Top 10 Software Titles Every Home PC Needs? 936
eabell asks: "I'm buying a new mid-grade laptop computer, which I plan to dual-boot between Windows XP Home and Mandrake 9.x. Before its arrival in a few weeks I'm trying to think of what 'essential' software I'll need to make a usable home system. In general I'd like to spend as little money as possible (free is good). As far as my needs, think 'typical family PC' without an emphasis on gaming. I know I can get something like Open Office for word processing, presentation, etc. needs, but is there such a good thing as a good free virus checker? A good free email client? A handy web browser? What would you consider the top 10 (or so) pieces of software for a new home system, bearing in mind that I need software for both the Windows and Linux side of things?"
If you are too cheap for an AV program.... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:If you are too cheap for an AV program.... (Score:5, Informative)
I keep a CD of free Windows software for people (helpful when I build them a new PC.)
AVG Anti-Virus (AV)
OpenOffice (Office)
Firebird (Browser)
Thunderbird (email)
AdAware (Spyware seek-n-destroy)
Winamp (Multimedia)
3DMark (benchmarking)
some game demos
etc...
Re:If you are too cheap for an AV program.... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:If you are too cheap for an AV program.... (Score:5, Informative)
A good version of this is The OpenCD [theopencd.org] for people who want ideas, or to check your own "useful programs" CD against what other people are using.
(disclaimer: one of my programs was on the suggestions list for theopencd)
Other fine suggestions. (Score:3, Informative)
PDF Creator as a replacement for Adobe Acrobat.
RealVNC as a replacement for PCAnywhere.
Of course you know a lot of the GPL stuff is cross platform so that's good...
Let's see other stuff I have on my CD, and I do have all the good stuff Gun
Re:Other fine suggestions. (Score:3, Informative)
1. Acrobat Reader
2. WinZip
3. Opera 7.20
4. Eudora 6
5. Google Toolbar (even if you don't use IE, you should put it on your CD)
6. StarOffice 7 (it's for educational uses, OK?)
7. UltraVNC (client only if it's not your box)
8. AVG AntiVirus (for your own box)
9. ZoneAlarm (at least 3.7 - 3.5 BLOWS big time)
10. CoolPlayer (gets around those WiMP secu
Re:If you are too cheap for an AV program.... (Score:5, Informative)
And Thunderbird is so far from completed I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is not willing to put in a lot of effort to actually test and report bugs for the program.
I think the Mozilla suite/SeaMonkey might be more down most people's alley.
Re:If you are too cheap for an AV program.... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:If you are too cheap for an AV program.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Also, I have to ask what need you have for WinXP. If it is not a gaming machine (ie, you won't be playing Doom 3), then you can easily run WineX and then you won't have some issues inherent with any M$ so
Re:If you are too cheap for an AV program.... (Score:5, Funny)
Ummm.. Errr. If it is non-networked, how is it going to get a virus ?
Re:If you are too cheap for an AV program.... (Score:2)
Loading up someone else's infected files through the floppy/CDRW drive will do it, just like in the old days. Though nowadays all the infected files are Word docs instead of executables.
other programs (Score:2)
I always used to Google toolbar, but now it has a pop-up stopper. Which is just another reason to use it!
I also recommend Ad-Aware by Lavasoft (www.lavasoftusa.com); this program will remove any spyware that may get on your computer. The basic version is free, and the updates are free.
Last, you NEED a firewall. The best I have encountered is from www.zonelabs.com- it is called ZoneAlarm.
Kazaa Lite (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Kazaa Lite (Score:2, Informative)
Along the same lines... Bittorrent [bitconjurer.org]
oh and here's a link to Kazaa Lite [edskes.com]
Re:Kazaa Lite (Score:2)
Windows XP (Score:5, Funny)
mozilla & cygwin (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:mozilla & cygwin (Score:2, Informative)
Why depend on cygwin, when msvcrt is already gonna be there?
Re:mozilla & cygwin (Score:5, Insightful)
Since the machine has Mandrake installed for the dual boot, it makes sense that users savvy enough to want the extensibility and control of a UN*X like system are going to reboot anyway. That gross green CYGWIN icon can only confuse the people you don't want confused.
