Top Must-Have Programs?

I am about to receive a new HP dv7t notebook and I was wondering what programs are must-haves that I should put on my new notebook?
First I will remove all the trialware, etc and put on antivirus, etc. But what programs do you recommend I download as well?

Thanks

BTW, Windows Gadgets can be listed as well.

 

RMClock, FireFox, Open Office (or MS Office), VLC Media Player, Kaspersky Internet Security, CCleaner, Revo Uninstaller, HD Tune, PCMark (or 3DMark), Process Explorer, CPU-Z, MagicISO, Bittorrent (or u-Torrent), Eraser, WinDBG D), Adobe Reader (Photoshop?), Winamp, WinRAR (or 7-Zip) etc etc

 

Thunderbird & Sunbird. Microsoft Office or Open Office. A PDF reader...Hardwood Euchre .

Browse this thread for security software:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=190538

I recommend Sandboxie... It will keep your computer forever as clean as the day you bought it.

 

Steam, Bioshock, Orange Box, FEAR, Far Cry, Quake 4, Prey, Doom 3

 

I think a windows gadget that shows the temperature and usage of hardware like your cpu, gpu, and ram would be good. I don't have any recommendation for which one to use, but there are a lot to choose from. =)

 

An operating system.








...what? You said must have.

 

Firefox (with FlashBlock plug-in), FoxIt Reader, OpenOffice.org, the GIMP, either RocketDock or ObjectDock.

I have lots of other programs installed... but those are the ones I'd call the "top must-have programs".

EDIT: There are two other programs that I didn't originally mention because they're included with Windows, but they really belong on my list anyway: Windows Defender and Windows Media Player.

 

You might want to check out the sticky:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=206289

 

iTunes and twhirl.

 

Nice list so far. Thanks

Ya I checked out that list. It's an awesome guide. It's just that it has many many programs and I was wondering what people thought were the top ones. Like, if you could only have 5...

 

It really depends on what you do most of the time, do you web browse, watch movies, do photo manipulation, listen to music?

 

Ok fine I'll be helpful.

On a fresh windows install, on a laptop, I install:

Pidgin, Firefox 3, Launchy ( http://www.launchy.net/), VMWare Workstation, ImgBurn, NetTools, RMClock, HWMonitor, Process Explorer, Foxit Reader, CCCP ( http://www.cccp-project.net/)

Oh, and CCleaner of course!

 

When I build a machine (usually with XP), I install:

The beloved Microsoft Java VM and its latest version (It does work on Vista: I ran it for a year with no problems)
CmdPromptHere & TweakUI
Acrobat Reader 8.1.2 & the latest Flash player
QuickTime 7.5
Real Alternative
Nero
Media Player 10 (OK, that won't apply to Vista)​

You can get some otherwise unavailable programs from OldVersion.com.

 

Media Player Classic > All

Also, not really a program but klite mega codec pack

 

Again, CCCP. http://www.cccp-project.net/
Most codec packs can cause issues, codecs are much like fonts in that too many or conflicting ones can cause some serious issues. K-Lite packs are no exception, though are much better than many other codec packs. CCCP is the best codec package I've ever seen, and I've yet to find something it won't play.
It come bundled with MPC and Zoom Player.

 

That's what I got on my old Compaq.
MPC is great because it loads quick and is low on system resources.
And klite has pretty much every codec which is pretty cool.

 

1. A better web browser. I recommend Opera web browser over Firefox; it's faster and has some nice features such as being able to load bookmarks from a remote computer and remembering what tab you were last on when you close a tab (as opposed to Firefox which always just goes to the tab farthest on the right when you close a tab). Might as well include the Flash Player for whatever browser you choose.

I'd actually install your web browser to a flash drive before installing it to the hard drive, so that you'll be able to use it on any Windows computer, and won't be stuck using IE anywhere. Once you install it to the hard drive you won't be able to install to a flash drive unless you uninstall. I've got Opera on a flash drive, CD, school network drive, and my hard drive, just to be sure it's always an option.

2. An instant messenger client, if you instant message.

3. Some PDF reader. I've used both Adobe and Foxit. Adobe seems to do better within web browsers, but it is a bit less fast and less small.

4. Some office software, Microsoft, Lotus, OpenOffice, whatever. Even Works. But you'll probably have need for office software at some point.

5. I'd probably have to go with WinRar as #5. Otherwise it's really difficult (i.e. impossible) to open .rar files. There's alternatives of course, but WinRar is relatively unintrusive to the Windows interface.

6. CCCP or some similar codec pack, for playing more types of files. Ogg Vorbis (the favored format of Wikipedia) in particular. CCCP works within Windows Media Player, so another media player is optional.

That's what I'd use as the top six (five was just a bit too limiting). These are the ones I use often enough that they're really must-haves. Stuff like nTune, VMWare, RM Clock, GIMP, ObjectDock, etc. are really optional and depend on what you're planning to use the computer for - I think the above six are all things you'll probably end up running into a need for regardless of what exactly you use your computer for. The only other thing I can think of that really might be a "universal recommendation" is the Java Virtual Machine, but I don't think it's actually as necessary as the other six (unless of course you're programming in Java).

