(Computer) Freebie Software for Windows Users

[momopi]

Here's a list of personal recommendations I have for Windows machines. Most of the software here are freebies but accept donations. If you find their software useful, please consider donating a few bucks.

* Many people install MS Office by default, when they rarely use it, or only use Word for word processing. It's a complete waste and installing MS Office will make your Windows run slower (like XP SP2 did). If you only need occasional word processing, try AbiWord (free):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AbiWord
http://www.abisource.com/
http://www.abisource.com/download/ <-- don't forget to get plug-ins

Alternatively, you could install Openoffice, if you need to load Excel spreadsheets or power point files:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenOffice.org
http://www.openoffice.org/

If you want a lot of cliparts, try Oxgenoffice version of Openoffice:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ooop

* For web browsing, I recommend Firefox:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Firefox
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

I also like K-Meleon for browsing mostly text pages:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-meleon
http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/

* For anti-virus, my favorite is Norton/Symantec Anti-Virus, Corporate Edition (never expires). I don't like Norton 360 or their internet suites, those are processor hogs.

If you cannot get a copy of NAV Corp Edition, there are other, free products avail like Avast, which has a great Boot-Time scan feature:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avast!
http://www.avast.com/

I also recommend Spybot S&D for anti-spyware:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spybot_-_Search_&_Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/index.html

Google pack also has a good program called PC Tools Spyware Doctor:
http://pack.google.com/

Make sure you only select what you want to download from there. They also have a free norton AV scanner, but it's a bit clugy. You can also get Skype to make free computer to computer calls. I usually install Spyware Doctor, then uninstall Google Pack Downloader utility to save memory.

* For registry cleaner, try Eusing free registry cleaner:
http://www.eusing.com/free_registry_cle ... leaner.htm

It's free and you can clean up to 1,000 registry entries at a time. They have a couple other goodies that you might find useful:
http://www.eusing.com/Products.htm

Some prefer CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com) for registry cleaning. They also make Recuva (http://www.recuva.com) undelete / file recovery tools, and defraggler (http://www.defraggler.com) file defrag utility.

* For image editing, try Photo.net:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint.NET
http://www.getpaint.net/

* For CD Burning, I like DeepBurner, which supports ISO's:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeepBurner
http://www.deepburner.com/

I prefer Deep Burner over CD Burn XP, but you can try both:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDBurnerXP
http://www.cdburnerxp.se/

Many commercial CD burning software install a lot of memory-resident crap, like Roxio. I'd recommend staying far away from those.

* For video codecs, I recommend K-Lite "mega" pack:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-Lite_Codec_Pack
http://www.codecguide.com/

* For accounting, you can try TurboCash or GNU Cash. I'm not an expert on either of these so you're on your own:
http://www.turbocash.co.za/
http://www.gnucash.org/

* For HTML editing, try KompoZer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KompoZer
http://kompozer.net/

* For desktop publishing, try Scribus:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scribus
http://www.scribus.net/

Note to Windows users: you may need to install Ghostscript first:
http://docs.scribus.net/index.php?lang=en&page=readme

* For vector graphics, try Inkscape:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inkscape
http://www.inkscape.org/

* If your computer is running slow, check how much memory is installed. If it's less than 1 GB, consider a memory upgrade. If you're running an older system and need PC133/2700/etc memory, check pricewatch.com. Make sure your motherboard/system support the memory upgrade first. You can go to crucial.com to check what memory your computer uses.

You can also improve system performance by uninstalling any application or programs that you don't need, de-frag your hard drive, and run registry cleaners. Check this article from Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/898583

* Due to Windows Visa compatibility issues, I recommend Windows XP Professional as the Windows OS of choice.

[Jackal]

Do you have any suggestions for tweaks to make Windows Vista run faster besides getting more RAM?

Maybe I will switch to Linux eventually. I can't use most of my old software or my old printer now anyway.

Are most printers Linux compatible? Or do you need to order special printers online?

Every time I think of Vista, I get really pissed off at Bill Gates.

[Winston]

If Windows XP was fine, then why was Vista created? What advantages does Vista have at all?

Maybe you should just install Windows XP instead?

[Jackal]

If Windows XP was fine, then why was Vista created?

To make Microsoft and the rest of the computer industry more money, since the compatibility problems force people to buy new hardware and software. Microsoft certainly can't go more than a few years between trying to force its "improvements" on the market.

What advantages does Vista have at all?

Not many. I think it makes more efficient use of some new types of hardware that most people's computers don't have.

Maybe you should just install Windows XP instead?

To do this, I think I would have to call up Microsoft to buy a new license (access code). Talented hackers could probably get around this, but I'm still learning about computers.

Anyway, I turned off most of the annoying features of Vista, although it still runs fairly sluggishly. I can live with it for the meantime.

Vista was the final straw that made me seriously think about moving to Linux though. I makes no sense to pay Microsoft big bucks for crappy software.