Browser Suggestion (Score:2)
ad-aware (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware
Obviously (Score:2)
Opera! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Opera! (Score:2)
Can't go wrong with Mozilla, though. Pretty much everythin
Because. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Opera! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Opera! (Score:2)
And apologies to danielsfca2, this post isn't aimed against you but this was the
Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:5, Informative)
CygWin [cygwin.com] the Linux-like environment for Windows.
Mozilla [mozilla.org] naturally.... Use this for mail, news, and browsing if you like.
WS FTP Light [ipswitch.com] a FREE, FTP client that works great.
PuTTY [greenend.org.uk] a free SSH client for Windows.
VNC [realvnc.com] remote controll software, NOTE: the location is no longer on the ATT Labs UK site.
GNU-EMacs [gnu.org] for Windows. I usually install it, but use Vi more.
Dev-C++ [bloodshed.net] a free C++ compiler. I use VC++ 6.0, but this is free, and I think it's pretty good.
NetHack [nethack.org] You MUST have NetHack installed on everything...
Free-AV [free-av.com] free Anti-Virus software for Windows.
Boingo [boingo.com] to see where the closest hotspot is. (free) you don't need the service.
Re:Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:2, Insightful)
A little family get-together around the PC to do some kernel tweaking before bedtime?
Re:Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:5, Funny)
exactly my feelings. people in my family use vi.
Re:Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:5, Informative)
OpenOffice 1.1 [openoffice.org]
and
Winamp 2.x [winamp.com] for audio/video usage in Windows, or
XMMS 1.8 [xmms.org] for audio/video usage in Linux.
Re:Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:5, Insightful)
CygWin the Linux-like environment for Windows.
PuTTY a free SSH client for Windows.
VNC remote controll software, NOTE: the location is no longer on the ATT Labs UK site.
GNU-EMacs for Windows. I usually install it, but use Vi more.
Dev-C++ a free C++ compiler. I use VC++ 6.0, but this is free, and I think it's pretty good.
For a home system? For a developer box? yeah. but for a home system?
But barring that, you deserver +5 Informative for mentioning nethack.
Re:Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:2)
WS FTP Light a FREE, FTP client that works great.
use ncftp from cygwin
PuTTY a free SSH client for Windows.
use openssh from cygwin
GNU-EMacs for Windows. I usually install it, but use Vi more.
use emacs AND vim from cygwin
Dev-C++ a free C++ compiler. I use VC++ 6.0, but this is free, and I think it's pretty good.
*cough* cygwin
Re:Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:5, Insightful)
WS FTP Light a FREE, FTP client that works great.
PuTTY a free SSH client for Windows.
GNU-EMacs for Windows. I usually install it, but use Vi more.
Dev-C++ a free C++ compiler. I use VC++ 6.0, but this is free, and I think it's pretty good.
NetHack You MUST have NetHack installed on everything...
Sweet Christmas! The poster asked for a general family-type system. I'm not sure what sort of family YOU have, but these programs would cause my mother to die from fright.
Not that they aren't handy tools, but I don't think that is what the poster was after...
Re:Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:2)
Why bother with Dev-C++ when you can get gcc and the rest of the standard unix developer tools as part of cygwin?
Boingo was really annoying when I tried it out. I uninstalled it after 5 minutes. I would put "Freezip" on the list instead.
It costs a modest amount of money, but ZoneAlarm should probably be on the list as well.
Openoffice should get a mention too
Re:Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:2)
Re:Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:5, Informative)
TTSSH is a much less clunky ssh client than PuTTY.
Less clunky? C'mon. I haven't used TTSSH in a long time, but I remember having nothing but troubles with it. PuTTY configuration is easy (if a little odd at first), the binary is small, and is dead simple to install.
TTSSH:
* Download Teraterm
* Install Teraterm
* Download TTSSH
* Unzip TTSSH
* Run TTSSH
PuTTY:
* Download PuTTY
* Run PuTTY
Also, I note that on the TTSSH pages it still says that TTSSH does not support SSH v2 and never will. PuTTY does, which is useful for me, because I use v2 pretty much exclusively on my network.
Re:Top ten Windows apps to install. (Score:3, Funny)
Gator [gator.com] allows all sorts of useful searching and ads on your computer.
