I recently added a computer to the Boscibo family, and in the process of dowloading Irfanview and Pop-Up Stopper I started wondering what programs or utilities you like to put on a new computer or fresh install. Spyware blockers? Games? Graphics programs? Freeware/shareware programs are a plus.
There are a few suggestions in this thread.
ZoneAlarm and AdAware are 2 that I would suggest.
The cheapies I don’t leave home without:
BBEdit Lite
Stuffit Expander and DropStuff
FileCM
Open-With
FinderPop and Popup Navigator
Default Folder
Escapade
Kaleidoscope
Flash-It
Snitch
Remember
iCab
Eudora
NetFinder
I recommend:
Zone Alarm (the freebie is pretty good)
Ad-Aware
Spy Bot Search and Destroy
Norton Anti-Virus
Google (not software but an add on to your browser)
Those are the most important in my view. I have used McAfee’s anti virus to only have a lot of problems on a network I administered. Various machines would lock up for no reason including this machine so I am partial to Norton. To each their own.
Oh if you want a decent and not expensive graphics programs, go to www.jasc.com and download the trialware of PaintShop Pro.
I reccomend Free Surfer mkII for a pop-up blocker, it has worked very well for me. Also, for your instant messaging needs I reccomend Trillian, as it works with all the major messaging services(MSN, AIM, Yahoo, ICQ) and is much less annoying than those programs.
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Also, Textpad text editor.
Definetely Ad-Aware. For the added $15 its worth registering also, as you get the latest software upgrades as well as automatic spy-ware list updates.
Linux
BBEdit Lite
Stuffit Expander and DropStuff
Flash-It
NetFinder
Opera
AIM
The Tilery
JPEGView
Quicktime Player
Mozilla (mainly for the IRC client)
And don’t forget the drivers!
Snood.
Dear lord.
IF you’re addicted to SDMB and Snood, when do you do anything else? Either one alone is able to take over one’s like with ease.
How could I forget snood! If you want to stick with AIM instead of getting trillian DeadAIM is a great program that modifies your AIM and allows you to tab IM’s, log all conversations, get rid of all AOL’s annoying ads and even create transparent IM boxes. DeadAIM
I second Linux. No PC is complete without a functional OS.
And with Linux, I’d reccomend a Ruby interpreter. I think a Perl interpreter is standard with most non-micro distros, but Ruby is a good language for problems that are best solved in an OO way.
A Common Lisp interpreter is indicated if you’re interested in programming as a state of mind, not just as a means to an end. Studying Lisp is worth it for the rush of comprehension and sense of beauty you get when you finally comprehend it.
(This is kind of difficult because there are so many good programs that come with a standard distro. I’m having to think back to which programs I use that I actually needed to download.)
nasm is a better assembler than the GNU assembler that gcc uses as a backend. It uses Intel syntax, for one thing, and it’s generally more conducive to writing really clean, red-tape-free code. If you’re interested in going the level below C, get it.
(And I realize, once again, what a complete and total geek I am. :))
Acdsee classic (lite?) is my favorite image viewer.
What else is there?