While I’m reasonably sure that I could live without my Apple, I can say with certainty that I would not want to live without it.

I recently bought a new PC to take some of the wear-and-tear off my handy 12-inch Mac, but since the “upgrade”, I’ve realized just how much I had taken for granted.

For starters, almost everything I use on my Mac is free, or pretty close to being free. With the PC, finding open source, virus-free software is about as easy as trying to leave the dentist’ office pain-free.

Of all the applications on my Mac, these are the ones that I use almost on a daily basis—and miss the most on a PC. And, if any of you PC users know of a half-way decent alternative for Windows, please let me know!

ImageWell
I was a late adapter of ImageWell, but once I realized its potential, it quickly became my favorite Mac app. Because of my work, I needed a reliable image editor, but one that was simple and quick to use. Enter ImageWell. Being able to crop, watermark, upload via FTP, and have the code copied to my clipboard with a few clicks makes this software worth far more than its cost of $19.95.
Free trial, $19.95 to buy

Adium
The little green duck is my little green friend. While iChat is handy and comes pre-installed with OS X, Adium has far better instant-messaging capabilities. I have four different IM accounts, and Adium keeps them connected and separated. This way I can chat with my family and friends, while still keeping my business accounts signed online.
Free

Genius
Without Genius, I can think of several college finals I might have flunked. This light-weight little application helps you memorize almost anything. In short, whatever you can type in, Genius helps you remember with its electronic cardfile and quiz system.
Free