MSN explorer [msn.com] A very nice web browser that takes over your whole web experience.
Webshots [webshots.com] is a very nice background rotator that hogs bandwidth and proccesor time and whaterver else it does.
Weatherbug [weatherbug.com] is a handy little sys-tray app that shows the weather, and watches your every move.
So if you are willing to listen to all the "help" given here on
RE: You MUST have NetHack installed on everything. (Score:5, Funny)
In fact, once you install nethack on everything, you won't need to install anything else for months or years, considering how much else you're actually going to get done...
Something that blocks pop-ups (Score:4, Funny)
Mozilla Firebird (Score:2, Informative)
Some windoze essentials (Score:5, Informative)
AVG Free edition [grisoft.com]
Zonealarm [zonelabs.com]
Winamp Classic [winamp.com]
..they are the first things I install.
Re:Some windoze essentials (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Some windoze essentials (Score:5, Informative)
However I've now seen with my own eyes several machines totally screwed by ZA - and yes, by trial and error I've proven it was ZA that was causing the problems.
It can do weird things to the TCP/IP stack that can only be undone under XP with an NETSH IPRESET command, or by uninstalling and reinstalling the protocol in 2000/ME/98. The problem will reoccur as soon as you reactivate Zone Alarm.
I wouldn't recommend it, even in it's free form anymore. Which is a shame, because it used to be damn good.
Re:Some windoze essentials (Score:4, Informative)
It corrupts downloads, uses a *lot* of system resources and shuts down connectins at random (IMAP is a real pain with ZoneAlarm).
Use Kerio [kerio.com] instead. It's free, and just as easy to set up.
- Ost
Re:Some windoze essentials (Score:4, Informative)
Much better than ZoneAlarm.
And do not think that "XP allready got a firewall" because that firewall don't stop outgoing connections. So when one of those trojans has snagged all your banking information the Xp firewall won't help you stop it.
Having a firewall that detects outgoing connections is vital to learning about new spyware/malware/trojans/virus on your computer.
Browser, mail client = Mozilla (Score:2)
It has _everything_ I need and the security tools are better (in my opinion) than the ones provided with Evolution: Evolution can use the external gpg system to sign, check signatures and encrypt, but the Mozilla Messenger uses RSA and Digital Certificates with the registered CAs and Personal Certificates, which is a better approach.
And is free as in speech and as in beer, works for windows and linux, and h
Web browser (Score:2)
No pop-ups, easily configurable for no ads, no spyware, no ActiveX crap, and it is free.
For Mac OS X (Score:2)
2. BBEdit
3. iTunes
4. iPhoto
5. iCal
6. AddressBook
7. RBrowserLite FTP client
8. Mozilla/Safari
9. X Windows with OpenOffice
10. Q U A K E III A R E N A with a broadband connection.
Must have (Score:4, Insightful)
Get Partition Magic : as you use get used to both systems, you'll be able to progressively shrink your Windows partition and make your home system more and more usable.
Deus Ex and System Shock 2 (Score:2)
Re:Deus Ex and System Shock 2 (Score:2)
Does it work on XP? That might be enough reason for me to get an XP-based laptop I've been looking at for a while...
Just one. (Score:2)
Ok, for real (assuming Windows) - Zone Alarm, Norton A/V, Firebird, Thunderbird.
You might want to investigate http://www.litepc.com [litepc.com] as they have finally! released a version for Windows 2000/XP (It removes IE, OE, Media Player and all sorts of other icky-ness) Haven't tried it yet, but it looks promising.
Not so sure on the family titles, but... (Score:2)
Whatever software you can get for both OS's, get it. I'd definitely have to agree with OO.o if money is an issue, but frankly, Office XP works better, and faster. Sorry, folks, but it's got a lot more dev time behind it and it shows.
Here are a few of my favotites (Score:2)
BUT here are a couple of ideas
AGV Antivirus -- http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php
e-mail -- webmail or outlook express
photoediting -- GIMP for windows
AWESOME Browser -- Mozilla Firebird
Open Office
All I can think of.
