I started using Macs in 2003, starting with an iBook and currently using a 15" MacBook Pro, with a matt screen.
Disclaimers
I'm a full-time programmer, just starting out my self-employed life (again), so my usage pattern reflects that. I work from home and no longer need to travel for work.
Disk and Backups
I've pretty much procrastinated migrating to a bigger hard disk, so I'm still stuck with my 110 GB disk, clearing my trash can every month or so due to the recurring hard disk crisis.
I run Time Machine a few times everyday, religiously plugging in my external hard disk every morning (often afternoon, actually) when I start work. I also use Dropbox, backing up some critical files such as code and SSH key, that are soft-linked to my local T folder.
Hardware
When I was travelling for my previous job, the 15" was of the right size, not too big, yet providing adequate screen space on the go.
I have been a big user of external monitors, using both the laptop screen and external monitor at the same time since I got my first Mac.
I use the now-defunct Fingerworks Touchstream LP keyboard. I'd heard these units fetch good prices on ebay.
Dock
It is on the right, where it belongs :) I auto-hide it. I keep my standard applications in the Dock, grouping applications into categories, separating them by dividers.
The Screen
I designate my 19" external monitor as the main screen, so I typically keep my editors, browsers in the main screen and opening complementary applications such as documentation while coding in the main screen. Probably due to habits from using Smalltalk, I also like to open multiple editor windows across both screens.
It looks like I use Spaces only so I can put OmniFocus and the occasional download window in the 2nd space.
I'm almost always using Expose rather than cmd+tab. And the first thing I'd do if I grab a new Mac is to map Expose back to F9, F10 and F11.
I'm a light Dashboard user. I use the 3-2-1 countdown widget regularly and occasionally the built-in calculator widget.
Desktop
My desktop is clean, without any folders or files. It only has a minimal wallpaper. I occasionally drop files or folders on the desktop but usually clean it up after a session of usage.
Terminal
I'm not a shell expert, but I use iTerm everyday, for running git, SSH sessions and some scripts I wrote for myself.
I've been a Mail.app user for some periods of my Mac-life and Entourage for my previous job. I'm currently only using Gmail. I like how I have to proactively launch the Gmail site to check email. I don't use Gmail notifiers to reduce distractions.
I forward all my emails from different domains/accounts to my GMail account so I can check and search for my mails in a central place (it works because I don't get as many emails now).
I also prefer the mobile Gmail interface on the iPhone compared to Mail.app on the phone.
Calendar
I used to use iCal along with Entourage, but I'm not a heavy user of calendaring tools anymore after my previous job. I still use iCal, synchronizing to my iPhone.
Other Clients
Adium for IM, Chicken of the VNC for VNC, CocoaMySQL for MySQL, [Colloquy]http://colloquy.info/ for IRC, CoRD for Windows, Cyberduck for FTP/SFTP, NetNewsWire for feeds (on the iPhone too), Skype for international calls.
I use the Twitter site on my Mac and my own Twitter client SimplyTweet on my iPhone.
Keyboard and Mouse
Since I use the TouchStream LP (I use QWERTY), I don't need a mouse. I bought it a few years back when I developed signs of CTS and it has been a workhouse all these years. I still can't type as fast on the TouchStream LP as a normal keyboard although it's good for most uses including coding. But I still find it useful to just use my MacBook Pro without the external monitor and keyboard for a night of coding every 1-2 days.
Editors
CSSEdit for CSS, Eclipse for Java and Android projects, TextMate for most other languages, and general text editor, vi when I'm in an SSH session, Xcode for iPhone projects.
Browsers
I use Safari as my primary browser (rounded buttons for the win). I also use Camino and Firefox for testing. I often use them when I have more than one account for a web site (e.g. Google Apps).
Fink/Ports
I use both. More recently ports. Not a heavy user, very often the exact version of the software I get with either doesn't matter to me, as long as I can find a recent version.
Notifications
Growl. What else? In Smoke style.
Search
I'm a pretty heavy user of Spotlight, for finding documents to applications. Coming from working for years with search technology helped to reinforce that behavoir.
Office
I was a heavy user of Microsoft Word and Powerpoint, and occasionally Excel when I was in my previous job. As of 2008, there's no way using any of the alternatives for Word and Powerpoint will work if you have complicated documents or decks and if you need to share them with other Microsoft Office users.
Others
I use RescueTime to monitor my time usage, especially since I wanted to know which hours and days was more productive.
I use mostly Fireworks for my graphics editing. I'm not good with graphics, but I need to do some of it for my work.
I used to be a heavy user of OmniOutliner, but after getting used to OmniFocus synchronising to the iPhone), I have hardly been using the former.
Ch-ch-ch-anges
I've been making tweaks and experimenting with changes for the past few years, including moving the Dock around. My most current experiment being changing the colors of my editors and iTerm to white/light on black.
Inspired by: Tim Bray and Bill Clementson, re-using the same section titles.
