PC Essentials – Part 2

Now that we’ve done the major software needs, we’ll focus on the niche stuff that a good portion of you will still need. The format here will be a little different, because we’ll be dealing with more specific needs.

File Archiving
By now most people have seen a zip file. Windows has had integrated support for the ZIP format since Windows XP, and it’s visibility is relatively minimal. You can generally just open a zipped archive like a standard folder, and drag and drop the files you need into a standard (uncompressed) folder. Easy. But ZIP is not the only compression standard in wide use. We have RAR, ACE, ZIP, and a few others on top of that, including the venerable ARC. You could download a filetype specific archive program when you run across a new archive standard, or you could be prepared for them. 7-zip is versatile and robust, and opens almost everything, and adds a context option for simple archiving.

BitTorrent Client
Peer to peer is the way to transfer massive demand files. Torrents have revolutionized sharing and made downloading large files convenient, and in some cases much faster. Instead of downloading a single large file, a torrent works by downloading small pieces of the file from multiple people who already have the file, or pieces of it that you don’t. The torrent client reads the instructions for the pieces it needs and how to assemble them from the torrent file, and puts them together into a full copy of the original file. µTorrent (pronounced Micro-torrent, though people will know what you mean if you call it You Torrent) is full featured, but so efficient the whole program is less than a half of one megabyte in size. That’s smaller than most image files.

Uninstaller
Anyone who’s had their computer for longer than a month has replaced one or two programs. Anyone who bought the computer ‘off the shelf’ (Meaning you bought a ready built computer from a manufacturer like Dell or HP) had a bunch of demo and trial software on it. Most people will do one of two things, leave it on there and ignore it (bad idea), or use the Add/Remove programs feature of Windows to remove it. I recommend against this. While it will get rid of a majority of the software, it’s not foolproof. It can leave massive amounts of registry files that you don’t need, and in some cases the software simply won’t vacate the premises. I recommend an outside solution. Revo Uninstaller comes in a free and a paid version. The free one does an adequate job in my experience, of finding all the traces that are normally left over with the standard uninstall programs.
If you have a brand new PC, but know you don’t want any of the trial crap they’ve given you, download PC Decrapifier and run it. It’s a self contained scripted application that will run a wizard to remove most of the unwanted crud on your PC. It can make your antivirus nervous. Don’t worry, it won’t harm your computer. If your AV software reacts it’s due to the way this software is written, very much like a typical data destruction virus can be. This only deletes what you tell it to do though.

Secure Deletion
Some people have very sensitive data on their computers. There are various programs around that offer data deletion with rewrite and so forth. I’ve found that File Shredder does the job, at the fantastic price of free. It essentially deletes the file, notes that spot on the hard drive, marks over it, and repeats that 3 times. After a day or two of normal computer use, the file is gone. After a week, the NSA wouldn’t be able to find it, much less the skeevy dude at the coffee shop who wants your credit card number.

File Recovery
OK, you finished typing up your thesis, saved it, and go and delete all the unnecessary files on your thumb drive, only to realize you accidentally deleted the file you needed to turn in. Provided you aren’t just telling that story to your professor to cover for not doing it, you can run Recuva to restore that deleted file. This won’t work on files you deleted with File Shredder. This doesn’t mean Recuva isn’t working, just means File Shredder did what it was supposed to.

DVD Authoring
There are lots of DVD authoring programs that have a more robust feature list than DVD Flick, but it offers ease of use, a wide range of supported formats and codecs, and they offer it at no charge, which makes it right in everyone’s price range.

Audio Editing and Recording
Audacity is fantastic. Whether you’re a nerd in a basement making podcasts for 4 other people online, or a fledgling indie band mixing tracks for a demo, or a professional studio (I think) Audacity seems to do it all. I’m no audio expert, but I’ve made a lot of use out of it, it had a lot of reverb and cleanup options, and tons more things to do that I didn’t understand. I did a couple recordings for gamer podcasts and I have a few friends in bands that gave me the thumbs up on this one. The price is right to try it out for yourself though. Yeah, free.

If you have suggestions for software for me to test, let me know in comments or by email. More of these PC Essential posts are likely to follow.

PC Essentials – Part 1

I get a lot of people asking me how to do various things on the PC. From how to watch certain videos that won’t play under Windows Media Player to reading MS Office documents when they can’t afford Microsoft’s (admittedly overpriced) software. This post might not do you the most good if you’re running a linux distro or coming here on a Mac, but some of the software below works on all three major OSes. So maybe you’ll find something you like too.

This post and it’s followup are all about software solutions. Basically it’s a standard loadout, software that does what you want, and with minimal hassle. Almost anything you could ever need usually has a free version online somewhere. Sometimes the free versions outperform the paid versions. But the bottom line is, you presumably paid good money for your computer, and it should do what you want it to.

Here’s this asshole’s picks for the best software for your buck.