 

Firefox V3, FeedGhost, MS Office (Excel, Word, Outlook), CCleaner, jv16 Power Tools, Paragon Drive Backup, eWallet, ListPro, PhotoShop, Quicken, CuteFTP, RocketDock, PerfectDisk, ZoneAlarm AV, WMDC.

 

Why would you want this? It's ancient, and it's no longer maintained, so it's a security risk.

Don't install it.

LOL... that's one way of putting it. Adobe Reader is gigantic and slow as molasses. FoxIt all the way. I don't run FoxIt in my web browser... but I have my web browser run it to open PDFs. Works fine and it's way faster than Adobe's browser plug-in.

 

Agree strongly with both. Just install the Sun Micro Java VM, it's what everyone uses these days.

 

I like your list and have a lot of the same programs.

 

Must haves are...Firefox, MS Office/Open Office, Foxit PDF Reader, CCleaner, K-lite Video Codec Pack/CCCP Project Codec Pack, IZArc (or some unzipping program), Avira Antivirus, Comodo Firewall

I think these are must haves on any system. Anything else depends on your personal needs

 

k-lite mega codec pack, foobar, openoffice.org, sumatra pdf

 

I am curious about all the recommendations for codec packs. I have yet to find a single file that WinAmp, Windows Media Player, DivX player or VLC could not play???

With all of the trouble reports folks have made because of incompatibilities with various codec packs, why is this still heavily recommended?

I am not saying folks are wrong in this suggestion, just truly curious as to WHY folks think the codec packs are still needed?

Gary

 

Can anyone tell me if launchy is a good option (especially for Vista x64)? I know that it is not a "must-have," but my files continue to grow and grow and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find things quickly, even with a well-sorted folder.

 

Start menu search includes searching your home dir. And Win-F will search all your indexed directories.

I haven't used Launchy. I hear all these raves about it, but I have yet to hear about a single thing it can do that Vista's start menu search doesn't already do. Except appear in other parts of the screen, maybe.

But I'd be interested to hear about it if there is anything else. Otherwise, I don't really need two separate search indexers running.

 

I use launchy just for opening software, but I used to use it to index my drive in XP, even though that's not really what is is designed for. Launchy does not really add functionality to Windows Vista, I just like the short cut combo (alt space) and that it remebers f = firefox, p = pidgin, c = call of duty 4, etc.

 

Come on guys, you don't want to scare him with all your fancy programs.
Alright, here is my list. I cover good programs to have all-around and some for more specific tasks that I find useful.

For starters if you want help cleaning off the bloatware that is put on the pc, check out PC Decrapifier. It will check your software against its list of known bloatware and clean it off. Once that is done, you can uninstall the program and proceed with the list:

1) Synctoy 2.0, DriveImage XML
Why: Few people realize the importance of having backup software. It cannot be understated how grateful you will be having all your stuff backed up in case of hard drive failure or theft. Synctoy is great for backing up active directories with user files, meanwhile, DriveImage XML is useful for making backup images of entire partitions.

My personal backup strategy is to make an image of my partition when it is new so I always have a clean image of windows I can reinstall. From there, I use SyncToy and set it to synchronize all my user folders (Documents, Downloads, Music, Videos) and update these frequently. This essentially ensures I will never lose my files. (If you like this idea, PM me if you want help picking out an external HD for backups)

2) VLC Media Player
Why: It's an excellent media player that can play most of the widely used video/music formats out there. It's a great companion to Windows Media Player.

3) 7 zip
Why: Supports tons of file compression formats and has a simple easy-to-use interface.

4) Open Office/ Microsoft office
Why: A neccessity if you are a student or work in an office enviroment. If you can get some sort of student discount, go for Microsoft Office as it has the most features. If you are on a budget, get Open Office. It's free, offers same formats, but doesn't have as many features.

5) Trillian
Why: Supports the big three IM clients: AIM, MSN, and YIM plus offers IRC and ICQ if you are into that. If you absolutely must have every IM client imagineable, check out pidgin instead.

6) The GIMP
Why: A great (and free) alternative to photoshop. If you are accustomed to using photoshop, get GIMPshop instead. It's a modded version of the GIMP that re-arranges stuff to look a lot more like photoshop.

7) Auslogic Disk Defrag
Why: Awesome alternative to the default windows defragmenter. It can cut hours away from defragmenting your hard drive and if used on a near-daily basis can finish defragmenting in minutes. Note that his program will only defragment, not optimize file placement on your hard drive. You'll want to use a program like JK Defrag if you want to do that.


That's about it for the must have programs. Here are other programs you may/may not find useful depending on your interests:

8) Ccleaner
Why: Clears up usage history and temp files on your computer, saving you the trouble of doing so yourself.

9) SUPER
Why: Music/Video conversion software. I have had mixed success with it, so I cannot call it a must have program. It's great when it works, but I find it tends to mess up for larger file conversions.

I would add more but I am pooped from all this writing.

 

Is DriveImage XML a free alternative to Acronis? I've been looking for a decent free app to create an image. Also, how does it work when you restore? Does it just install your previous configuration exactly as you saved it?

 

The program makes backup images and offeres some compression for them. It stores the backup in CD-sized chunks.

Yes, the restore function does exactly restore the HD to the way it was when you made the image.