What are some good programs/software to put on a new computer

[Os Cangaceiros]

see topic title

[Paul Pott]

Space Engine.

After all the essential stuff like anti-malware of course.

[crazyirish93]

Avast av, malwarebytes, sumatra pdf,skype,Libre office,Gimp,CCleaner,vlcplayer,CCMP codecs,Bittorrent,Dropbox,notepad++,handbrake and 7zip would be a good start

[Revoltorb]

Don't forget Firefox. Also, if you have VLC you don't need the CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack).

Browser: Firefox
Text/code editor: Notepad++
Media Player: VLC, foobar2000
Downloads: Transmission or Deluge
Archive handling: 7zip
Office suite: LibreOffice
Graphics editing: the GIMP or paint.NET, Inkscape
PDF viewer: Sumatra or Adobe Reader
Cloud: Dropbox and/or Copy, maybe Tresorit?
Chat: Pidgin + OTR plugin
File management: Teracopy (not on Windows 8 though)

That should pretty much cover all basic needs. You could also use TrueCrypt if you want to encrypt parts/all of your hard drive.

[Tenka]

All the stuff they said, and LibreOffice if you don't want to go through the trouble of torrenting Word and having your ISP freak out and shut you down ('cause some scum reported you to them).

Edit: I see this was already mentioned more than once. Oh well.

[ckaihatsu]

JavaTunes

A small single file jukebox

Version 5.4. Released 18-JAN-2013. Approximately 700 KB


http://www.stigc.dk/projects/JavaTunes/

[Nakidana]

My personal opinion for Windows:


MPC-HC > VLC
MSE > Avast av

;)

[adipocere]

I always start with an iso program. I use magic disc and magic iso (together) but there are other ones. After that the sky's the limit.

I would be wary of using avast or avg antivirus - if you download a lot or are concerned with privacy, it's probably not a good option. I'm using comodo antivirus atm because you can opt out of the cloud service though I'm not sure I would recommend it. You may also want to get Revo Uninstaller so you can thoroughly remove software.

[argeiphontes]

Amarok (http://amarok.kde.org/), the greatest music player of all time.

edit: Also, if your box isn't that powerful (like a Netbook or something) I'd stay away from bloated anti-virus crap like McAffee. You can probably get away with Windows Defender, and you can always get away with Windows Firewall. You can also uninstall some of the branded crap that they install, e.g. a lot of them come with a wifi manager, but you can just let Windows manage your networking. Windows isn't all bad ;)

[argeiphontes]

Text/code editor: Notepad++

No need to use that, there's a vim for Windows (http://www.vim.org/download.php). ;)

[Q]

KDE or Xfce as environments, Konversation for irc, Firefox for non-NSA browsing, Clementine for audio, Steam, Birdie (tweet client), GIMP for image editing, Skype, Handbrake, LibreOffice, Truecrypt for secure encryption of your files... Yeah, those would be my suggestions.

[Popular Front of Judea]

I always start with an iso program. I use magic disc and magic iso (together) but there are other ones.

Could you explain to me like I am five just what is an 'iso program' and why I want to install one? ( I can guess it has nothing to do with the ISO. :grin:)

[argeiphontes]

ISO refers to the ISO-9660 filesystem, which is used for data CDs and DVDs (cdroms and dvdroms). When you download a Linux *.iso file, it's a byte-for-byte "image" of such a filesystem. On Windows, Nero can burn these images back to disk (IIRC) and on Linux it's software like 'cdrecord' and its GUI front-ends like K3b.

Mint probably already installed one of these for you, it's probably ubiquitous in default installs.

[Revoltorb]

Could you explain to me like I am five just what is an 'iso program' and why I want to install one? ( I can guess it has nothing to do with the ISO. :grin:)


ISO refers to the ISO-9660 filesystem, which is used for data CDs and DVDs (cdroms and dvdroms). When you download a Linux *.iso file, it's a byte-for-byte "image" of such a filesystem. On Windows, Nero can burn these images back to disk (IIRC) and on Linux it's software like 'cdrecord' and its GUI front-ends like K3b.

Mint probably already installed one of these for you, it's probably ubiquitous in default installs.

More importantly (and more ELI5): an iso file is a file that contains all the data from a CD or DVD. With certain programs you can "mount" iso files and read them directly as if they were real discs inserted into your computer. Windows 8 has this built in, as do Mac and Linux. Windows 7 and below requires you to use a program such as Daemon Tools or PowerISO. Commonly you would find ISO files fore software that you might need to install, which you can then "mount" and run the executable files from there instead of writing the ISO file to a disc and then inserting the disc.


No need to use that, there's a vim for Windows (http://www.vim.org/download.php). ;)

For most people's needs even Notepad++ is too advanced, let alone vim and its horrible learning curve.

[Popular Front of Judea]

More importantly (and more ELI5): an iso file is a file that contains all the data from a CD or DVD. With certain programs you can "mount" iso files and read them directly as if they were real discs inserted into your computer. Windows 8 has this built in, as do Mac and Linux. Windows 7 and below requires you to use a program such as Daemon Tools or PowerISO. Commonly you would find ISO files fore software that you might need to install, which you can then "mount" and run the executable files from there instead of writing the ISO file to a disc and then inserting the disc.

Can you give me a example of a task where a "low intensity" user such as myself would find such program useful? (I have a tower loaded with Linux Mint and a laptop running Windows 7.)

[Revoltorb]

Can you give me a example of a task where a "low intensity" user such as myself would find such program useful? (I have a tower loaded with Linux Mint and a laptop running Windows 7.)

Well if you happen to have any software distributed as an ISO file, commonly found in torrents from sometimes less than legal sources which is not being condoned here at all but also from other sources like linux distros, then you'd find yourself needing it. But that's really it.

[synthesis]

These are paid programs, but worth getting however which way you choose to get paid programs:

-Advanced SystemCare
-DFX Audio Enhancer (makes everything sound better)
-DriverEasy or some sort of driver program
-Internet Download Manager (really helps)
-NetBalancer (sort of like Task Manager for your internet)
-Registry First Aid

If you have Windows, the only anti-virus program you really need is Microsoft Security Essentials.

[adipocere]

Can you give me a example of a task where a "low intensity" user such as myself would find such program useful? (I have a tower loaded with Linux Mint and a laptop running Windows 7.)

Well, perhaps you lost the install disc for your copy of Baldur's Gate and you really want to play it.... :lol: