***Sorry, this is only for the Windows PC because I use it a lot more than my Mac on a daily basis, and the Mac already has most of these cool features built into their own proprietary programs.
Other than the usual culprits: Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Powerpoint), and Google (haha…which isn’t really a software), these are my (mostly free) pieces of software that I ALWAYS download on any new computer.
Internet Browsing: Mozilla Firefox 3 (Free)
Download Firefox 3 here
Not only is the icon cute (hah!), this is probably the best Windows browser I’ve ever used. Some of the cool features I liked in this browser over the Internet Explorer 7, which is similar.
1. When you click on a link, it immediately opens it in a tab in your current window instead of a New Window like in Internet Explorer 7
2. When you click on something to download, it gives you a download manager (like in the Mac), and you can know when something is finished downloading and click on it
3. It spell checks everything you type. EVERYTHING.
4. People say it’s safer and keeps out viruses better
5. It doesn’t give me stupid pop-ups in Blogger when I try to enter in a URL when I’m blogging (like now), telling me that Javascript shouldn’t be run because it’s unsafe or some crap like that
6. The “Find” function is a godsend. Just do a Ctrl + F, and a little tiny window pops up at the bottom and searches through the whole mess of words AS YOU ARE TYPING to find what you want. It’s a beast of a feature for bloggers, and something that the Mac Safari browser doesn’t have (for some reason the search function doesn’t read inside the windows)
Notes Tool: 3M Post-It Software Notes Lite (Free)
Download 3M Post-It Software Notes Lite here.
There is a MUCH sexier version of this out, but I’m not willing to pay for it. If you are though, by all means – go and download the sexier version with coloured and transparent post-its and let me know how you like it!
Not much to say about this other than the fact that when I need to make a VERY quick note to myself, instead of opening a Text file, or Wordpad, I just click on the little yellow post-it icon in my taskbar, and POOF I can type whatever I want.
I tend to make huge To Do lists on there, bold the font, and add a bit of colour, and it helps as a way to keep track of everything I need to do because I make notes in that Post-It as I’m doing it, equivalent to a piece of paper on the desk.
Another thing I like is that ALL the notes can be double-clicked at the top to be made super small, so you can mouse over them to read a bit of what it says, or click once to open them back up again.
Image Capture: Snag-It (Free to try, $50 to buy)
Download Snag-It Software here
There are no words to describe HOW MUCH I USE THIS software. I just do a simple CTRL + Key function that I preset, and it captures anything on my screen (not video), and I can crop it, and use it to post on Blogger, or anything else.
DEAD useful.
Too bad it costs $$$$.
Photo Editting: Paint.net (FREE)
Download Paint.net here
Firstly, it’s FREE. FREEEEEEEEEE!
Secondly, it is pretty powerful for a free program. It works on the same principle as Adobe Photoshop and takes a bit of getting used to, but it crops, changes colours, does text, etc.
The only caveat is that it takes time to get used to the fact that the text doesn’t quite type or work the same way as in Photoshop, when you change colours of things, it’s kind of awkward to do so, and a whole host of other minor little things.
BUT!
It’s free, and it works quite well. Much better than Microsoft Paint, that’s for sure.
Pseudo “Telephone”: Skype (Free)
Download Skype here (Available for Windows OR the Mac).
It’s not perfect like a phone but this has saved me hundreds in long distance telephone calls to BF. You just download it, set up a User ID (no need to pay), and call to his computer.
The sound quality is pretty good, he gets a video of me from my MacBook but sometimes it does this weird squeaking noise (BF says it’s the Mac trying to talk to the Windows PC and it ain’t work well), but overall, this is an awesome piece of software.
That does it! What are your “MUST HAVE” pieces of software?
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Mmmm…. I love my Stickies on my Mac. My dash is covered with them. I prefer Firefox to Safari as well. Its so much easier (to me anyway), and I couldn’t use hotmail with safari when I ‘converted’
re Phil: Thanks for that shortcut.
Marisol: “Skitch”? And Stickies. Got it.
Arianne: I do as well.
Dolly Iris: And not to mention quick shots of EXACTLY what you need lol
I love both FF and snag it. I got snag it from a friend and its helped me in some battles with past employers. I love it!
I love me a good application launcher. Must be all those Lifehacker articles. I use Launchy on Windows, and Quicksilver on the Mac. This is the only way I open my applications. It drives me bananas to go through Start -> Programs -> …
Great list! I am a MAC user and you are right, there are similar programs for the MAC which I will mention in case anyone is interested.
