superwick.com

By somewhat popular request, I decided to expand on my post about some free Windows software that I think other people should use, and create a special page, just for it. So, here it is. Please comment here or email me if you have any other suggestions. (superwick AT gmail DOT com)

This page will be ever-changing, so check back often!

Here’s some software I like and use:

WEB BROWSER
Mozilla Firefox
I can’t say enough good things about this web browser. It’s fast, much safer and secure than Internet Explorer, and is so customizable, you wouldn’t believe it. And once you get used to “tabbed browsing“, you’ll wonder how you ever surfed without it.
I rarely use IE anymore… usually only when a page doesn’t quite look right in Firefox (which is becoming increasingly rare as web developers wise-up to the fact that millions are switching to Firefox)

EMAIL CLIENT
Mozilla Thunderbird
The perfect companion to Firefox is Thunderbird. I normally use Gmail (which is mainly web-based) for my email purposes, but when I feel the need to use a traditional email program, I use this. Here’s a great page that explains the benefits of Thunderbird over Outlook Express or other email programs.

ANTIVIRUS
AVG Anti-Virus

I also like Norton Antivirus, but they charge you a subscription fee to continually update your virus definitions. The best FREE alternative I’ve found is AVG… It offers free updates for the life of the product, which is nice for the pocketbook… check it out. Everyone needs to have some sort of antivirus program on thier computer, and keep it updated. I can’t stress this enough.

(UPDATE) I have also recently discovered avast! Antivirus, and currently I’m using it instead of Norton or AVG. I think AVG uses less system resources, but avast! seems a bit slicker to me for some reason.

SPYWARE REMOVAL
Ad-Aware SE and Spybot Search & Destroy

Spyware is a huge problem these days. Spyware can come from many sources, such as downloaded software, website ads, emails, virus, and more. Install both these programs on your machine (be sure to run the updates after installation and before every scan you do), and fix it. Your computer will probably even run faster afterwards.

INSTANT MESSENGER CLIENT
GAIM
Lots of people use AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger all at the same time. Why do that, when you can use one piece of software for all your IM-ing needs? GAIM is a great little free open source program that supports Yahoo, AOL, MSN, Jabber, ICQ, Gadu-Gadu, SILC, GroupWise Messenger, and Zephyr messenging formats.

Another good one is Trillian, which I use at work.

PODCASTING AGGREGATOR
RSSRadio

I’ve been recently getting into Podcasting, as I mention briefly in this recent news link. I’ve tried a few different podcast aggregators out there, and finally settled on RSSRadio for now. It just works well for me.

NOTEPAD REPLACEMENT
EditPad Lite
Notepad is OK, but it’s not enough. EditPad is a nice text editor that really does a lot of good things, and does them well. You can open multiple files in tabs, use “undo/redo” unlimitedly (I just made that word up), and even write code in it without worry. I rarely use notepad for anything now. EditPad Lite is now my default text editor.

REALPLAYER REPLACEMENT
Real Alternative
Face it, Realplayer is a bloated, ad-laden piece of crap. But, because so much video content on the web is in Real format, you need to play them somehow. Real Alternative handles Realplayer compatible files with no problems. And it’s a tiny little app. That’s really all you need, you don’t need all the stupid Realplayer “features” that don’t work well anyway. Get this instead.

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