I titled this post “Applications I Can’t Live Without” because these are the applications I immediately install when I have a new machine. I have to set these up or I’ll be left feeling that my PC is incomplete. The list is for Windows boxes. My favorite applications for Linux is for another post, for another time.

1. Mozilla FireFox, Web Browser.
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

I can no longer imagine browsing without tabs. Plus will all the cool FireFox extensions you get used to, it’s hard to use any other web browser. I know it’s a memory hog but it’s still the best browser out there.

2. Thunderbird, Email Client.
http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/

Though webmail has come a long way in terms of usability, I still prefer to use a desktop application for reading emails. First thing I do when I get in front of the computer is to read my emails and RSS feeds. Too bad Evolution is only for Linux.

3. NeoMem, Notes Organizer.
http://www.neomem.org

My favorite notes organizer. It helps me organize my tasks using a tree structure on the left and a rich text editor on the right. I’d be lost without this application. I used TreePad for a long time but switched to NeoMem because of the extra features it offered.

4. SendToX Powertoy, Shell Enhancement.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wutoys/w95pwrtoysset/default.asp

SendToX is one of the original Powertoys and I still use it till now. It gives you an easy way to copy files and send emails. The feature I use a lot is the “Send to Clipboard as Name” option. Saves me form typing long filenames and directories. A real time saver.

5. Unlocker, Shell Enhancement.
http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/

How many times have you tried deleting, moving or renaming a file and got an error like

Cannot delete file: Accesss is denied.
Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.

For me, too many times. Even worse, sometimes you even have to boot your computer to get the job done. Thanks to Unlocker, you can unlock the files in use or even kill the application locking it.

6. Cobian Backup, Backup Utility.
http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/index.htm

Those who have worked with computers long enough knows that backups are very important. And with the current prices of hard drives, there’s no reason not to do it. Whether it’s your QuickBooks data, or you vacation pictures, or you term papers, you need an easy and automated way to backup. Cobian Backup is my answer to this problem. Has tons of features like compression and FTP support for offsite backups.

7. Open Office, Office Suite.
http://www.openoffice.org

Everyone eventually writes a document, a spreadsheet or a presentation. Open Office can do the job and it’s free. It even supports Microsoft Office formats.

8. UltraVNC, Remote Desktop.
http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net

I use different computers at home so a remote control application is a must. UltraVNC is a fast and easy way to remote control another a PC, Linux or Windows. It features a video driver that makes the application faster than it’s competitors.

9. TClockEx, Shell Enhancement.
http://www.rcis.co.za/dale/tclockex/

Every wondered what today’s date is? I can see you moving your mouse to the clock on the bottom right of the screen waiting for the date to popup. If you do that frequently, that’s a lot of mouse moving. TClockEx allows you to customize your system tray clock to show both date and time. I’ve always wondered why this feature was never built into Windows.

10. Media Player Classic, Media Player.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli/

Media Player Classic borrowed the look of the old Windows Media Player but is a totally different software behind the scenes. It’s simple yet powerful. You can set this up to run popular video files. A great alternative to Windows Media Player, Real Player and QuickTime.

These applications are all free. If you like the program, a quick thank you email to the author or even a donation is welcomed.

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