This page is where I recommend usable and decent software for everyday (or more specific) purposes. Most of the list now consists of Windows-software, but hopefully this will change. I gave up on Windows back in January 2007 and switched to Ubuntu, but so far I’ve been to lazy to make a list of good Ubuntu/Linux-applications. Hopefully this will change, but for the time being Windows users maybe can find some application here that solves one of the many annoyances with Windows.

I’m not going to point out obvious software such as The GIMP. They’re pretty self-explanatory.

Windows

Launchy is a beautiful piece of software that no Windows user should be without. It’s similar to Quicksilver on the Mac, albeit not as powerful. It’s essentially a keystroke application launcher. You punch the shortcut buttons and type in the first few letters of the program you need and Launchy will guess it for you. It sure beats hunting through the Start-menu every time.

Utorrent is probably the best Bittorrent-client for Windows. Just one file, download and enjoy.

PuTTY is absolutely essential to us UNIX/Linux-nuts. PuTTY is what we use when we remotely connect through SSH to these machines. Maybe not for every person, and especially for non-techies it’s pretty useless. But back when I ran Windows it was the first app I launched and the last one I closed. One file, fits perfectly on a USB-stick for on-the-go-action.

CPUz is a pretty geeky piece of software. Essentially what it does is analyze your hardware and spit out information about it. Not necessarily something you need every day, but I used it a lot when servicing computers with wonky hardware.

WhyReboot is a neat little piece of software. Windows has an annoying habit of insisting on restarts for pretty much everything a user does. Installed a software? Restart. Changed the wallpaper? Restart. You know the drill. With WhyReboot you can check to see if a restart is scheduled and if it’s critical. If it’s not critical, just ignore the restart.

Unlocker is used for unlocking files. Windows is pretty psychotic when it comes to file management, and with Unlocker you can unlock files for deletion. You can also check which process is using a certain file. Most handy.

Miranda IM is without a doubt the best Instant Messenger for Windows. It can do any network (ICQ, Jabber, Yahoo, etc etc) and is greatly extensible through it’s pluggable architecture. It’s very efficient albeit quite a bit ugly. With a loaded Miranda it can also get kind of cluttered, but it’s still a great piece of software. It’s also quite portable, just copy the directory onto a USB-stick - or move it when reinstalling.

Media Player Classic is my favourite media-player for movies on Windows. It’s very lean and tidy and is reminiscent of old Windows Media Player 6.0 in it’s interface. It does however pack a lot of features under its shell, and it’s very efficient with resources. Also, it’s just one file.

VLC is another media-player. It’s available for a lot of operating systems, and it plays pretty much every format that exists. Doesn’t really matter what you point it at, odds are in favor that VLC will play it.

Firefox and Thunderbird are two obvious choices, but they just have to be on this list. Firefox is hands-down the best browser there is and Thunderbird is an equally brilliant email-client. There are very few pieces of software as good as these two.

Metapad is a tiny yet powerful text-editor. One file, download and go. Full of useful editing tools and a very rapid interface. Excellent replacement for Windows built-in notepad.

Notepad++ is one of the few pieces of software I really miss under Linux. It’s a great text-editor with built-in filters for various formats (XML, HTML, PHP, C++ etc) and is very customizable. It reads every text-file that exists regardless of encoding or origin.

GNU MC is a Windows-port of the Midnight Commander. Midnight Commander is in turn a souped-up clone of the old Norton Commander. MC is a efficient file-manager, but it’s not for the faint of heart.

Samurize and Speedfan are two pieces of software I used under Windows to monitor my computer. Speedfan keeps an eye on the temperatures and Samurize displays them neatly on my screen together with other stats. Neither software is for the beginner since they’re both rather obtuse in their interfaces. But they’re really cool, and if you want to impress on your non-nerd friends these are essential.

DOSbox is priceless for getting old DOS-based programs and games running under modern operating systems. Great tool for running ancient games that don’t really get modern hardware and software.

Google Earth and NASA World Wind are two programs for exploring the planet we live on. Both have their strengts and weaknesses, and both are dangerously addictive. Not particularly useful but very fun, educational and entertaining.

Ccleaner is a neat tool for cleaning out the crud that Windows has a tendency to accumulate.

Clickomania is not particularly useful since it’s a silly little game. It is however extremely addictive, and for a while I was completely hooked on it. I even dreamt Clickomania-dreams! Be warned then, it’s easy to get hooked on this fun little game.

Photo Stacker isn’t very useful either. It just generates a wallpaper with various photos found on you computer and makes it look as if they’re polaroids strewn on your desktop. Quite useless, but kind of fun. It should be pointed out that the program is slower than molasses even on very powerful computers. Have patience with it.

MP3tag is hands-down the best MP3-tagging software. Quick, powerful and excellent. If you need to sort out your MP3-collection this program is your friend.

Ubuntu/Linux

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