New Macs ship with add-on Applications from either Apple or third-party vendors.  For example, Apple ships iLife on all new Macs.  Many of the third-party programs installed on a new Mac are trial versions.

By default, Applications are installed "Applications" folder on the Macintosh HD.  The Applications folder is identified by a folder with an "A" made up of a pencil, ruler, and brush as shown at the left.  New Macs have all preinstalled software placed in the Applications folder or the Utilities folder (a subfolder/subdirectory in the Applications folder).
 
These two directories can be found at the following locations:

• /Macintosh HD/Applications
• /Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities

Just take some time to navigate to these folders to see what's in them.  You'll realize a key difference in the contents of these two folders.  The Applications folder holds applications that you use to get things done whereas the Utilities folder holds assistants, utilitites and applications that allow you to get to more advanced features within the operating system.  You can launch an Application, utility, or assistant from these locations by simply double-clicking on it.

 

You can install and delete Applications on a Mac, something you are likely to do to customize your Mac experience.