Only thing you DON't have in this setup is a personal DB like Access, but do you really need that? I also havn't recommended anything specific to your work.. that is up to you.
Quicken or equivalent (Score:5, Informative)
Quicken.
Now, I have no real experience with alternatives so this is a rant about using financial software in general, not Quicken in particular. However, the use I've got out of that piece of software is astounding. The information it gives you for planning is just priceless. You always know where you are, roughly what to expect, can play with what-if's to check how your situation might change...it's excellent.
Get a home finance package, and get into the habit of using it about once a week. I guarantee you won't regret it.
Cheers,
Ian
Re:Quicken or equivalent (Score:4, Insightful)
GnuCash works much better, for my needs at least.
Free Goodies - Windows and Linux (Score:2)
Second: Sygate Personal Firewall, downloadable from Download.com, is a huge boost in security and a *very* configurable firewall for Windows machines. It's free. AVG virus scanner is free and well-updated.
Winamp/XMMS - if you plan on any multim
Pricelessware (Score:5, Informative)
For IM... (Score:3, Informative)
Irfanview (Score:2, Informative)
www.irfanview.com
Lets see... (Score:3, Informative)
2) New Browser. Some people are happy with IE but most appreciate the choice. I suggest Opera. As a plus, that'll also include a mail program but I cant comment about that.
3) Audio. Winamp is the winner here, hands down.
4) Video. If you're unhappy with WMP I suggest ZoomPlayer. Remember to download few codec packs too.
5) This isn't really something to buy but I'll say it anyway. Newest service pack/patches. When starting from a clean table they're much easier to install and it's good to start with a patched computer, even if you're too lazy to keep it that way.
Oh and links:
www.sygate.com
www.opera.com
www.winamp
http://www.inmatrix.com/files/zoomplayer_dow
Those should get you started.
[offtopic] Google Subscriber? (Score:2)
Is this a bug in google or do they have access to the articles before the general public?
Spyware stuff (Score:5, Informative)
SpyBot Search & Destroy [com.com]
There is also Ad-Aware [lavasoft.com] though.
Other stuff (non spyware related):
Winamp [winamp.com](2x is best)
Trillian [trillian.cc]/Gaim
Browsers (and mail): IE6, Mozilla, Opera are all fine
I've found both SlickRun and PopupPopper from Bayden Software [bayden.com] to be useful as well.
ZoneAlarm (Score:3, Informative)
It's REALLY nice to be able to see what's "phoning home", on top of the regular firewall.
There's a free version, too.
S
Re:ZoneAlarm (Score:3, Informative)
The best one, in my previous experience as an ISP tech support, is Tiny Personal Firewall. I'm not sure it has a free version(I think it has one, but it's an older build), but it's about 50$ IIRC for the full version. Sygate is also nice.
Re:ZoneAlarm (Score:5, Informative)
Personally, I don't see why everyone is bashing ZA. I have been running it since they started releasing a free version, and have never had a single problem ever. On the other hand, I have watched BlackICE, Tiny, Sygate, and every other personal firewall I have tried let everything through that I didn't want coming in. Can ZA be a bit of pain as far as configuration goes? Yes, it can. I personally find it to be a bit of a pain whenever any of my MMOs are patched, because I have to reallow access. On the flip side of that, do I have to worry about script kiddies getting in through my mail or FTP ports? No, I don't because if an IP isn't on my ZA allow list, it doesn't get through, period. As far as an Uninstall bug goes, I have never run into that, while I have had that problem with all the Firewalls I mentioned.
iTunes (Score:2)
For email try Tunderbird (Score:2)
It has a very smart spam stopping feature, its easy for her to use (non technical person), and it doesn't have all of the virus problems associated with Outlook.
She used to complain about Outlook all of the time on her old system. Since I put Thunderbird on there, I haven't heard a peep out of her; that is testimony enough in my book...
