Whenever we buy a PC/Laptop, first thing we do is ask around about what are the essential software and applications that people we know have installed. Most of the times, you tend to install the stuff your friends have on their laptops and PCs, ignoring the other software which might be better than the one installed. Here’s a list of 10 most essential software, applications that you must consider installing.
1. Internet Download Manager (IDM)
One of my personal favorite software, IDM is a god sent gift to human kind. Built exclusively for Windows users only, IDM is a shareware download manager. Described by Softpedia as a must have applications for most users out there, IDM comes in with loads features. What IDM basically does is give you an option to download video/audio and everything else. But, it also does this while enhancing the download speed. Some of the features of IDM are, Batch downloads, Auto/Manual downloads, Multiple Queues, Automatic download of any file type and also its biggest plus point, that is the automatic download of any video file. IDM supports Google Chrome, Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Netscape Navigator; Opera also gives you an option to disable the feature for a particular browser if you like to use multiple browsers. IDM is a must have software so install it for a free trial version today!
2. Ccleaner
Widely known as “Crap Cleaner” this unity program is used to clean all those unwanted files and invalid Windows Registry entries from a computer. A lot of space is used up by these unwanted files and registry, and Ccleaner helps you to get rid of it hence creating more space as well as making the PC slightly faster and more responsive. Apart from supporting internet browsers such as Google Chrome, Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Apple Safari, it also supports Microsoft Office, Adobe Flash Player, WinRAR, GIMP like applications. CCleaner is the most used software to get rid of that cache and cookies that take up space through internet browsers. CNET editors gave a 5 star rating and said that this software is a highly recommended and a must have tool for any Windows user.
3. VLC Media player
VideoLAN created this VLC media player and it became a sensation ever since it was out. VLC player is a media streaming player streaming various formats of audio and video. Incredibly easy to use and supporting many formats, VLC has become the preferred media player for many PC users around the world. The default distribution of VLC includes a large number of free decoding and encoding libraries, avoiding the need for finding/calibrating proprietary plug-ins. VLC can also be controlled by many ways, Configurable hotkeys, Mouse gestures, LIRC and infrared controllers, D-Bus, as well as remote software for mobile operating systems like Android, Symbian and iOS. On Windows, Linux, Mac, and some other Unix-like platforms, VLC provides an NPAPI plugin, which enables users to view QuickTime, Windows Media, MP3, and Ogg files embedded in websites without using additional products.
4. Dropbox
Ever since Dropbox was released in 2008, it has served millions of satisfied customers. Dropbox is a file hosting service that offers cloud storage, file sync and client software. If you and your couple or more friends have a project or a small venture and you need to swap file and other important stuff you can make a Dropbox account and sync it with everyone’s individual account. By doing this, the files get synced automatically if someone adds them in their account. Dropbox also has provision to have folders so that there is no trouble sorting out the files synced in it. Besides, one can always access the files by logging into the website and mobile phones with their Dropbox ID and have access to the file on the go. Dropbox has been named as the world’s 5th most valuable web startup after Facebook, Twitter, Zynga and Groupon. Get Dropbox today and make file sharing much easier!
5. Google Chrome
If you still use Mozilla Firefox, or even worse, Internet Explorer to browse through the internet then you have a problem there. Google Chrome is head and shoulder above all the rest internet browsers and it is time you install this beauty. It’s been 5 years since Google had mercy and finally created a browser that is perfect in every sense of the word. Google has a great app store which has good apps that one can install as extensions. Readability, Ccleaner, Adblock are some of my favorite Google Chrome extensions that I use. Google Chrome also has its apps on mobile phone which syncs your bookmarks and other stuff which you may have on the PC version. Google Chrome is the must have software.
6. MS – Office
It is unlikely that you have a Windows PC/Laptop and you don’t already have Microsoft Office pre-installed on it, but if, like me you also like to personalize your PC/Laptop before buying then MS-Office is the first thing you should install. Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint are the applications that come when you install MS-Office. All 3 are essential and you’ll be needing them at some point in the life of you using the PC. Corporate people still use PowerPoint for doing presentations. While people use MS-Word to type what they want. MS-Excel is an excellent tool to do your numbers work regarding business or personal expenses and is very simple.
7. Prey
There are many thieves out there who can easily mug you and steal your laptop which is going to be with you most of times once your Jr. College days are behind. In that case, you better install this awesome software called Prey which will let you have chance at catching the thief if you follow some simple steps. You just download Prey and register your device for free on the Prey website. If the laptop ever goes missing, you can notify Prey online and use the Prey control panel to geo-locate it, set off an alarm to hear if it’s nearby, and lock down the device to prevent anyone else from using it. Laptops, mobiles phones can easily get lost too, not like you’ll have some thief after it. Hence, install Prey right now and be free of your worry about laptop getting stolen.
8. WinRAR
WinRAR is basically is a tool that lets you extract the compressed files. It’s a small software and you won’t need it many times but when you need to extract and if you don’t have it installed, it will give you a headache. It is one of the few applications that is able to create RAR archives natively, because the encoding method is held to be proprietary. WinRAR supports files of the format ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, ACE, UUE, BZ2, JAR, ISO, EXE among some others. It also enables you to self extract as well as multi-volume (split) archives. Get WinRAR installed, now!
9. iTunes
Apple launched iTunes in 2001 and it has changed the way music industry works ever since. iTunes is just a music player on the face of it, but the things it offers be it buying the music legally and supporting the artist or the wide range of podcasts, it has become the best music player out there. It’s very easy to organize your library as well as directly purchase it through the iTunes store. iTunes keeps track of songs by creating a virtual library, allowing users to access and edit a song’s attributes. These attributes, known as metadata, are stored in two separate library files. One of the backdrops of iTunes is that you can only play video in the MPEG4 format, but we have already suggested VLC for video playing so that shouldn’t be a problem. iTunes 11 can read, write and convert between MP3, AIFF, WAV, MPEG4, AAC formats. Ditch your current player and install the free iTunes software today!
10. K-Lite mega codec pack
Launched in 2009, more than 1 million people have downloaded this already. K-Lite Codec pack is a collection of audio and video codecs especially for Microsoft Windows. This great software that enables the operating system and its software to play loads types of audio and video. Those formats that are generally not supported by the operating system are supported if you install this software. K-Lite codec pack also has a media player, Media info and Tweak tool in it. It comes in 5 editions, mainly Basic, Standard, Full, Mega and 64-bit. If you want to know which all formats does this software play then the list is big – Avi, DVD-Video, Blu-Ray, Fvl, MKV, MPEG-1/2/4, Ogg, Real Media, MOV, Flac, AMV, AMR, AAC and MPC! Just reading this list is want you to download this great software, a must have!
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