Best free applications at Friday, January 30, 2009

There are hundreds of lists out there of the "best open source apps" so why should I spend time making another one. One reason only, this is the list of free apps that I actually use.

Firefox: This is the top of the list because I use it every time I turn on the computer. If you're still using Internet Explorer for some unknown reason do yourself a big favor and make the switch. Make sure to get a few add-ons, like stumble-upon and ad block plus.

VLC: One thing I can stand is when windows media player can't play some media file. I don't want to have to go find some codec pack and install a bunch of garbage. VLC will play anything, it's small and simple and does what I want. Plus it doesn't have a music store or all that crap.

Avast: It's a good anti-virus, it's free and it doesn't bug me all the time. First thing after install make sure to turn off all sounds or it's annoying.

Open Office: Great office suite, does everything that I need without the pricetag of Microsoft Office. First thing make sure to change default save to .doc .xls and .ppt so that you can still send them to others still paying for their digital typewriter.

Log Me In: Remote control any computer connected to the internet from your browser. I have installed this on most of my machines and I almost use it daily. There are so many uses for it.

FoxIt Reader: Tired of Adobe Reader asking for updates? Sick of a 20 second wait to read a PDF file. Try foxit reader, just don't let it install any crappy toolbars. Just say no!

CutePDF: I don't use this one a lot, but it's just so slick. If you need to create pdfs or even if you just often send documents to other people try CutePDF. It installs as a printer and you just click print and select it as the printer. It will create a pdf out of pretty much anything you can print.

Winrar: You have to ignore the nag screens on this one, but it's not too bad. I've been meaning to try 7zip for a while but haven't gotten around to it. It could be a good alternative. Everyone has to open zip files from time to time and this works great.

Notepad++: Lots of improvements over the basic notepad. I really like the tabs and syntax highlighting for code. Anytime I need to look at old code as a reference I always use Notepad++.

Quicktime Alternative: Again I get sick of apple always trying to update something. I installed this and haven't had to think about it again. It just works.

Gmail: While this is not an app that you install on your computer I believe everyone should have a gmail account. You can get free web based email from many places, but no one offers what gmail does. Lots of storage, I have yet to delete an email, I just archive them. Out of sight out of mind, but still searchable just in case. Access to google docs, calendar, blogger, etc. In fact I think my next post will just be on all the cool things you can do with a gmail account.

That's it for tonight, I'll add more tomorrow.