Re:For email try Tunderbird (Score:2)
NEED or WANT? (Score:2)
Your linux install will come with all the softare you need (strictly speaking). Your windows install will already have most of what you need, but will be missing a few things:
1. A decent archiving utility that can handle most common formats (not just ZIP). I like Aladdin's Stuffit, but there are others. Winzip, which is quite popular has a shitty interface. Why consumer operating systems don't have better built-in support for
Audacity (Score:2)
My list (Score:2)
A couple suggestions... (Score:2)
1. Open Office (Excellent, though I find myself using gnumeric for alot of spreadsheet things still)
2. The Gimp (You'll always need to edit graphics)
3. Evolution (This is all I ever use anymore for email)
4. GAIM (Assuming you'll do instant messaging)
5. Transgaming WineX or Crossover Office (Even though you wont be doing primarily gaming, this is a handy way to make wine u
Firewall, Compression, Imaging, Music for Windows (Score:2)
Compression - 7zip [7-zip.org] - compression utility that handles virtually every format, integrated into UI, and it's free.
Imaging - Irfanview [irfanview.com] - image viewer handles virtually all image formats, plays Flash and video, plus can thumbnail, batch-convert, retouch, and it's free.
Music - Winamp [winamp.com] - Plays virtually all music formats (including WMA without the DRM annoyances), plus 2.91 now plays vi
My suggestions: (Score:4, Interesting)
Here is what I use every day:
Windows email: Pegasus Mail or Sylpheed/Claws
Windows antivirus: AVG antivirus
Windows browser: Firebird
Windows office: Open office + MS Word (ugh!)
Windows editor: vim/Gvim
Windows firewall: ZoneAlarm, Note Tab
Windows ripper: CDEx
Windows Multimedia: WinAmp3
Windows audio: Audacity
Windows graphics: The Gimp, Iview32
Windows SSH: PuTTY
Extra: Unix command-line tools for Windows.
Linux email: Sylpheed
Linux antivirus: N/A
Linux browser: Gaelon or Firebird
Linux office: Open Office or Ted + PostGreSQL + GNUmeric +
Linux editor: vim/gvim
Linux firewall: IPTables...
Linux GUI: XFCE
Linux Multimedia: XMMS
Linux Audio: Audacity
Linux Graphics: The Gimp, Gnome Viewer
Linux SSH: OpenSSH (what else?!)
Etc... etc... I could go on and on but most of the programs I use really are free software or freeware.
Here's my list (Score:2)
What is everyone's predisposition for zero-cost software?? Sometimes, it doesn't hurt to shell out a little cash for something you appreciate.
That said, here's my list:
Google Toolbar (Score:2)
It's a double must-have for a family system for the searching power it brings to computer neophytes.
Some free and some Free (Score:2)
Webbrowser Mozilla Firebird [texturizer.net] (Win / linux)
Email Eudora [eudora.com] (win) Evolution [ximian.com] (linux)
Office suite OpenOffice.org [openoffice.org] 1.1 (win / linux)
SSH client putty [greenend.org.uk] (win) openssh (linux)
Videoplayer VLC [videolan.org] (win / linux) or BSPlayer [bsplayer.org] (win) and Xine [sourceforge.net] (linux)
Editor Textpad [textpad.com] (windows) Kate [kde.org] (linux)
Chat Jabber PSI [affinix.com] (win / linux)
Firewall Kerio [kerio.com] (win)
Anti virus F-Secure [f-secure.com] (not free) (win)
- Ost
The first things I load on new Windows boxes... (Score:2)
And it's never a bad idea to have the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer [microsoft.com] handy.
Total Commander (Score:3, Informative)
For the Linux side use for example midnight commander.
Re:Total Commander (Score:3, Informative)
I have to agree with this one here, I've been using TC since it was still called Windows Commander (after Norton Commander) but M$ sent them a "nasty" letter [ghisler.com] about using the word "windows". Rather than fight them at all they just changed the name because they felt that it was limiting them anyway, so now they can go cross-platform. I love it when someone can turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Best ability you can have in life!
One feature you didn't mention was the wicked FTP client. Since the program
Irfanview is a must (and other picks) (Score:3, Informative)
Irfanview [irfanview.com] - hands down the best image viewer out there for Windows. Free. Windows only (but will run under Wine if you want)
Gimp [gimp.org] - if you want to edit images. Free. Linux and Windows.
