free software essentials

I just spent the weekend re-formatting my computer to install a clean version of Windows 7 (as opposed to me quick an dirty upgrade a few weeks back). I love re-formatting my computer, because it organises the harddisk, cleans out the registry and gives me a chance to download and reinstall the latest version of all my software. I must admit that it was more fun when I was a college student with 100 Mbps compared to the measly 1 Mbps I am surviving on now.

Over the years, I've amassed a collection of what I call my software essentials - the free software that I will reinstall first after each time I wipe the slate clean. I thought it would be useful to list them out here, maybe some of you will find them useful, or even better maybe you will have other software to suggest to me!

Startup Essentials
Things to install before anything else ... essential for surviving in a wired world

Avast Antivirus - Always the first thing to install, even before connecting back to the internet. I switched to Avast early this year because it was one of the only AV at that time that supported Windows 7 RC, and it's so good I've never looked back.

Google Pack - This is a collection of starter software endorsed by Google, and it is definitely a great way to get started. The system also automatically updates all the components. Google Pack includes Google Chrome, Spyware Doctor, Picasa, Firefox, Google Desktop, Adobe Reader, Skype, Google Apps, Realplayer, Google Earth and Google Talk. Talk about value for effort, a few clicks and they are all automatically installed. The ones in bold are the ones I always install.

While I love all Google stuff, the ones I use most extensively are Chrome and Picasa. Chrome is lightning fast and is my main browser. Picasa is a superb photo/video viewer and organiser, and also automates all my photo uploads to Facebook and Smugmug. (One thing I'm puzzled is why it comes with Picasa 3.1 rather than 3.6)

Windows Live Essentials - Microsoft now also has it's own collection of starter software. Theirs includes Messenger, Mail, Writer, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker and Family Safety. I don't use quite as many as I do with Google, but this is a nice collection nonetheless. The Windows Movie Maker is probably one of the easiest to use, although I personally find this Live version a bit more confusing than it's predecessors.

Java - You can't do without the Java Runtime Environment if you want to run any of the multitude of applets that keep the web going.

Adobe Flash - Similarly, you can't surf half the websites out there if you don't have Flash.

Media Players
For watching all kinds of media

VLC Player - This is by far the most powerful media player out there, although it may not be the prettiest. If VLC can't play your movie, there's probably something wrong with it.

iTunes + Quicktime - You'll need this if you have an iPod, and many cameras take videos in either MOV or MP4 quicktime formats. Some websites embed quicktime videos too. Personally I have always preferred Winamp, but since I became an iPod owner it kind of limited my choices.

Youtube Downloader - For saving your favourite Youtube videos, Youtube Downloader can save them to your hard disk and convert them to a variety of common useful video formats.

Mobility Aids
Useful software for road warriors

Windows Mobile Device Centre - I really loved Windows 7 RC when it was launched, but had to switch back to Vista because my Windows Mobile PDA didn't work. I'm glad they finally fixed this problem with the new WMDC.

Nokia PC Suite - This allows me to back up my phone book and send sms from the PC, if I am so lazy. There is a new Ovi Suite but this still seems the more practical option.

Keepass Password Safe - The modern world requires us to remember a thousand and one different passwords. I encrypt mine on the PDA using Keepass, which also allows me to access it from the PC by synchronizing. This has saved me many times when I visit obscure sites.

Dropbox - Allows me to synchronize selected folders across different computers, as well as make them available online via web access. Great for mobile people who use multiple machines.

Free Trials
Software that isn't exactly free, but provides free trial versions with good functionality, mostly full functionality for a trial period that should be enough to accomplish a one-off project.

WinRAR Archiver - Compression tool for ZIP, RAR and any other format you are likely to come across. Supposed to be a limited time trial but seems to last forever.

Magic DVD Ripper - For converting those DVDs to DivX for easier storage.

dBpoweramp - For ripping audio CDs to mp3 or a variety of other formats.

Corel Video Studio Pro X2 - A superb video editing tool that works with multiple video formats and gives you a 30-day free trial that should be enough to complete any small project.

Sothink Movie DVD Maker - Puts all you videos onto a DVD complete with menu systems and choice of background pictures and music. The free trials has a green screen before each video, but much more tolerable than the watermarks imposed by other similar software.