WEEKEND FEATURE Scads of Free Software for the Mac

Sure, we all know nigh next to the absolute profile lowland cause application wordless delimited by favour of for the Mac operating net. Firefox probably jump to heed early, follow attentively near its e-mail partner, Thunderbird.

However, worthwhile in leave of they be, applications whose evolution be support by the Mozilla Foundation are simply a squat splinter of the Mac freeware upgrading.

Open source and freeware developers are coming frontal with a in one piece host of apps -- full-size and small -- for the Mac trusty to take advantage of for unconstrained or at tremendously in to the point provide amount. If you necessitate a method to export your Address Book contacts for initiation into Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Gmail, you can find it. Looking for a down-and-dirty ethnic flock tree program? It's out near. Here are a few of those that solve hitches sundry Mac user begin. You can find scads more by type "free Mac software" into your favorite furrow engine.

Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iChat, which come with the Mac OS, connect to AOL's Instant Messenger feature (AIM).

However, AIM isn't the singular troop game in town. Enter Adium, a free teeny messaging door for Mac OS X that can intermingle wakeful to AIM, MSN , Jabber, Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) and other dialogue platform -- even numerous of those nearly new by large corporation, such as Lotus Sametime.

Users can guide onto as many chat services as they need with Adium, although you'll have to sign up for a exceptional service if you want to chat with other folks who use it (that is, you won't be competent to chat with Yahoo users unless you have a Yahoo chat account).

The allure of the application is that it bring all your conversation into one interface -- a relief for those of us that interact with people at an jumble of organization and that`s why use several chat services all reading light of day. Interestingly, Adium serve as a mentor company for Google's Summer of Code 2006, hosting six student who contribute principal development carry out to the overhang.