Notes tool – I use Stickies which comes standard with MAC OS
Image Capture – Skitch. It is da bomb!
rae: I am suuuuch a junkie. I’m going to personalize it now.
Phil: Thanks for the info on the Mac command!!!!!!!!
But for the Print Screen function – I hate having to open it in an editing program. I just want to get the exact picture right then and there 🙂
Re: Image Capture.
Windows actually has an image capture built in so that you don’t actually need that program. If you have a full size standard keyboard, near the number pad toward the top right, there’s a button called “Prnt Scrn” (Print Screen), and it captures the entire image showing up on your monitor. I’m not sure exactly what kind of file it saves (.jpg, ,png., or what), but you should be able to open it and edit it in any photo editing program.
Mac has the same function, only you have to use multiple keys: SHIFT+COMMAND+3 will capture the whole screen, and SHIFT+COMMAND+4 brings up a little cursor so that you can select an area to capture.
Hey hon,
Glad you’re a Firefox junkie too!!
I set aside an hour when I installed it to personalize it and pick out addons, like a little Gmail square in the bottom right corner to tell me when I get new emails, or the weather displayed on my bookmarks toolbar. It’s fabulous, and I highly reccomend going through your Options (under Tools) and personalizing!
Meg & Stacking: Because you can capture EXACTLY what you want on the screen without having to go into Paint.net to crop and adjust the photo. 🙂
So if I wanted just a picture (one) out of many on a page, I'd have to do Print Screen, then crop my picture to that small little section of what I wanted to keep!
Robin: I find it ridiculously handy.
Re: all the IE7 comments
I don’t think you guys got what I meant.
When I said “Ctrl + F”, I mean that a little window at the bottom pops up and searches.
And it searches intelligently, not just entering in a word and hoping it pops up. As you’re changing the word, the Ctrl + F keeps searching through the document to find it, rather than having to type another Ctrl + F again and re-search
Trust me. I’ve gone through the pain of IE7 and I’ve tried everything. Firefox is much better.
Always in style: no idea. click on the link to go to the Polyvore website (official)
http://www.polyvore.com I think? Their blog should have all of their creations
What makes Snagit better than hitting the good ol’ Prnt Scrn button?
Cntl-alt-printscreen will take a screenshot on any computer (free) and you can use paint or some other lame thing to crop it. Not as slick as the program you mentioned, but functional and it works.
IE does have most of the features firefox has, it just got them later on.
Hey – I’d like to comment on your cute most recent Polyvore…who makes that adorable tank?!
Great post!!!! Off to try Paint.net!!!
My list is pretty similar, but I will give two alternatives:
FastStone Capture is my screencapture tool of choice. It used to be free, but now it’s $19.95. I’m sure you can dig up the older versions though. (If you work with a lot of photos or create galleries, their Image Viewer is a godsend too)
And while I’m a Photoshop girl, I still love the GIMP. It takes some getting used to, but if you can’t afford a PS license, it can still do a lot of complex image editing.
I refuse to give up my Firefox. I even have it on a USB drive so I can take it with me when I’m dealing with other people’s computers.
RE Your Firefox post:
On #1 – IE can do that.
On #2 – IE notifies you when it is finished downloading a file, then you can open the file. If it doesn’t, you unchecked the box that makes it do so.
On #3 – I hope there is a way to turn THAT off.
On #4 – I agree with you there. It is safer, but only because there are less people trying to hack it than IE.
On #5 – IE also has a built-in pop-up blocker and runs Javascript with no problem. Maybe your IE settings got changed?
On #6 – CTRL-F also works in IE.
Hey FB … the Ctrl-F is definitely not unique to Firefox. It works on my Safari at home on the Mac and on IE at work on the PC, as well as in lots of other programs =)
I do love me my Firefox though, need to have a play with extensions more, but Foxmarks is brilliant – it lets me synchronise my bookmarks between my home and work computers – across platforms. Woo-hoo!
Is there something similar to snag-it that’s free? I could really use the software.
1. When you click on a link, it immediately opens it in a tab in your current window instead of a New Window like in Internet Explorer 7
-There’s a setting to change that. I didn’t like the feature either, and now my IE opens everything in a new tab just like FF.
Thanks for sharing.
Downloaded the notes right away.
I love it!