Web Browser:
Firefox
Without a doubt Firefox has the most versatile web browser I know of. The base browser is robust enough, runs everything I can throw at it, and is immune to Active X exploits. Chrome is a bit lighter, Opera runs with less footprint, but the real power of Firefox comes by way of the plugins. Tons of plugins. Firefox lets you easily theme, redesign the window, and supplement your experience with various Add-Ons that enhance your user experience. One of my favorites is the NoScript add-on, which prevents sites from running javascript without your express permission. I’d say a good 95% of viruses spread by this method nowadays, so it’s a no-brainer for me. Another is AdBlock, which makes viewing a lot of websites MUCH more enjoyable. Firefox is my browser of choice.
Runner Up: Google Chrome. Fast browser, lighter footprint than Firefox, but nowhere near as customizable…yet.

Office Software:
OpenOffice
OpenOffice.org is an open source software suite that performs the same tasks you would get from Microsoft Office or WordPerfect Office, with the benefit of being free and open-source. The software takes a bit of learning if you’re used to the MS method, but once you learn it you have some major benefits. First off, it’s free of charge, for one computer or a hundred. Secondly, you can read, edit and save as almost every file format, which cuts compatibility issues drastically. Third, it can output directly as a professional PDF, which makes publishing and working with other professionals much easier.
Runner Up: Calligra Suite
Calligra is technically superior to OpenOffice in many ways. It has more features, more graphics solutions – vector design for example, and can import MS files as well. The learning curve is much greater however, so OpenOffice edged it out.

Graphics Software:
The GiMP
The Gimp software is an open source answer to Photoshop. It’s very powerful, has tons of features and customization options, and a decently low memory footprint. It can save your image in a number of file types, and with practice, you can put out quality images that are professional quality with little effort. I must be honest, CS5 is easier to use and has more features, but I honestly don’t think the extra features are worth CS5’s $400+ price tag.
Runner Up: Krita – Not as powerful, but still very featured software. As a bonus, it’s part of the Calligra Suite I mentioned earlier.

Image Viewer:
IrfanView
Yeah, you can look at your pictures folder without downloading other software. But have you noticed it’s very bare bones? IrfanView is a true godsend for people who spend a lot of time with pictures. It can easily go from a full screen slideshow mode to a standard viewer, easily scales, can edit the images without an outside program, rotates images without loss of information, fast directory changing inside the program, filtering, batch support, will show .gifs animated, and can handle amost every image type I’ve ever seen. It will even play videos and read some pdfs.
Runner-Up: Just use the Windows one. Most other viewers cost money or have poor support, or simply don’t do enough to warrant a change.

Video Viewing:
VLC (VideoLAN – Originally VideoLAN Client)
WMV, MP4, MKV, AVI, XviD, DivX, whatever the file is, VLC doesn’t care. It plays it. It plays it with subtitles (if you have the subtitle file), with menus, with a software amplifier to sound, with a ton of customization options, graphic equalizer, video tweaks, surround sound options and so forth. VLC is more versatile than any DVD player. Oh, it plays DVDs too.
Runner Up: Media Player Classic
Another fantastic media player, it trades some of VLCs customization options and file versatility for a more Windows tailored program.

Audio Listening:
iTunes
OK, normally I wouldn’t support an Apple product, but you know what? iTunes is a prime example of software done right. It plays all common audio formats (or converts files to formats it can play) and most of your DRM infested digital copies of movies play better in the iTunes format (not to mention being able to watch them on the go on an iPod or iPhone is a great boon) I’ll admit it, the Zune is trying, but iPods are kicking it’s ass. Since the iTunes software is free, there’s no reason not to take advantage of it. It provides a clean interface, with great design, and very few bugs.
Runner(s) Up: Foobar2000 and Songbird are both on my radar. Foobar looks like it’s an audiophile’s dream, but has proved extremely buggy. It does support FLAC and OGG though, so it may be worth a wait on a more stable version. Songbird has the clean and polished interface like iTunes, and functions much the same, but with more of an Android focus.

Antivirus:
AVG Free
I cannot speak well enough of AVG. I tend to avoid the general practices that account for more than 80% of the viruses online (porn, clicking random apps on Facebook, warez and crack sites) but not all of my friends do. If I can get to the point where I can install AVG (which can be a whole other story) AVG can, 9 times out of 10, find the offending critter, and quarantine or destroy it, restoring much use for the computer. But that’s not the best thing. Usually I can’t stand toolbar add ons (Yahoo! toolbar and Google toolbar are crap for example) but the AVG toolbar is a toolbar done right. AVG’s add-ons for Firefox result in a few layers of protection. First when doing a search through almost any search engine, AVG gives icons next to your results letting you know if a page has checked out safe before. Second, it monitors the page you’re currently on, and if something it sees as fishy goes down, a section of the toolbar lets you know with an unattractive red color and flashing. Third, it works with Firefox’s own monitoring to keep you away from known attack sites. I actually use the paid version of AVG. Not because I need it, but I figure they’ve saved me at LEAST that much money in repairs to my own computer, and I know I’ve saved friends computers that were worth much more.
Runner Up: Avast! is good if you don’t mind annoying reminders and re-registrations. The software is solid but annoying. But one word of advice. Avoid McAfee and Norton at ALL COSTS. These are bloated and ultimately ineffective pieces of software. If your sense of security relies on a retail piece of antivirus software, do the paid version of AVG or Avast!, or if you’re wanting the absolute best, go with Kaspersky Labs.

My next post will go into more niche software – torrenting, Audio editing, video editing, disc authoring, and so forth. Expect it in a day or three.