This weekend I finished setting up a
fresh triple-boot install on my MSI laptop. With my operating systems
ready to go, the time had come to start reinstalling applications. While
it wasn't a conscious decision, I noticed that the majority of my apps
were Open Source - so I decided to keep the ball rolling.
Even if you haven't just gone through a
reformat, these are great applications and well worth installing. If
you have, then hopefully this list will provide you with a solid base of
programs to get you started with your fresh, new Windows install!
Web Browsers: Chromium,
Firefox
They excel at different things, so I install both browsers by default.
Chromium is great for all-purpose surfing, while I use Firefox and my
favorite extensions to tackle my daily web-based work.
Office: OpenOffice.Org,
Sumatra,
PDFCreator
For lightweight PDF reading and creation from any Windows app, Sumatra
and PDFCreator are solid options. OpenOffice.Org, well, it's the name to
beat in open source suites.
Media: Songbird,
VLC,
Handbrake,
DVD Flick
I've been using VLC for ages, and it does everything I need as my video
player of choice. Audio duties I leave up to Songbird, which has
matured into a fantastic application over the past two years.
I use Handbrake to, uh, rip my non-encrypted, personal DVDs. DVD Flick lets me burn said rips back onto a disc.
File Transfer: Free Download Manager,
Cabos,
eMule
FDM is a very underrated torrent app, and it has plenty of other
download-boosting abilities as well. I chose it over Vuze because I need
FDM's extras (partial zips, Flash downloading, Rapidshare integration)
more than Vuze's additional media-handling chops. Cabos trims Limewire
down to the bare minimum for the occasional one-off Gnutella download.
As for eMule, I use it to find things that I can't find elsewhere.
Imaging: ZScreen,
Inkscape,
Gimphoto/GimPad,
Flickr Uploadr
If you're comfortable with Photoshop but looking for a free
alternative, go with Gimphoto instead of Gimp – the interface is very
Adobe-esque. For vector image jobs, Inkscape can't be beat. ZScreen
handles my screen captures and Flickr Uploadr, well, it does what it
says.
Burning and Backup: Infrarecorder,
WinCDEmu,
Bonkey, and
DirSyncPro
These three apps make short work of mounting disc image files, burning
just about anything, syncing folders, and keeping a current copy of your
files in a safe location.
Messaging and Social Networking: Pidgin and
Spaz
Don't sic Mr. Stallman on me – I know Spaz is built on Adobe Air, but
the client itself is open. As for multi-protocol messaging apps, Pidgin
is a tough bird to beat.
Maintenance and Utilities: 7zip,
Belvedere,
Ultra Defrag,
Disk Cleaner,
TrueCrypt
Lifehacker's Belvedere is a great way to organize your files and
folders with minimal effort. Ultra Defrag and Disk Cleaner (and a
handful of
helpful plugins)
keep your hard drive clutter free and performing its best. 7zip waits
in your context menu to extract files from (or cram files into) archives
of all kinds. For encrypting files, folders, or entire volumes,
Truecrypt is fast and reliable.
Desktop Enhancements: RocketDock,
Launchy,
Virtual Dimension
You don't really need both RocketDock and Launchy. If you prefer eye
candy, go with Rocket Dock. If you're a keyboard magician, go with
Launchy. I run Virtual Dimension because my forays into Linux have me
hooked on the benefits
of virtual desktops.
Games: AssaultCube,
Enigma,
FreeCiv,
LexJongg,
LinCity,
Neverball,
Nexuiz,
PokerTH,
TORCS,
Tremulous,
WinSudoku,
Wormux,
Zombies.
Using
your computer shouldn't be all work, all the time. Kick back and relax
or give you brain a casual workout with these great games. LexJongg puts
a slightly technogeek spin on traditional mahjong. FPS fans should
check out AssaultCube, Nexuiz, and Tremulous. FreeCiv and LinCity offer
OSS takes on two classic PC simulations. TORCS is a solid 3d racing sim
which will hopefully soon include online action. Wormux and Zombies are
fun turn-based strategy games. WinSudoku and PokerTH - I'll assume you
know what those are all about.
There you go - plenty of great OSS to load on your
own freshly reinstalled system (or a friend's)! If I missed one of your
favorite apps or games, share it in the comments!
Or Download Zune App
Applications included:
Archivers : 7-Zip, Peazip, TUGzip, IZarc, Universal Extractor, KGB Archiver, Bitser, jZip, FreeArc, Zip Genius
Audio : Audacity, JetAudio Basic, musikCube, Aimp, Clementine, Songbird, foobar2000 ,Mixxx, aTunes, MusicBee, LMSS, Wave Editor
Video: Miro, VLC media player, Mplayer, GOM, Winamp,
KMPlayer, SMplayer, Itunes, XMBC Media Center, Media Go, Media Player
Classic Home Cinema, Kmplayer, Splayer, QuickTime Player, Miro Video
Converter
Chat-IM: Skype ,Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk,
Pidgin, ICQ, aMSN, Miranda IM, Yahoo! Messenger 10, Digsby, Trillian,
Bitwise IM, Xfire, Psi-IM, Nimbuzz
Internet: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera,
Safari, Maxthon, Avant Browser, Flock, Thunderbird3, Filezila Server,
K-Meleon, Lunascape, Tor,FTP Rush, Sea Monkey, XAMPP, Teamviewer, Free
Download Manager, YeahReader, RSSOwl, WinSCP, FileZilla, Jdownloader,
CometBird, Mozilla Prism, Orbit Downloader, AC Browser Plus Free Edition
CD Burners: CDBurnerXP, ImgBurn, InfraRecorder, DVD
Flick (authoring tool), SizeMe (comparation tool), Amok CD/DVD burning,
NeroBurning Lite, MagicDisc, Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 Free
P2P-File Sharing: uTorrent, Gnucleus, Cabos, Vuze, BitComet, eMule, DC ++, Frostwire, BitTorrent, qBittorent, Halite, Deluge
Not available from 1.6. Different package is coming. Games: YoFrankie!, Cube 2, SuperTuxKart, Freeciv, World of Padman, Armagetron
Graphic: Blender, Gimp, Paint.NET, IrfanView,
PhotoFiltre, Picasa, XnView, Easy Thumbnails, FastStone Image Viewer,
Inkscape, GiniPic, IcoFX, Winshot, Pencil, 3Dvia, Photoscape,
Office: OpenOffice, AbiWord, Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader, PDFCreator, PDF-XChange Viewer, Scribus, Libre Office
Text Editors: KomoZer, Freemind, Notepad++, Xe macs, Bluefish, Notepad 2, RJ TextED, ConText
Security: ClamWin, Nmap, Eraser, TrueCrypt,
Wireshark, Avast! Home Edition, AVG Free, BitDefender Free Edition,
Ad-Aware, Avira AntiVir Personal, Microsoft Security Essentials,
Malwarebytes, Sandboxie, WinPatrol Free
Programing: DevC++, Free Pascal, jEdit, Python, Code:Blocks, SharpDevelop
Utilities : CCleaner, FreeComander, ReNamer, Chaos
MD5, Rainlendar, Launchy, EasyCleaner, TeraCopy, Screenpresso,
WinMD5Free, Synkron, Dropbox, Karen’s Directory Printer,
KeePass,Defraggler. LangOver, Speccy, Tabbles, Steam, LotoRSS, VMware
Player, Glary utilities, SafeHouse Explorer, NirLauncher, Slimdrivers,
SIW 2010, WordWeb, My Daily readings, PicPick, Jarte, SpaceSniffer,
TweakNow PowerPack 2011, Free Disk Usage Analyzer
Runtimes: .Net Framework