I just finished a re-install of my Macbook, which I use mainly for my work. This prompted me to review what software I need on it. Here are my favorites.

Microsoft Office, although there are a few alternatives that are just as good or better I prefer using the office suite to prevent compatibility issues. Also as far as I am concerned nothing beats excel atm. The home and student edition, which is more than enough if you don’t need exchange server support, costs € 130.

Merlin is the leading professional project management software for Mac OS X and is fully compatible with Microsoft Project. It costs €145. If you are really into big time project management check out the add-ons, like the project server and web and iPhone sharing.

Omnigraffle to create a diagram, process chart, quick page-layout, website mockup or graphic design. The standard version costs €99 and the pro-version, which is fully compatible with MS Visio, costs €199.

Skype, to make free calls and chat over the Internet to other people on Skype for as long as you like, to wherever you like. It is free to download.

Along these programs that I actually use there are some that you will never really see after installation and setting them but they make your life much easier.

Flip4Mac WMV Components allow you to import, export and play Windows Media video and audio files on your Mac. It is free to download.

DivX® 7 for Mac is a free download that provides everything you need to enjoy high-quality digital videos on your computer, including high definition H.264 (.mkv) videos with AAC audio and videos created using all previous versions of DivX technology. It is free to download.

Precipitate lets you search for and launch the information you have stored in the cloud from within Spotlight or Google Desktop for Mac. It is free to download.

StartupSound preference pane is software to control or mute the volume of the startup sound of your Mac computer without changing the output volume setting. It is free to download.