Clock - by Object Park ($18.95US). This is another one of those really useful menu bar apps - the calendar syncs with your iCal so your schedule is easily accessible without needing iCal open.
9. Mac Janitor - by Brian Hill (free). This is a handy app for people who aren't leaving their mac on and awake day after day. Yes, my mac is on but it's set to sleep after an hour of inactivity or when I close the lid. Mac Janitor is a tool that runs the unix subsystem maintenance tasks that are set to run in the wee hours of the morning but obviously won't run if the machine is asleep.
10. Konfabulator - now owned by Yahoo. I'll toss this in here as a nod to the previous indispensibility of this application, however, it's usefulness for me has now dwindled to the weather widget (still far superier to dashboards) and wifi widget. The TV Scraper widget had once supplanted the need for a TV Guide but until they update the widget so it works properly it's off my desktop.

If anybody has any other mac apps they can't live without I'd love to hear about them.