I can't begin to count all the people asked me for the "best" software to use for a certain task. And i'm sure you cant count the number of lists claiming to provide you with this information.
This is another one of those lists :P...
I started working on this list about a month ago when a girl asked me what software i used to connect to my wireless network. (Actually i dont really like using third party software for
things like that) I like the windows original just fine. You can copy this list
Anyway all the software listed here is free to download and to use. You can copy and
edit the list as you like, but i would appreciate a link to this blog if you do so :)
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*Open Office
OpenOffice offers Word, Excel and PowerPoint equivalents that are fully compatible with the Microsoft file formats. It's a little slow perhaps, but gets the job done.
* Folder View
When yous different methods of downloading (Mirc, download managers, BT, Etc...) files
tend to get scattered around different folders on the harddisk and network. And it could take
a while if you want to copy, move, open or save a file. Folder view is a windows add-on
that makes this easy and quick.
*Gimp
I only know the gimp by reputation as i've only used it once to open a .eps file, but
everybody seems to like it. GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program.
It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition
and image authoring.
everybody seems to like it. GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program.
It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition
and image authoring.
"if you didn't get that its basically saying “say goodbye to paint :)"
Communication
* Trillian
Trillian is a tabbed multi-protocol multi-name instant messaging "messenger" with
Wikipedia integration. Basically an all in one messenger.
* Skype
skype lets you talk to other skype users online and even has video
support and now with a Skype USB phone and some
SkypeOut credits, you can even use it for VOIP.
Protection
* Ad-Aware
An adware/spyware removal tool. Very clean, very easy, very free!
* ZoneAlarm
ZoneAlarm Free is one of the best free firewalls out there. Forget your stupid windows
firewall. ZoneAlarm is what you want.
"Every once in awhile for fun I check the number of high-risk intrusions that
ZoneAlarm has blocked on my always-on broadband connection, and I feel all warm and
fuzzy inside."
Gina Trapani - Lifehacker.com
ZoneAlarm has blocked on my always-on broadband connection, and I feel all warm and
fuzzy inside."
Gina Trapani - Lifehacker.com
*Spybot Search&Destroy
Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove a multitude of adware files and
modules from your computer. leaving it crispy clean
*CWShredder
CWShredder™ finds and destroys traces of CoolWebSearch. CoolWebSearch is
a name given to a wide range of different browser hijackers. Though the code is
very different between variants, they are all used to redirect users to different sites
*AVG Antivirus
I know alot of you love norton and think its the best thing since sliced bread... well it isnt,
you will see the difference as soon as you use this wonderful free tool
*Peer guardian2
If you use p2p software have this piece of software installed or if you use
the Azureus client install the safe_peer plugin.
Media
* VLC
I'm not a very big fan of VLC, but it is a powerful player with good sound and functions.
Stability is a big issue though. It also doesnt have the problem jetaudio faces with
true type fonts, but it does this by removing the formatting so its not that pretty.
*JetAudio
My Media player of choice. JetAudio lets you playback Mp3/Avi/Mp4/RealPlayer files,
Create MP3/mp3PRO files from audio CDs, Broadcast MP3, mp3PRO formats and
much more heck it can even work as alarm to start playing or recording internet radio
at a predefined time.
*BOOMBox Internet Radio Player
Play internet radio using this and jetaudio and you can basically do with it anything
you want
*Quicktime alternative
Yes you heard it right.QuickTime Alternative will allow you to play
QuickTime files (.mov, .qt, .3gp and other extensions) without having
to install the official QuickTime Player and its annoying "get the pro version" ad.
It also supports QuickTime content that is embedded in webpages.
Utilities
*Daemon Tools
A small and wonderful utility that adds a vertual disk drive to your computer
which can help you play BIN and ISO files. The new version is able to emulate
nearly all known copy protections on the market today.
*CD Mage
Deamon tool's friend and alley - to me at least - if you have a corrupted image
and cant play it cd mage might be able to fix it for you.
* 7-Zip
I'm a Winrar man myself, but unlike winrar 7-Zip is a free utility that supports ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, RAR, CAB, ARJ, LZH, CHM, Z, CPIO, RPM and DEB, oh my!
*Rss Reader
Rss stands for real simple syndication. Its a way to get news, blogs, and
information quickly and easily. Rss reader is a little heavy on the system, but if
you're connected to the right feeds it can be an indispensible tool. I Prefer this to
google reader and the readers you can get with firefox and its a great way to know
when your shows are uploaded!
Web & Downloads
* Firefox
I know the fear that comes with switching to a new browser. You'll miss your bookmarks,
your customized toolbars (google and answers) its like moving into a new home, but
with the newer versions of firefox trust me when i say you'll never look back.
Customizable skins, Great extentions (i recommend the google toolbar, Errorzilla and greasemonkey might be good if you want to customize your web) and its free.
Also dont forget to add search engines to your search list - from the drop down
menu in the top right corner.
*Free download manager
Getting sick of slow download speeds and worthless download accelarators.
This is the one for you. Personally i dont like using these things because I dont like
using multiple connections and stealing bandwidth from other users. The internet
is a give and take relationship, but sometimes when you want to download files
instead of opening them on your browser it becomes a nessisary evil.
*Bittornado
The internet runs on swarm! everything from books to music comes in torrent form
now and when i see a torrent file I only trust Bittornado! i know it doesnt look
pretty, but it's small has alot of options and gets the job done
(And i think it runs just a little bit faster too :D)
*Mirc
If you want to find anything you want, IRC is where you want to be.
Its really not that hard people. Heck you dont even need to understand it.
Just set up mirc to do it for you everytime.
IRC has it all movies, music, TV, books ( real books not just comics ) ... everything is
out there. you just need to know where and how to look.
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The software below this line is not free and you need to pay to use it. I only list them here because i think they deserve to be listed and I use them personally.*****************************************************
Real-DRAW PRO: When it comes to graphics Real-Draw pro is my tool of choice.
It's Fun, easy to use and virtually unknown. I love you real draw.
WinRar: When my good friend Dean told me that there was a format out there
that was better than .zip i didn't believe him.
But WinRar is THE greatest compression package i have
ever had the pleasure of working with.
MS office 2003: People keep saying that office is bad and that microsoft is the
devil, but i have to admit; this devil makes one hell of an argument.
MS office is my personal "Office" of choice.
