As I posted yesterday setting up a Windows system (of any kind) is a far different experience than setting up a Linux box, in that there is far more work to do after the OS install. Simply put, Windows is an Operating System only (with a few utilities and a smattering of basic applications), where as modern Linux distributions are just that – a core OS distributed with a core set of applications as well.
Now, Taking that into consideration, there is a little more leg-work involved in getting my Windows Vista workstation “work-ready” than say a vanilla Ubuntu install. Here’s a list of the Applications I consider must-have’s for my workstation. There are a variety of applications here. There are applications which are closed-source and cost money, closed-source and are free (as in beer), and free open-source projects. Often, as you will see, I install both the closed-source package as well as the open-source equivalent. I do this for two reasons – ultimate compatibility (MS Office can’t open OOo docs for example – which I find quite amusing), and often there are things in the open-source packages I like better for some tasks.
So here is my list (with links and recommendations of similar programs to try):
I own both Vista Business and Ultimate editions, however I chose to install Business as I do not use, nor do I have a desire for having any of the Media Center stuff installed on this machine. Also, I’ve seen nothing in the “Ultimate Extras” that make me want the extra baggage installed.
Microsoft Office 2007 (with Visio)
As good as OpenOffice is, I need MS Office for ultimate compatibility and a complete feature set.
As I said above, even though I install MS Office, I still keep an up-to-date OOo install around. There are some things I like in OOo, plus, MS Office can’t open files saved in OOo formats. I used to keep AbiWord installed as well, but finally dropped that off my “install list”, however be sure to check it out if you want a simple, light-weight Word Processor with a full feature set.
Dia is an open-source drawing and diagram creation program available for Linux as well as Windows. Just as with OOo, even though I have Visio installed, I prefer Dia for some things. I find it far simpler than Visio, and there are simply some things I can do faster in Dia than in Visio.
This is what I’m writing this post in, and this is one application I always missed when running Linux (never tried it in WINE – I wonder if it will install?).
All I need to browse the web. Need I say more? One day I’ll do a post on my top Firefox extensions.
Pidgin is an open-source Instant Messaging program. Although I have been a die-hard Trillian fan, my friend, and co-worker Josh Wyse mentioned Pidgin today and asked my opinion on it. Although I used Pidgin extensively on GNOME under Linux, I hadn’t used the Windows version in a while. For now, I still have Trillian on my work PC, but here at home I decided to try out Pidgin for a while. So far, I like it – I do like the fact that (unlike Trillian) it uses Aero and looks like a Windows app whereas Trillian had it’s own interface.
Best. Torrent Client. Ever. I even used this under WINE on Linux.
I can do almost anything I’ll ever need to do in Paint.NET but the combination with GIMP gives me any graphic and photo editing tools I need. Why pay for Photoshop?
Best free FTP client I’ve found. Not perfect, but serves my needs for what little I use an FTP client.
RoyalTS is a nifty RDP connection manager written in .NET.
For me, nothing but a boredom killer!
Great little open-source audio editor.
InfraRecorder (x64 version available)
Best free burning app I’ve found for Windows. Does everything I need with an interface similar to Nero.
7zip (x64 version available)
Only file compression/decompression tool I’ve ever needed.
Super awesome, super simple media player.
Free Windows Notepad replacement based on the open-source Scintilla editor – for lack of better words, it’s Notepad done right w/ syntax highlighting, line-numbers and a host of other features. Light weight, needs no install and definitely a must-have for any serious Windows power user! If you want to try something similar, but yet a little different, give Notepad++ a spin as well.
PuTTY is a free SSH and Telnet client – a must-have for me to log into my Linux server!
Although I don’t get into the “social networking” side of Last.FM (what is “scrobbling” anyway?, I do use it to feed me some tunes when I’m at my PC.
I’m (trying) to learn .NET programming, so I’m using this quite a bit. I got a free copy, but you can also download the Visual Studio Express Editions for free! (Yes, Microsoft does give some stuff away for free!)
This is a free, open-source IDE for C# VB.NET and Boo projects. I found it via a Google search one day and I keep it around now just to see if I can apply what I’m learning in VS 2008 to another IDE.
Microsoft SQL 2008 Express Edition (x64)
I download this separately since a default install of VS 2008 installs SQL 2005 Express (if you don’t do a custom install), and I like to be able to specify the x64 version, as well as have the latest SQL version. Also, don’t forget if you need a free (and open-source) SQL server MySQL is available for Windows too!
Finally, Windows has a real shell, and it has a pretty nifty scripting language built in too! Be sure to check it out – it does amazing things!
Desktop Virtualization software is an absolute must-have for me. I use it to create “sandbox” Windows installs, as well as satisfying my Linux Distro crack habit! VMware Workstation (6.5) is simply the best of the best, in my opinion. For me, performance in a properly configured machine is very close to bare metal speed, and it’s singly the best software investment I’ve ever made! If you want something that is “no-cost” there is the free VMware Server 2.0. Although VMware Server is geared for, well, a Server, it can still be installed on a workstation. Previous version (1.0.x) used a great console similar to VMware Workstation’s interface, however the new 2.0 version uses a web-interface which I feel is less than ideal for a workstation install. One main difference with Server (which is now based on the VMware 6.0 code-base as of 2.0) is that you can have Virtual Machines run as services in the background (either on system boot, or on demand) without having the client interface open. If you would like something free, but yet more desktop oriented, be sure to check out Sun’s awesome VirtualBox.
Raxco PerfectDisk 2008 (VMware Edition)
PerfectDisk is a disk defragment program with features similar to what you might find in other products such as Diskeeper and O&O Defrag. Why do I use PerfectDisk? I love the tools provided by the VMware version, I love the fact it’s x64 native, it’s light on resources, and I like the interface. It’s very easy to use, and get a default schedule setup. Although I set up a specific schedule, there are several modes to choose from such as on-demand, and a mode that defrags while your computer is idle. This is another program that although not free, is a great investment (the VMware version is $99), and I would recommend to anyone with advanced needs that needs more than what the built-in Windows Defrag utility can offer. Be sure to disable Windows scheduled defrag if you use PerfectDisk as they may have different ideas as to what is “ideal” and undo each others optimizations when they run…plus there’s no need to “over-defrag” your drives.
Multi-Media tools and codecs:
MediaCoder – be sure to get the version that matches your CPU or get a generic build here. If you are running an x64 version of Windows, get the 64-bit add-on update.
K-Lite Mega Codec Pack
- with 64-bit add-on
- with QuickTime Alternative
Although I’ve always used the K-Lite pack, an alternative to the K-Lite Codec Pack is the Vista Codec Pack which also has 64-bit add-ons as well as quicktime support.
I’m sure there are some things I’m forgetting, and everything that works for me, might not work for you. Also there may be some program that I love that you try and absolutely hate! Also, I’m always on the lookout for great free useful applications so please share if you know of some killer application I haven’t mentioned!
Filed under: Computing
[...] Workstation 6.5 and PerfectDisk 2008 for VMware Yesterday I talked about software that I keep installed on my Windows Vista machine. Today, I’m going to [...]
Am running Vista and for defrag, I got myself Diskeeper and have set it to run on automatic mode. I’ve been raving about it to everyone after seeing the way it runs as if its never there and keeping fragmentation down.
[...] to install first? July 2, 2009 — jaysonrowe Last year, I published a list of my “Must Have Windows Applications” and I’ll admit, I hit it up when I got my new notebook this week to remind myself of what I [...]