accessI was planning to do a series of posts under the Essential Software title, wherein I would select a piece of software I consider essential for my computing experience and detail what it does and why I like it. As I worked through the first post, however, it occurred to me that I only have about ten pieces of software I consider absolutely essential, and most for pretty straightforward reasons. Breaking it all down into a single post for each application seemed like overkill, so here’s a complete list of the software I can’t live without.
- 7-Zip: File archiver. Supports every compression format known to man, as well as many known only to monkeys. It’s own 7z compression is incredibly effective compared to the more common zip or rar formats and is excellent for backing up large files.
- BitTorrent: Torrent handler. I used to use µTorrent, but BitTorrent gobbled them up and re-branded it as their official client. The original is still available and in development, as far as I know. The officially-branded version has a nicer icon, though.
- Firefox: Web browser. I’d rather use Apple Safari or Opera, but Google owns me. I need the Google Toolbar, so my options are Internet Explorer (which should be avoided at all costs for reasons explained everywhere else on the Internet) and Mozilla Firefox. Guess who won. The FireFTP add-on is really nice too.
- ISORecorder: Disc image burner. This is a really focused application—it’s sole purpose is to integrate .iso image burning into Windows. If you have no idea what an .iso image is, you probably don’t need this.
- iTunes: Music player. It’s the best at what it does. If you aren’t using it, you really should be.
- Pidgin: Instant messenger. Nearly everyone I chat with on a regular basis uses AIM. I’ve toyed with LightAIM, but it’s still a piece of crap. I’d be using GoogleTalk if I could convince everyone to sign up for a Gmail account, but some people seem absolutely dead set on keeping their add-loaded IM experience. Maybe if that big Google/AOL deal that was supposed to bring AIM integration to Google Talk ever gets going. I still maintain user accounts on five separate IM networks, so it’s nice to be able to seamlessly connect to all of them at once.
- Shareaza: Peer-to-peer handler. For those rare instances when I need to do something over a P2P connection. I rarely use the thing anymore, but it’s nice to know I have it should the need arise.
- VLC: Video player. Plays everything. Even stuff you’ve never heard of from dimensions you couldn’t imagine in ways that would blow your mind. Except Real files.
And that’s it. Those eight programs cover nearly everything I do with my computer on a regular basis. A large part of that is because a lot of what I do these days runs through Google (Gmail, Reader, Calender, etc.), which effectively eliminates the need for an e-mail application, feed aggregator, calender, and a number of other applications. The FireFTP add-on also eliminates the need for a separate FTP application. Much as I despise Firefox for it’s slow rendering and ability to eat vast amounts of RAM with little effort, it’s nice to be able to consolidate the majority of my needs in it.
There are two things missing from the above list. One is Microsoft Office 2007, which is the best office suite at any price. If you’re stuck with 2003 and refuse to pay, there’s always OpenOffice.org, which is slightly better than Office 2003. If you don’t mind paying, however, get one of the cheaper editions with Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. Much like Vista, everyone loves to hate, but it really is worth it.
The other is the Adobe Creative Suite. Specifically Photoshop and Dreamweaver, though I’ve started using Illustrator and Flash much more recently, and have sworn myself into learning InDesign at some point. Any edition of the Creative Suite is probably beyond both the price range and technical knowledge of the average user, so don’t run out and pick this one up. If you really want to play with your photos or slap together a website, try out Photoshop Elements (which is nearly Photoshop for about 1/6 the price) and Notepad. Seriously. It’s a pain, but it is the best way to learn.