MAME [mame.net] - for games, period. Free. You can buy some ROMs, or *ahem* ask around. Windows and Linux. (Xmame)
CDex [n3.net] - for CD ripping in Windows. Free. Windows only, but several good ripping programs are available for Linux. (search freshmeat)
GNUWin [gnuwin.epfl.ch] - a collection of free apps for Windows. Worth the download.
Audacity [sourceforge.net] - if you want to create/edit sound files. Free. Linux and Windows.
Winamp [winamp.com] - for listening to audio files. Free. Windows only. I like XMMS for Linux over Freeamp.
Opera [opera.com] - web browsing, email. Free. Windows and Linux. I prefer it over Mozilla, but not by much.
Windows suggestions (Score:3, Informative)
OpenOffice [openoffice.org], powerful office suite.
Ad-Aware [lavasoftusa.com] for keeping spyware (Gator etc) out.
BitTorrent [bitconjurer.org] for all your P2P needs.
ZomeAlarm [zonelabs.com] a good firewall.
Avast! Antivirus [avast.com] good AV app, free for home use.
TextPad [textpad.com] powerful and easy-to-use text editor.
SmartFTP [smartftp.com] powerful and free FTP client.
On top of these, I always install these non-free apps (non-development related):
Paint Shop Pro [jasc.com] all the relevant functionality from Photoshop at a much better price.
Klient [klient.com] the best IRC client. Ever.
Some people have mentioned:
CygWin - a home, non-dev PC doesn't need it
VNC - a home, non-dev PC doesn't need it, and it has security issues
Dev-C++ - not needed on a home PC, it's for development.
NetHack - huh!?
Boingo - the article submitter didn't mention anything about having a WLAN card, so why would he need to find hotspots?
Winamp - redundant since Microsoft released WMP9, which I've found to be just as fast, more stable than WA3, and better at playing movies. Of course, YMMV, and some people prefer to stay away from MS stuff for ideological reasons.
My top ten picks (Score:5, Informative)
Other tools that I use extensively, but which are not necessarily "home user" applications are:
As far as entertainment titles go, it really depends on your preferences, but mine are:
You are all *WRONG* (Score:5, Funny)
1. AOL [aolsucks.org]- DUH, they are the greatest ISP ever.
2. Webshots [towson.edu] - Impress your friends with your changing wallpaper!
3. Hotbar [aroundcny.com] - Skin Internet Explorer and Impress your friends!
4. AOHell [ncl.ac.uk] This program will make you l33t!
5. Incredimail [dslreports.com] This makes your e-mail look k00lah then everyone elses.
6. Microsoft Outlook [slipstick.com] because all the anti-virus tools work with it. You don't want to use another e-mail client, you might get a virus!
7. Comet Cursor. [accs-net.com] Makes your cursor R0x0r.
8. Intruder Alert 99 [accs-net.com] You need a firewall, the internet isn't a safe place!
9. Gator [cexx.org] Gator is an awesome program that helps u remember ur passwords. This way u don't have to fill out stupid forms!
10. BO Server [sophos.com] The guys in my gaming clan sent me this, they said it would improve my FPS, and make windows run faster. I think it did!
Here's my standard list... (Score:3, Informative)
Kerio [kerio.com]
Aladdin's free StuffIt Expander [stuffit.com] (unpacks a lot of different compressed files, including SIT and Gunzip's)
AVG antivirus [grisoft.com] (free for personal home use)
QuickClear lite [macrospeed.net] (deletes IE cookies/cache/empty's trash)
StartPro [daesoft.com] (well, it used to be free. Gives you a nice list of programs set to load at bootup, including registry keys.)
Ad-Aware [lavasoftusa.com] everybodies favorite adware/malware answer.
Mandrake is (of course) easy:
Got the Easy Urpmi [zarb.org] and follow the directions to install all the different media sites. Once you do that (its just a cut and paste job) you can fire up rpmdrake and search for software by name/description/type/etc. Mandrake installs with a lot of the right stuff already. I'd recommend maybe installing nano (easy command line text editor if you hate VI/VIM/EMACS/ETC) and of course if you running a system with a NVidia card get the NVIDIA drivers (rpmdrake, but if their not listed NVidia [nvidia.com] will have them).
