My new ultraportable comes tomorrow, what should I put on it?

I haven't gotten a new PC in years (last time was 2003) so I really have no idea what's up. I've never used a 64bit OS before, and I've never used Windows 7 or Vista. I'm just looking for suggestions what to install right off the bat, media players, image viewers, IM clients, etc.

So far I have these ready to go:
CCCP (with MPC-HC)
Aim Ad Hack (Yeah I still use aim to talk to people)
Skype
Kawaks
foobar2000
7zip
PowerISO
mIRC
IrfanView

Of these I think only 7zip is 64bit, but all the 32bit apps should work fine, right?


New PC details, it's nothing special - but way better than my old one:
Acer Timeline 1810T (11.6in)
Core 2 Duo 1.3ghz
4gb ram
Intel GMA 4500MHD
no optical drive
Win 7 x64

 

see this: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=337890

This thread contains free software that's been tested and handpicked by other forum members, it's a great resource.

 

Yup, most of those if not all should work.
I have the following on my little Gateway LT 33101u

win 7 Ultimate 64bit
I am using 7zip, Power ISO,CCC
I also use
Ccleaner,Audacity,google earth and photofiltre, office 2007 adobe pro acrobat.

 

Ewww, AIM?

I'd rather go Meebo all day.

 

That list reminded me of a few things I had forgotten (google talk and ccleaner also). Thanks for the help.

Does Office 2007 work fine with Windows 7?

Also, I thought .exe wasn't used for x64 executable files, did I misunderstand something somewhere?

 

1. Office 2007 is compatible with Windows 7
2. .exe is used for all Windows Executable Files.

 

You may want to try using Ninite to install several different pieces of software (by your selection) all at the same time

 

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'd feel really uncomfortable using something like that.

 

What do you want to use IrfanView For?

The Picture viewer in Vista is much better in terms of quality, Win7 should have carried on with that.

Foobar - I used to use it, try sticking with Windows Media Player - it does the job nearly as good.

Edit:
Microsoft Security Essentials as an Anti virus software.

 

IrfanView > All image viewers its one of the fist programs I put on a computer.

Super light resource, opens way faster than the Windows default, supports more image types, more options for viewing, and has some basic editing functions built in like crop/scale/rotate.

Also handy for batch processing on my camera images.

 

Hmmm I had it on my old laptop once and then discarded it as junk...

 

Yeah its one of those must have programs for me, I go nuts without it. I work with a lot of images and cant stand the slowness of windows picture viewer or its interface/options.

You will of coruse get used to what ever program you normally use, so for me WPV is forign with its interface and for you the opposite. But you cant hide the loading times and file compataiblity.

Say .PSD for instance, Irfanview pops one open in a flash of a second vs waiting for photoshop to open it, and WPV does not even support it. If it did or if there is a plugin for it, it still wont be as fast as irfanview.

 

he can hide the loading time he's on an ssd

and psd can be supported in WPV. irfanview is for me sort of lets-go-back-to-win98-days style

 

True, although I wasn't really having a problem with loading times on my HDD either.

And psd files - I started using Adobe Bridge - that's even better.

The only place where you get loading time is RAW images - but RAW images need to be "worked out" first anyway, no matter what you use.

 

Bridge is meh, mac people probably like it but for me its still over featured for just viewing a single image really quick and not instant.

Nothing wrong with win 98 style if it aint broke dont fix it.

 

I suppose, for a single image, yes overkill.

I like it because I can open 10 photographs simultaneously and edit them in camera RAW, one after the other and switch between them.

For a single image it is overkill - I agree.

 

yeah, it sure aint broke, the win98..

use it if you like it. but it's mostly unneeded nowadays..

 

I've been using IrfanView since the late 90s. I downloaded it from some guy's random geocities page listing different image viewers because I needed something to display .art files. Been using it on every PC ever since. The only think I dislike is the dead cat icon, I'd much rather just have thumbnails (which is easy enough to enable).

I have Photoshop for .psds. Of course it's version 7, not any of the fancy new ones. It should work, right?

Also does Office 2003 work in 7, or will I need to get 2007 (or find some way to get in on the 2010 tech preview)?

 

Office should work fine
Worst case you need a compatebility mode.

If you want to buy a new one, hold out until 2010 is out - its better than 2007 still

Edit, and 2010 is an open Beta.
http://officebeta.microsoft.com/en-...ffice-2010-suites-comparison-FX101745464.aspx

 

I've set up a handfull of new computers over the past year. First thing I do is open IE, download and install Firefox, close IE, and continue in Firefox.

I use irfanview because it's easy and quick and what I'm familiar with. I also download Adobe Acrobat viewer. I copy my Firefox bookmarks from the previous computer, and install my emails. Of course with Win7 you will have to install an email program too.

I set up shortcuts on the desktop for Explorer, mail, notepad and even a command prompt window.

Most people will have their own apps that they install at this time.