If you’re in the position where you need to switch from Linux to OS X, you’ll probably want to pick up the following applications if you haven’t already. These are aimed more at developers, but there’s definitely something for everyone.
1. Songbird. This is the best replacement I’ve found for Amarok, Rhythmbox, or Banshee. It might not be as feature-rich as iTunes, but it will play FLAC and OGG files, which is something that iTunes lacks. It also has a great feature called mash tape which displays artist information from lastfm.
2. Warp. I would go so far as to call this application essential for any Linux user that appreciates multiple desktops. It will allow you to freely move your windows between workspaces without having to invoke the spaces pane. It isn’t perfect, but it brings a lot of functionality that is currently lacking in OS X’s default spaces application.
3. Smultron. This is probably the best open-source text editor out there for OS X. If you’re a Kate or Gedit users, you should be able to adjust easily to Smultron. It supports snippets, split-view (vertical only), full-screen mode, and syntax highlighting for many different languages.
4. Cyberduck. This is a FTP/SFTP program that will act as a (limited) replacement for Nautilus, Konqueror, or Gftp. I say limited only because the interface doesn’t allow for split views or tabs, so you’ll always need to have a finder window open adjacent to Cyberduck. Overall it’s an incredibly stable program that gets the job done.
5. Vienna. This is an open source RSS feed reader. It has a similar interface to Lifrea on Gnome and comparable features. It uses a version of webkit for it’s built-in browser and as such does a good job for viewing websites. Overall this is a great application, but it really slows down when you have over a hundred feeds.
6. OpenOffice.org. When Sun released version 3.0 of OpenOffice.org, they made a native version for OS X (x86 only). This office productivity suite easily replaces Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powepoint and at the same time offers excellent compatibility with those programs. I use it to create spreadsheets, word documents, and slide show presentations.
7. MAMP. Get this to replace your local LAMP server for developing database driven websites. Yeah I know, OS X has Apache and PHP5 preinstalled, but this sets up phpMyAdmin for you automatically. It also broadcast at port 8888 by default, so if you have a local sever installed already it won’t cause you any trouble.
8. Colloquy. This is an IRC application. You can use it to access a support channel or if you’re involved in an open source project it’s a great communication tool. The application is feature rich, stable, and has a good amount of poish.
9. Ies4osx. This application will easily installs ie6 through the use of wine. It’s no Ies4linux, as it still lacks support for installing ie5 and ie7, but it’s still useful if you need to access a website with Internet explorer.
10. Dolphin. Even though it’s still in early development, it’s a native application and it’s actually usable. If you’re frustrated with the inadequacies of Finder, you might want to look into Dolphin. It’s not production-ready by any means, but it will become a viable alternative in the near future. The biggest drawback is that you basically need to install all of KDE to get it running.
Have any applications that you can’t live without on OS X? Let us know.