Here are my favorites, what are yours?
A) CCleaner: Safe and fast junk file & registry cleaner. I have used it for years with absolutely no problems. In fact, I recently made a donation to the developer, which was long overdue.
http://www.ccleaner.com/
B) Acronis Migrate Easy: The trial version is fully functional and allowed me to move data from my 80GB drive to a new 320GB drive with no issues. I am not sure why anyone would want the paid version unless you need to image multiple drives in a corporate setting perhaps.
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/migrateeasy/
C) Smart Defrag: Real-time hard drive defrag utility that is easy to install, intuitive and has very few settings. It can be set to place frequently used files and programs in optimal locations to reduce the time required to open these items. The program can also be configured to defrag via a schedule and you can turn off auto-start with Windows.
http://www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html
D) 7zip: Compresses and extracts most formats. I prefer 7zip to WinRar because it is 100% free and does not have any nag windows. Great alternative to WinZip as well.
http://www.7-zip.org/
E) IMGBurn: Burning ISO's to DVD's and CD's couldn't be easier. Once opened, this program will literally be burning bootable ISO's in just a few clicks. The interface is about as intuitive as it comes, but there are some advanced settings if you want to adjust burn speeds, formats, etcetera. I use it to burn ISO's from MSDN onto DVD's.
http://www.imgburn.com/
F) Windows Live Mail: Allows me to manage multiple email accounts from one program. Easy to configure and a must have if you don't use Outlook or Mozilla's Thunderbird and plan to migrate to Windows7, which has no default email program.
http://download.live.com/
G) Some like Firefox, Opera or Safari, others like me prefer Google's Chrome. You can't go wrong with any of these in my opinion. Internet Explorer 8 is fine for many, but is not as standards compliant as Firefox or Chrome.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/firefox.html
http://www.google.com/chrome
H) Malwarebytes: One of the best, if not the best, anti-spyware/malware programs available. It locates and cleans infections that the big vendor programs cannot even find. I purchased the full version, but the only difference is that the paid version provides real-time protection. Great to install on computers used by teens or folks that look at "questionable" stuff on the web.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
I) PortableApps: Allows you to turn a USB thumb drive into a portable office. Uses programs that require no installation and leave no information on the host computer. For example, you can browse the web using Portable FF, check your email using Portable Thunderbird, listen to music using Audacity, give presentations using portable OpenOffice and many other tasks using PortableApps.
http://portableapps.com/
J) Google Earth: Allows you to view anything on earth from an altitude of approximately 100 feet. StreetView allows you to Zoom into 360° spheres to view areas in a 3D-like environment. And folks thought Big Brother was scary!
http://earth.google.com/
K) iTunes: My family uses iPods and iPhones, but iTunes can also be used to rip and play music CD's on your computer without buying any Apple products. I prefer iTunes to Windows Media Player due to its ease of use.
L) Though I use Office 2007 Enterprise, OpenOffice is a great alternative for students and other folks looking for a free alternative. It may also be used to open and edit Microsoft Office documents, though I am not sure about the formats in Office 2007 (.docx, etcetera).
http://www.openoffice.org/
A) CCleaner: Safe and fast junk file & registry cleaner. I have used it for years with absolutely no problems. In fact, I recently made a donation to the developer, which was long overdue.
http://www.ccleaner.com/
B) Acronis Migrate Easy: The trial version is fully functional and allowed me to move data from my 80GB drive to a new 320GB drive with no issues. I am not sure why anyone would want the paid version unless you need to image multiple drives in a corporate setting perhaps.
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/migrateeasy/
C) Smart Defrag: Real-time hard drive defrag utility that is easy to install, intuitive and has very few settings. It can be set to place frequently used files and programs in optimal locations to reduce the time required to open these items. The program can also be configured to defrag via a schedule and you can turn off auto-start with Windows.
http://www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html
D) 7zip: Compresses and extracts most formats. I prefer 7zip to WinRar because it is 100% free and does not have any nag windows. Great alternative to WinZip as well.
http://www.7-zip.org/
E) IMGBurn: Burning ISO's to DVD's and CD's couldn't be easier. Once opened, this program will literally be burning bootable ISO's in just a few clicks. The interface is about as intuitive as it comes, but there are some advanced settings if you want to adjust burn speeds, formats, etcetera. I use it to burn ISO's from MSDN onto DVD's.
http://www.imgburn.com/
F) Windows Live Mail: Allows me to manage multiple email accounts from one program. Easy to configure and a must have if you don't use Outlook or Mozilla's Thunderbird and plan to migrate to Windows7, which has no default email program.
http://download.live.com/
G) Some like Firefox, Opera or Safari, others like me prefer Google's Chrome. You can't go wrong with any of these in my opinion. Internet Explorer 8 is fine for many, but is not as standards compliant as Firefox or Chrome.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/firefox.html
http://www.google.com/chrome
H) Malwarebytes: One of the best, if not the best, anti-spyware/malware programs available. It locates and cleans infections that the big vendor programs cannot even find. I purchased the full version, but the only difference is that the paid version provides real-time protection. Great to install on computers used by teens or folks that look at "questionable" stuff on the web.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
I) PortableApps: Allows you to turn a USB thumb drive into a portable office. Uses programs that require no installation and leave no information on the host computer. For example, you can browse the web using Portable FF, check your email using Portable Thunderbird, listen to music using Audacity, give presentations using portable OpenOffice and many other tasks using PortableApps.
http://portableapps.com/
J) Google Earth: Allows you to view anything on earth from an altitude of approximately 100 feet. StreetView allows you to Zoom into 360° spheres to view areas in a 3D-like environment. And folks thought Big Brother was scary!
http://earth.google.com/
K) iTunes: My family uses iPods and iPhones, but iTunes can also be used to rip and play music CD's on your computer without buying any Apple products. I prefer iTunes to Windows Media Player due to its ease of use.
L) Though I use Office 2007 Enterprise, OpenOffice is a great alternative for students and other folks looking for a free alternative. It may also be used to open and edit Microsoft Office documents, though I am not sure about the formats in Office 2007 (.docx, etcetera).
http://www.openoffice.org/
