replacing bloatware for better applications

except for the norton av, i've kept all the other software that came with the SZ. since i hear so many complain about this, does it mean that there are better ones out there? i mean i don't want to uninstall a function if i can't replace it with something better that can do the same things. I especially want to remove redundant software.

i'm thinking of replacing the following:
Click to DVD
DVgate Plus
INtervideo Win DVD
Picture Gear STudio
Roxio : DigitalMedia Home
SonicStage
SonicStage Mastering Studio
Windows Media Player
Windows Movie Maker

also, some people recommended that I keep all
adobe reader
adobe premier standard and
Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0
because they do different things.

does anyone have software suggestions?

 

i forgot to add that i would really want to improve on how my webcam works (easier to use, better playback, etc) outside of skype and IMs

 

Foxit Reader and Foxit PDF Editor should be able to replace Adobe Reader.

 

i assume those 2 are separate software, does that mean it will take up more space? trying to cut down on on that and hopefully synthesize functions of some of the programs to just one software.

 

so no one has any better suggestions? does that mean a lot of people here deleted all the movie maker, image, video and sound editors and don't use an alternative?

 

why? i understand getting rid of things that effect performance. and i use photoshop etc. but intervideo dvd is fine. yes you can use other burning software etc but it wont be any better or worse. i use itunes instead of windows media player (i have the beta 11, which i cant figure out). but i must say that itunes is less stable on a pc then it is on a mac, i probably wouldn;t use it if i didn't have ipods.

 

i use ZoneAlarm security suite and it works flawlessly, VERY strong firewall! but it seems you've already got ur favourite AntiVirus program.

i replace my; Windows media player with iTunes for music (as it feature easy converting) and K-lite codec pack (free) for video when wmp doesn't work as it can play most (if not all) of the codec out there. as for the rest;
Click to DVD
DVgate Plus
INtervideo Win DVD
Picture Gear STudio
Roxio : DigitalMedia Home
SonicStage
SonicStage Mastering Studio

i think that u should keep it; never know when u might need it; does it slow down ur computer THAT much?

 

well then if there aren't better alternatives i'll keep them. i wouldn't know if they slow down the computer, i optimized mine using intructions (like fiddling with startup settings) on a thread here and i've noticed faster boot-ups.

however, you're right, i might need those programs, i don't mind it taking up space when it informs me of what i can be capable of in this notebook.

 

Well there are ways of seeing slight performance increaes by using one program for a lot of things e.g

Uninstall every media player / dvd player (except windows media) and replace with VideoLAN VLC - its a free program that will play all movies incl. dvds.

I dont know about the dvd quality in that though - you might want to download it and test it before uninstalling windvd or whatever you have now.

Use winamp to play music as its very light on resources and shouldnt slow your computer down as much as the memory giants e.g windows media or itunes.

The burning software you have are basic versions (Sonic, Click to DVD). I think they can all be replaced by a single program called CDBurnerXP

Look into tweak programs like TeakXP and Bootvis to get some other speed boosts.

 

those are exactly the type of space saving software i'm looking for. as another burning software, should i remove roxio too? i also have DVgate (sigh) - this is crazy. if they all do the same thing, why include them all?

anyway, will try those suggestions tonight. thanks!

 

Even though they are separate programs they occupy less space than Adobe's full suite. The Foxit PDF reader is only 1MB+(compared to Adobe's 16MB) and it does not even need any installation. So, if all you are using adobe is to read PDF's, then Foxit is the way to go. For Foxit to work all you need to do is download it extract it and open it up once so as it can associate PDF files to be opened by Foxit.

The PDF Editor is also only around 1.3MB. I havent used it so dont know how good it is, but they do have a free trial if you want to try it out.