I have recently changed my approach to computing. I am no longer interested in wow factor. No docks, custom shells, or graphic effects - this goes for the default XP effects too. I now only care about speed and efficiency. I was inspired by a few articles that I read: make XP boot faster from Wikihow and a guide to turning off useless XP services by JasonN.
The key to a quick startup is minimising the number of programs that run automatically at startup. Click the Start button, then Run, and type msconfig. Click on the Startup tab and deselect all of the programs that you do not want to run automatically. I only allow four programs to run at startup: AntiVir, Comodo Firewall Pro, Spyware Doctor, and Directory Opus.
While the Flyakite Mac OSX look is gone, I still place the task bar and start menu at the top of the screen. As I mentioned, I no longer use a dock. Instead, I now have a collection of desktop icons that live permanently at the bottom of the screen. Apart from these shortcuts (and the Recycle Bin), my desktop is clean; the exception being when I am working on a new project - some files might stay on the desktop for a few days before they get filed away or deleted. Here's a screenshot of my desktop:
So what software do I use? I'll break the list down into categories, which make up the folders of my Start Menu.
Internet
- Firefox - has been my browser of choice for a long time (although I suspect that this is on the verge of changing). It is simple yet customisable, and very stable.
- Flock - is a browser based on Firefox that has some interesting features that will appeal to people who use Web 2.0 services such as Flickr, del.icio.us, or Blogger. It is a little buggy, and not ready to take on Firefox yet. But I'm using it right now to write this post... and I like it :) Worth having for the Flickr uploader alone.
- Google Talk - my chat application of choice. It is small, simple, doesn't bombard you with ads, and gives Gmail notifications.
- Skype - is more bloated than Google Talk, albeit with many more features (fluff). I use Skype when Google Talk chats require video - mostly for overseas. Skype is part of Google Pack.
- Sopcast - watch live sports events over the internet - even sports that are not aired on Australian TV.
- µTorrent - used for downloading files from other users around the world.
- iTunes - my music player of choice. I also use iTunes to rip CDs. I like the coverflow effect, although this doesn't really fit in with my new philosophy of speed over looks. I'm not sure if this will last. I can see myself switching to Songbird in the near future.
- Zoom Player - is an absolutely fantastic video player. The same video file looks better in Zoom Player than in another media player if you have them side-by-side. I don't know how or why. I cannot recommend it enough. Zoom Player is a must-install-program.
- QuickTime, RealPlayer, Media Player - I don't use these, but have them installed so that Zoom Player can use their codecs to play their files (better than they play their files - insane, I know).
- Nero 6 - burning software that came with my burner. I don't really like it, but it works... and I didn't have to buy it. Nero 7 has come out, but I like that version even less.
- DVD Shrink - allows you to copy copy-protected DVDs and (if required) shrink them so that they fit onto a smaller disk. Also, it can remove region encoding so that DVDs are viewable on players from any region (very useful).
- Adobe Premiere Elements - an absolutely fantastic program for editing home movies. Highly recommended.
- Paint.NET - my image editor of choice. People often comment on the images that I come up with - they all come out of this program. Who needs Photoshop? Not me.
- Photo Toolkit - this software integrates into the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, allowing the user to manipulate photos and remove redeye. It is very small and fast.
- AntiVir - my antivirus software of choice. I had used Avast! for years and was quite happy with it. I switched to AntiVir a few months ago and haven't looked back - it is a superior (and also free) antivirus product. When it updates, it shows an annoying AntiVir splash screen which can be turned off by following these instructions.
- Comodo Firewall Pro - the best firewall for XP... and it's free. In the past, I've tried Zone Alarm, Outpost Pro, and the old Sygate Personal Firewall (before Norton bought it and turned it to shit). I prefer Comodo to all of these firewalls as it is very effective and also transparent, in that it allows the user to see exactly what is going on. Highly recommended.
- Spyware Doctor - an excellent spyware monitor and scanner. If I had to choose out of SpywareBlaster, Spybot, Adaware and this, I would choose Spyware Doctor. Free version comes with Google Pack.
- SpywareBlaster - tries to prevent spyware from being installed on your computer in the first place.
- Spybot - scans your computer and removes spyware. Finds things that Adaware misses.
- Adaware 2007- scans your computer and removes spyware. Finds things that Spybot misses.
- PeerGuardian - protects your identity by blocking your IP address when torrenting. Always run PeerGuardian before opening µTorrent.
- Directory Opus - my file manager. It replaces Windows Explorer and does so many wonderful things - too many to list here. It makes managing files and folders a breeze. It is a truly wonderful program, and is made by Aussies.
- Google Desktop - allows you to search the files on your computer. It indexes your files so that you can find them quickly, without having to go hunting through folders. I always have this running on my laptop, but only open it when I need to use it on my home pc. This is also part of Google Pack.
- IZarc - my archiver of choice. It's free and opens over 50 file types: .zip, .rar, and many more.
- Daemon Tools - a virtual drive emulator that allows you to mount images of backed up DVDs.
- Adobe Acrobat Pro 7 - I'm a researcher. I read a lot of PDFs. Acrobat lets you highlight and comment straight onto a PDF file. Save trees, use Acrobat. Acrobat 8 provides no reason for me to upgrade. It is bloated, slow and crashes more often than version 7. My advice is to buy Acrobat Pro 7 (you can find it cheap if you look hard enough).
- Microsoft Office - I don't like Microsoft Office 2003. It is a very unintuitive collection of software. I only use it because I need to communicate with my supervisor and view her in-document comments. I run Office 2007 on my home pc... I'm unimpressed. I really do not understand why people pay money for Office when they could have OpenOffice.Org for free. For those of you who don't need to use MS Office (most people), I strongly recommend OpenOffice.Org. I will be installing it (and uninstalling MS Office) as soon as I'm finished my PhD.
- SPSS - a statistical analysis program. If you need this program, chances are you've already got it.
I am also planning two posts to supplement this one: my picks for the best online services and apps, and my Top 10 Firefox/Flock extensions. Stay tuned.
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