Copy Data and Applications to other Mac

Dear all,

I will getting a G5 soon and would like to know the best way to copy all my data including all installed applications to the new computer.

I have used Backup3 tp backup my documents onto DVD. But Im not sure if I can just backup the Applications folder or if I have to install all software again including the patches and plugins, which would be very time consuming.

Thanks for any help
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Regards, Nicole

eMac G4/800 Mac OS X (10.3.9) 1GB, iLife user