Good free software for Windows (Score:4, Informative)
Some other useful free utilities:
Tclockex [iafrica.com]
A small utility that greatly increases the usefullness of the system tray clock. You can have the date as well as the time, as well as a resource monitor that lets you know at a glance how the system is doing.
AboutTime" [arachnoid.com]
A little applet that sets the system clock from a list of time servers. Works well and unobtrusively.
7-zip [7-zip.org]
An easy to use explorer plug-in that understands most kinds of compressed files.
CDex [sourceforge.net]
A great tool for ripping / converting CDs and mp3s.
X-teq> [xteq.com]
A very powerful utility that lets you change pretty much everything that's changeable in Windows. Allows you to set Windows update registration done, which would only be useful to pirates and won't be mentioned here.
The Proxomitron [arcor.de]
A web proxy that strips out ads, pop-ups and other garbage.
I'm more familiar with Redhat, but I have no doubt Mandrake will come out of the box with programs that are functionally equivalent to the ones listed here.
My list (Score:4, Interesting)
Top 10:
Browser - Opera
Mail client - The Bat!
IM - Miranda
File navigator - FAR
Treepad - extremely useful thing
Winamp - play music
BSPlayer or Sasami2k - play video
Antivirus - Kaspersky AVP
ACDSee or IrfanView to view images. PicaView is also very cool.
Firewall - AtGuard!
some more
Spam filter - either use built-in or get K9 (easy to use bayesian filter)
A news reader (if needed) - ForteAgent (although I don't like it, but haven't seen anything better)
Media Player Classic with Real and Quicktime support (check Kazaa Lite Plus page) - no need to use clunky proprietary players
Something to rip CDs, encode MP3s and record CDs. I use Nero and RazorLame. A virtual CD, like Alcohol 120%, may be.
Image editor - PhotoImpact
To view annoying PDF files - Acrobat Reader
WatzNew - to check websites
Proximotron - for fixing the web
Internet Maniac - a bunch of tools like Ping and Traceroute
NetLimiter - manage bandwidth between applications
filesharing - Kazaa, eMule, Shareaza
Download managers - Offline Explorer
Stream downloaders - StreamBox
Alarm - Music Alarm Clock (the only one I know with fadein/fadeout)
Desknote - to place post-it notes on your desktop
Cool Desk - virtual desktops
Ad-aware - to remove adware and spyware
VoptXP - drive defragmenter
Remote Administrator or VNC - for remote administration
PGPTools - encryption
Yeah, it's more than 10, but there is no such thing as too much software.
Windows must have software (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Mozilla for mail and browser (Score:2)
The mail program works well, as does the newsreader. The browser displays just about every page out there quite nicely. Multiple user support is good and it is quite easy to lock it down/configure it as needed, a very important feature for a family application (at least for some).
Re:Playing Media on Windows (Score:2)
Re:Playing Media on Windows (Score:2)
I really don't think a system is generally "better" or more reliable the less software you install. Quite to the contrary, I'd say the less a system relies on Mic
Re:let's see (Score:2)
Re:subjects are overrated (Score:2)
Re:MySQL... (Score:2, Funny)
Jeez, do mods even READ?!?
If you have to mod this up, mod it funny. And I guess it's sorta funny, in a kind of "Oh look. A pron joke" way.
*sigh*...
Re:Be realistic (Score:2)
Costs about as much as pirated software and it's legal too.
Not to mention handles Office files better than Office does in some cases.
Not to mention, Windows doesn't have any decent native firewalling or anti-virus software, nor does it come natively with any pop-up blockers (though Mozilla does).
And on top of that, Microsoft just more firmly shoves its fist up the anus of IT every time someone pirates their software, so you're doing more damage than good by pirating their softwa
Kerio Firewall, Norton Ghost. (Score:3, Informative)
Kerio [kerio.com] Personal Firewall.
Kerio is a rules-based GUI-configurable software firewall tool. It ain't a hardware firewall, but it's IMO much more configurable and flexible than ZoneAlarm.
And Norton Ghost. Because if you're smart enough to keep your personal data on a separate partition from the OS and applications, re-dumping a partition takes 15 minutes when things get b0rk3d, thereby beating the fuck out of reinstalling Winblows and downloading patches.