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messedkid

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 8, 2007
474
0
Oshawa, ON
We see tons of "Top ## Mac Apps" a day here on Mac Rumors, so I thought it'd be keen to see what your take is on Top Windows Programs. :cool:

XP, Vista and Win7 only please. :D




PS. I just got an XP machine, so hence me asking. ;) I was browsing google (and bing ;)) for awhile, but wanted Mac User opions as well.
 

runebinder

macrumors 6502a
Apr 2, 2009
904
121
Nottingham, UK
Hmmm, good Windows programs... Well here's some, I'll stick to freeware

1. VLC - Excellent Media Player, can play almost any video format without needing codecs installed (it's available for OSX as well).

2. IMGBurn - Usefull for windows as it allows you to make disk images and burn them to. Small, light weight but very handy.

3. Winamp - Old and maybe beaten by some media players out there, however if you like your eye candy then this holds the top card: Milkdrop 2, absolutely stunning music visualisation program (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prhiCFPzgEY&feature=fvw Gives an idea but doesn't do it proper justice).

4. Irfanview - Basic photo editing program, comes in very handy and has great screen capture options, especially useful if you don't have a print screen button like my MBP.

5. CCleaner - Useful free disk clean up program, has a good program un-installer for when Windows can't remove an app and has a registry cleaner (research that last part if you've never used one and only have a vague idea of the registry!).

6. DVD Shrink - Good DVD back up program so you can keep your originals intact and unscratched. Have to have Nero installed to burn copies with it, alternatively can save as a .iso and use imgburn instead.

7. Synctoy - A very good program for syncing storage devices and creating automatic backups.

8. Firefox/Google Chrome - Again multiplatform but much better than being stuck with IE.

9. Steam - If you like your gaming, can buy games and install some shop bought games (i.e FM2009), so you don't need the disk to play after. Never tried it in an offline mode though.

10. AVG/Avast anti virus - Both very good anti virus programs which can be obtained for free.

Not sure what the rules are on posting download links, but do a Google search and they're pretty easy to find.
 

Silvia96

macrumors member
Jun 23, 2009
38
0
Durham NC
Definitely AVG free for Anti-virus, I like to use Daemon Tools Lite for making ISO's of cd's/dvd's, and TeamViewer for great remote desktop capabilites.
 

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
these are what I install with a new windows box

1. firefox
2. avg free
3. utorrent
4. foobar
5. vlc
6. MS office
7. pidgin
8. adobe reader
9. 7zip
10. skype

11. HoMM3
12. MM Viii
13. google Earth
14. Movica
15. avidemux
16. cutepdf
 

messedkid

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 8, 2007
474
0
Oshawa, ON
Thanks for the lists guys. Very helpful. :D

I got a few of these installed now, and they're great. :)

Stuff I've installed and kept since I got it:

MS Office 2007
Launchy
TweakUI
7-Zip
Daemon Tool Lite
AVG Free 8.5
Steam
Klite Codec package

GTA 2 and GTA San Andreas. Surprised how well San Andreas runs on a netbook. :eek:

I don't plan on doing any hardcore gaming on this lil fella', just random stuff for on the go.
 

windywoo

macrumors 6502a
May 24, 2009
536
0
Some great little programs on these lists that I won't repeat.

Admuncher is a hidden gem, removing adverts, blocking popups etc. Yes I know Firefox has an addon that does this, but admuncher works with every browser and many other programs that connect to the net. Yes you have to pay for it, but its a small fee which I paid about 3 or 4 years ago and is still valid.

Gizmo Drive is my favourite virtual DVD/CD software since Daemon Tools became adware infested crap.

Izarc or Zipgenius are two good zip programs, a bit prettier than 7-zip.

DVDFlick does the opposite of DVD Decrypter. It takes movie files that are on your hard drive and converts them to a burnable DVD image. Its the most user friendly one I have found, most others requiring command line tools.
 
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