(Credit: Download.com)

Now that your new Mac is set up and you're connected to the internet, how about some software? Out of the box, your Mac is loaded with cool apps to get you started on stuff like uploading and organising your digital images, creating a music library, making your own movies and surfing the web. But it doesn't come with everything.

There are several cool apps Mac users count on every day that aren't included in the initial set-up. To get you started, we've rounded up our must-have downloads for your new Mac. From web browsers and useful utilities to fun and games, these top Mac downloads are perfect for your new computer and a great way to start exploring the world of Mac software at CNET Australia Downloads.

Editors' rating

Mozilla Firefox
Sure, Safari comes preloaded on your Mac and it's got a lot of great features, but it's not for everybody. The folks at Mozilla have come a long way with the Mac version of Firefox with the intention of creating a flexible browser that plays nice with the elegance of Mac OS X.

In addition to Firefox 3's revamped interface, what makes Firefox particularly enticing is the ability to pick from a huge library of themes and add-ons. Unlike Safari, Firefox lets you change the overall look of your browser to fit your style. With add-ons covering a wide range of functions — from adding iTunes controls to your browser window to the ability to view lists of found photos in 3D — the sheer number of additional things and customisation options you can tinker with in Firefox is staggering.

Editors' rating

Opera
Though it's often overlooked with Safari and Firefox stealing most of the spotlight, Opera is an excellent Mac browser in its own right. Themes and add-ons are easily searched right from within the interface and Opera might be the fastest when it comes to page-loading times. The Speed Dial feature lays out your favourite sites in an easy-to-navigate format, letting you get to your most visited sites with the click of your mouse. Its Wand utility makes autofilling of forms a breeze.

Unlike other browsers for the Mac, Opera also supports torrent downloads. To top it all off, Opera Link makes it possible to transfer your Personal Bar, Bookmarks, Speed Dial and Notes across multiple computers if you have Opera in several locations. As you can see, while Opera isn't as popular as the other Mac browsers, it has plenty to offer including unique tools everyone can appreciate.

Editors' rating

Mozilla Thunderbird
Apple's Mail program is an excellent email client, but it's not for everyone. People who are more used to the traditional layout of email might be more comfortable with Mozilla's Thunderbird.

Thunderbird is a free, full-featured email client offering intelligent spam filters, a built-in RSS reader and quick search so you get to the messages you need quickly. Thunderbird handles both POP and IMAP accounts admirably with easy set-up for Gmail and .Mac accounts, among others.

Like other Mozilla offerings, Thunderbird's interface is fully customisable and lets you set up your reading layout in a number of different ways so you can find the one that best suits your style. Other little perks include message searching, saved-search folders, import tools, smart-address completion, labels, return receipts and antiphishing protection.

If you're looking for an alternative to Apple's Mail client, Thunderbird should be a top consideration.

Mozilla Thunderbird (Credit: Download.com)

Editors' rating

Adium
Chat comes with your Mac and is a strong chat client on its own, but not everybody uses iChat. If you want to get connected with people using one of the other chat clients, rather than download separate clients for each friend, just download Adium X.

With this free program installed on your Mac you'll be able to connect with everyone from within one program because Adium works with most of the big-name services seamlessly. This means you can connect with and sign up for Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, AIM and many more all from within the same program. At the time of writing this article, some file-sharing features between clients were having some issues, but for a free multi-service chat client, this one tops our list.

Adium (Credit: Download.com)

Editors' rating

VLC Media Player
QuickTime supports several file types on its own, but if you've ever spent time on the internet you know QuickTime doesn't do it all.

If you have a pesky video file type that won't open in QuickTime, VLC Media Player is the answer. In addition to being able to play several different file types, VLC Media Player offers the unique ability of adding effects to audio. Packed with features for playing DVDs and almost any video, this free app is more than worth the download time and you'll never have to worry about whether you can watch a particular video on your Mac again.

Editors' rating

Miro
Do you want to watch videos? Download Miro to subscribe to video podcasts and set up your own channels for endless video enjoyment. A folder tree in the left pane helps you manage all your videos and subscriptions, and video watching and new video discovery occurs in the central pane.

On the bottom of the interface, you'll be able to search for new content using Google, YouTube, Yahoo and many others. The program offers full torrent support, a folder monitor to detect and add content when you download new videos to a specific folder, and channel surfing which lets you browse through videos by genre. Best of all, Miro is completely free to use.

