What
your computer needs?
I just
recently did a clean install on my Dell laptop. I really hadn't used
it much and I wanted a new installation and make a laptop a
productive work environment for me.
I wanted
to know how much software I could put on my laptop that I needed,
without spending a great deal of money.
I have
always heard that freeware is not very reliable or would work for
people who really need stable programs. I decided I would try to put
as much freeware on my computer as possible without sacrificing
quality.
I
thought this would be useful for people who think they have to spend
a lot of money making their computer efficient and productive. I
will explain the freeware I found and any software I did pay for I
will explain why it was worth it.
So now
to my laptop.
I will
first start out with what I am using to type this. OpenOffice
is a great alternative to Microsoft Office. It can read and export
documents made in Word. I have used this with Word and I actually
prefer OpenOffice.
Now I obviously need a browser to get
to this the site, so none other than Firefox.
Firefox just got to it's 1.0 release and it is very popular. You
can add extensions to make it more functional or add themes to give
it your desired look.
Now if you need to read or send e-mail
you are going to need a client. Thunderbird
is another part of the Mozilla project. Getting close to it's 1.0
release it has made great improvements such as a global inbox and
message grouping.
Need to your appointments up to date.
Well try Sunbird.
Another program from the Mozilla project.
I have my own site so I need ftp access
to get my files where they need to be. I found Filezilla
to be the best among the one's I tried. It has a site manager where
you can store different logins for quick
access. Also, it has many advanced features that some users must
have.
When I need to update my site quick, or
make a simple web page I found NVU
to be the best free html editor out there. Now this is a not an
editor for advanced web design, but if you need something simple,
this is it.
Now when I download software, Firefox
has a nice download manager, but sometimes I prefer to use a
different one. Leechget
has a great interface and makes adding new downloads a simple task.
I need to keep up with the latest news
and technology so I rely on an RSS reader to help me. I found that
Abilon was the simplest to use
and had the best interface of all I tried.
If you have a lot of images on your
computer an image viewer is a must. Try XnView.
A great viewer for keeping track of all your images.
If you are like, you have to have some
music playing while you work. There are actually two players that
are great. I prefer iTunes,
but Winamp is another great
alternative.
The best free firewall available is
Zonealarm. It's free and it's
much better than Windows integrated firewall.
One of the best pieces of freeware I
use is a Windows Explorer replacement. I tried many and xplorer2
is the best.
I have just listed some of the best
freeware I could find. Now I am going to show some of the software I
paid for and a few more free one's also.
There is nothing better than
customizing your PC to your desire. The best way to accomplish this
is with ObjectDesktop.
My two favorite programs included in ObjectDesktop is Windowblinds
and DesktopX. Windowblinds let's you apply visual styles to your
computer. There are many available at
www.wincustomize.com.
DesktopX is sometimes called a “widget” program, but it
can do much more than that. There are free versions available for
both programs so be sure to try them out.
As far as maintenance and security I
rely on Norton Systemworks.
There are many different programs available for these but I found
Norton to be the most useful.
When I have to edit images or when I am
making new cursors for CursorXP, I rely on Paint
Shop Pro 8. It is much cheaper than Adobe's software, but I find
it just as good.
Now speaking of CursorXP,
that is another way to get your PC to your liking. You can change
your cursor to any of the different themes available. There is also
a free version available.
The last pieces of software I use is
ObjectDock. I use it place
all my favorite shortcuts in a great looking dock wherever I want on
my screen. ObjectDock Plus adds features such as tabs and fly-out
menus.
I have covered most of the software I
find important for my uses. I hope that someone can use my
recommendations and find out that you don't have to spend a lot of
money to get great software.
Http://deep.wincustomize.com