Shaloms Blog

Back when I first setup my blog I had made a nice list of useful free applications that every computer user should have. unfortunately since then I somehow managed to destroy most of my old blog post and lost the list. As I’m stuck at work for the next 12 hours I decided to recreate and update my original list. Let me know if there are any other programs I should add.

Productivity: At some point everybody will need to type a letter or a resume but may not have a copy of Microsoft Office. Here are a few free alternatives.

Open Office: This is a great free office suit that should fulfill almost any need you have. I currently have it installed on my desktop and it meets all my needs. Just make sure that if you are sending files to MS office users that you save in a format they can open. MS office 2007 can open Open Office files but older Office versions need a converter which can be found here.

Google Docs: Google’s cloud based office suit. Everything is stored in the cloud so you can access it from any computer connected to the net. You can download your docs in almost any format you need to and allow others to edit them if you need to. The only downside is if there server is down your files are unavailable.

MS Office Online: As of this writing it is unavailable but with the release of Office 2010 there will be a free web version for all to use.

Email: I think I only know 1 person who does not use email these days so a good email client is a must have.

Thunderbird: A fairly decent email client. It does pop3, Imap and will support your basic email needs. With the sunbird plug-in it can also do calendar and tasks.

Evolution Mail: A great free Outlook replacement. It started out as a Linux app and now has a version that is Windows compatible. It is my default mail client on my Ubuntu box.

Windows Live mail: Microsoft’s replacement for Outlook Express. It is apart of the Live suit of applications and is comparable to thunderbird.

Photo Editing: With everyone’s growing collection of digital photos it is important to have a good photo editor.

Gimp: Free Photoshop like application. I have not used it much but it seems to be a very good cross platform app. It is a default app on many Linux distributions and also has a windows version.

Paint.net:  This is a great easy to use free app. I use it to edit my personal photos and to edit photos for my websites. hopefully one day Microsoft with replace the ageing Paint with this.

Anti-Virus: If you use Windows then an Anti-Virus is a must have. I recommend Installing one before you ever connect your system to the net.

Avast!: Simple easy to use and 100% for personal use. I use to use this on all of my computers.

AGV: Another free Anti-Virus. I personally have not used it but have heard good things about it.

Microsoft Security Essentials: Microsoft’s entry into free Anti-Virus. It is decent but not quite as fast as some of the others. I switched to this just because I like to keep the same look and feel across all of my system apps.

Web Browser: It looks like the browser war 2 is in full swing. Below you will find the browsers I like that are Non-Microsoft (No point in covering IE8 as it comes bundled with Windows 7 or as an update to Windows XP and Vista).

Firefox: Mozilla restarted the Browser Wars with this gem. It is the default browser for most of my friends.

Opera: This use to be a browser that was for sale. With the last few releases they have gone completely free. It’s quick and fairly nice looking.

Safari: Apple ported there browser over to Windows and are giving it away for free. I only used the first 2 releases of it. I like the way it renders pages but it seemed a bit slow on my machine.

Chrome: Google’s entry into the browser market. If there not careful there going to become the next Microsoft with there fingers in everything. That not withstanding this is a pretty good browser, fast and loads quickly.

Instant Messaging: I’m not going to bore you by listing all the messengers out there. Just a couple that work with the major messaging services.

Pidgin: Multiplatform multi-client messenger. It does all the major networks in one app and it is completely free.

Trillian: This was the first multi-messenger that I ever tried. When I used it basic services were free and they offered a “Pro” version for a fee. I got annoyed with it and switched to Pidgin.

Digsby: Another Messaging app. I have yet to try it but am planning to test it within the next week.

Misc Apps: Here are some free apps that are also useful.

7-Zip: Great free archiving tool. Does a ton of archive formats.

Notepad2: Just a quick and simple replacement for notepad that supports line numbers and syntax highlighting. Can be run off a USB stick.

Keyfinder: If you ever loose a serial number for your Windows or Office installation this program will retrieve right off your system for you so you can do a reinstall. Can also gather serials from a number of other products.

Non-Free Apps: I wanted to keep this list completely free but there are some great apps out there that are worth the price to use them.

Magic DVD Ripper: *NOTICE* Ripping DVDs you do not own is not only wrong it is illegal in most of the world. *NOTICE* That being said I love that I was able to convert my entire DVD collection to WMV and stream it to my Xbox. It can also convert to iPod, Zune, PSP…ect

Nero: I have use this program for years for since I built my first computer. It is the best for all your CD/DVD authoring needs.

Hopefully this list helps you find some good free or not so free programs to use. If you can think of any others post them in the comments below and when I get a chance to check them out I will add them to the list.