Mior (Credit: Download.com)

Editors' rating

Pixelmator
If you're looking for a full-featured image editor at a relatively low price, Pixelmator fills the bill nicely. Sporting a smooth Mac-friendly interface, Pixelmator offers a layout much like Adobe Photoshop with separate toolbars offering standard selector and paint brush type tools, a colour-picker, a brush shape picker and a layer manager.

Also like Photoshop, Pixelmator comes with all the image manipulation tools you might need for adjusting colour, saturation, brightness and contrast, and many more. If you want to add effects to your images, you can pick from several different common filters like distortion, blur, sharpen, halftone and stylise. Essentially, Pixelmator gives you a lot of the same tools, effects and filters you would find in Photoshop though you won't find some of Photoshop's more advanced tools. Perhaps the biggest difference most users with above average image editing needs will notice is Pixelmator's price (US$59).

It's important to note that the demo version watermarks all your images, but once you see the number of features this app has, you probably won't mind paying for all that functionality.

Editors' rating

GIMP
GIMP is an ongoing open-source (free) project by numerous people in an effort to make advanced image-editing tools available to everyone. GIMP offers almost the same toolset as Photoshop with all the features you need, though the interface is somewhat different and might take some getting used to. Perhaps the best thing about this ongoing open-source project is it's being worked on constantly and answers to questions about changes and future improvements are available through an active development community.

Quicksilver
Do you like hot keys? If you're the type of person who likes to load websites, apps and files quickly, check out this solid utility. Simply bring up the tiny Quicksilver interface to type a few letters of your chosen app, file or website to get a list of possibilities — without your fingers ever leaving the keyboard.

But don't let the simple interface fool you; Quicksilver is more than just a way to search your hard drive. It has plenty under the hood for more advanced operations. Once you've found what you're looking for, hit Tab to bring up a command list of possible actions you can perform like the ability to quickly send files to your website via FTP or send a document via your default email client. Once you get used to using Quicksilver, you'll find that many things that used to take several steps become much more streamlined.

Quicksilver (Credit: Download.com)

Editors' rating

Google Earth
A fully interactive globe on your desktop — what's not to like? Use Google Earth to point to a place on our planet, zoom in to see satellite imagery, detailed maps with street and location names, and much more. The recent addition of street level views adds to the fun with more and more major cities getting added all the time. Also included is Google Sky, which lets you turn the camera in the other direction, letting you search through common locations in our solar system as well as distant galaxies, far faster than the speed of light. Frankly, if you want a fun, interesting and educational free program on your Mac, Google Earth is a must-have download.

Editors' rating

Coda
If you're a web designer, pro blogger or even just looking to start up your own site, Coda has the comprehensive toolset you need. Boasting one-window web development, Coda offers an integrated file browser, fully featured text editor, a CSS editor, preview functions and a built-in terminal — all within the same interface. When you're finished with your site, use Transmit, the popular FTP client already built into Coda. Big web-design apps are too expensive for most users, but Coda is only US$79.95 to register — and you get to put it through its paces before you buy.

Coda (Credit: Download.com)

Editors' rating

Cyberduck
When you're done designing or updating your website, you'll need a robust FTP client to upload it to the web. Cyberduck is an open-source (free) FTP client featuring SFTP (SSH secure file transfer) wrapped up for Mac using the Cocoa framework. You'll be able to connect to multiple servers simultaneously and keep your most commonly used servers close at hand using Cyberduck's favourites manager.

When you're ready to update your site, simply drag and drop the updated files to the interface for instant upload. A common interface for both FTP and SFTP transfers means you'll always be working in the same familiar environment.

Cyberduck (Credit: Download.com)

Editors' rating

NetNewsWire
Get the news your way with one of the best RSS clients we've seen for Mac. NetNewsWire offers a slick three-paned interface showing your favourite news outlets on the left, headlines on the right, and expanded stories on the bottom if you see a headline you want to read more about.

Adding new feeds couldn't be easier and you can set how often NetNewsWire updates its feed list so you always have the latest updates. NetNewsWire is easily one of the best and most intuitive ways to get the latest news on your Mac. To make the deal even sweeter, NetNewsWire has recently become a free program, making it a no-brainer for anyone who likes having the news as it happens.