ASUS & Windows 7 Pro - 64 bit (Software List for Implementation, including the experience as I do it)

A new computer is an ideal time to stop and work out what software you really need.  I consume the stuff like sweets and end up with more than I can possibly ever use.  So here's my list of the essentials! (The exclamation mark will be obvious if you get to the end.).  First of all the browser.  The 'browser ballot page is not a mandatory patch in windows update on Windows 7 pro!! - very naughty of Microsoft.

Firefox
Certainly better than IE, but mainly has the edge because of the extensions:

• Adblock Plus - get rid of a lot of the annoying adverts that ruin the browsing experience
• British English Dictionary - for the spell checker in English English
• DownLoadThemAll - quick download of pictures, by right click
• FastestFox - for the autoload of the second google page as you scroll down, and the ability to highlight a phrase and search based on it.
• Flashgot - an easy way to download from YouTube and the like
• Tab Mix Plus - better use of tabs - indicators for visited pages etc.

Migration of the bookmarks will be required: easy - export to html / import, but remember to restart the browser for the full effect!)

Thunderbird - email client
The only mainstream e-mail client that I've found that supports IMAP properly.  IMAP keeps your mail on the server, its what webmail clients are based on. this is a great improvement on outlook express or windows live. Add-ons here bring the functionality up to outlook standards for the work I do

• British English Dictionary (see above)
• Lightning - for calendaring - I'm still learning about this
• Signature Switch - for multiple signatures

Migration of:

• the address books (export / import via LDIF - easy!)
• the local folders (still TBA)
• the message filter rules (Thunderbird message filter import/export is the only thing I can find.  I tested it on Vista to the old XP - perfect!  In real life though - Vista to Win 7, it complains that the import is to a different folder structure I'm using IMAP, they can't be different, they're copied from the server!!)

Office Software - text documents, spreadsheets, presentations etc
OpenOffice.org 3.2.  Once possibly the poor relation, but since version 3 the functionality is there for everything I regularly do (except macros - which are much harder to understand in OOO).  The office suite of choice because it doesn't cost anything.
Microsoft Office 2007 - because I have an enormous investment in macros that I can't easily replace, and open office has driven the price down to a reasonable 3 licenses for £70.00

Desktop Publishing - PagePlus from Serif
Its easier to use than publisher, and I've yet to find anything open source that comes close.

Picture Management - Picasa

Picasa is great and integrates well with the PicasaWeb for publishing and sharing on Blogger.

Picture Editing - Paint.Net and The GIMP

Paint .Net is simple and easy to use for most basic needs - cropping a picture, adjusting the levels.
GIMP is loaded but rarely used, its there for the more difficult stuff.  It can be hard to understand.

Media Player - VLC
For me a media player must just get on with the job and not bother me for codecs, it must also play my youtube clips without any converters being required.  VLC does a great job on both fronts.  It also plays CD and DVD adequately.

Podcasts - ITunes
Chosen for its ease of subscribing and playback.

Web Site build and maintain
Nothing here!  I used to use Namo Web Editor 4 - but that was a while ago - I'm still looking for something that works and doesn't cost a fortune.  After all I only have 1 site and about 10 pages to maintain.

Instant Messaging - Yahoo
Chat clients seem to be a dying breed since the advent of FaceBook and the like, but they still have their uses.  I have Yahoo messenger for no better reason than that the guys at work use it.

Compression - 7ZIP
7Zip is free compared to WinZip and WinRAR which are both shareware (try before you buy).  It also achieves better compression in its native format.  It processes the other compression types well.  The only downside is that the GUI can be a little fiddly.


PDF Writer - CutePDF / doPDF
To emulate a printer and create a PDF (Portable Document) is now a basic requirement.  Cute PDF does a good job and often produces a smaller file than the embedded function in the application.  doPDF is a good alternative.


System Tools - Many and varied
Anti-Virus, anti-Malware, system watchers
Its good to have a combination here.  The system came with Trend Micro anti-virus trial, so I'll let that run its course and see how it does.  Then it will most likely be AVG as that seems to work and is easy to manage.
Spybot - Search and Destroy and AdAware together seem to provide good anti-Malware protection.  As a final safeguard there is WinPatrol which informs you of changes made to key areas of the system and allows you to revert them.

System Management
CCleaner - to keep the rubbish off the system - it deletes old un-required files and tidies up the registry.  I've had many registry cleaners, most do OK, but occasionally cause problems.  CCleaner seems more reliable in that area.
MyDefrag (formery JKDefrag).   Plenty of options or straight forward simplicity.  Will defrag the disk properly, unlike windows (at least in vista) which ignores large fragments!
Bulk Rename Utility - by Jim Willshire - this is a slightly quirky interface, but it is very comprehensive.
Backup - Cobian Backup - There have been many problems with Cobian and Vista.  It still just about runs, but I haven't found anything better at providing simple file backups.
Version Checking - PSI helps to ensure that I have the latest security patches on the system.

Development - VB 2008 - a microsoft freebie.  The visual development environment installs automatically and provides excellent development and debugging.  As I live in windows what else is there.  .Net provide good protection (mostly) from the oddities of the various environments.  

Then there's the specialist applications
For our Camera's
For our Phones
For the printer/scanner - Epson SX200 (don't buy one)
For the external network disk - Freecom 500Gb

Family Tree - Family Tree Legends
Bible Study - Pradis
Thought Organisation - Freemind
Project management - again, nothing of note has been found, but its a while since I looked
Song Projection - EasiSlides and OpenLp, until we decide which.



That's just the software.  It must be configured and in some cases scripts will be required.  So lots to do .....