So, for those who know me, I work for the IT department for one of the colleges at Purdue (no I do not work for iTap, I would probably go insane). I am constantly getting people asking me to help them fix or setup their personal computers, and 99% of the time, I'm happy to help do just that. However, I am a bit tired of people asking me "What programs should I put on my new computer?" I figured it would just be easier to make a referable post to answer that question.
Windows based computers
Overview
First off, I am not a fan of Windows 8. I don't like the whole "tablets moving toward desktops and desktops moving toward tablets" ideology. That being said, I do have a lot of experience with this OS and while it is nice for some once they get used to it, it is a pain in the ass having to support a load of these computers from an IT perspective. I recommend Windows 7 for anyone considering buying a desktop style computer. It's been around and is still supported for like 95% of software out there. Windows 8 is alright I suppose for anyone in the market for a touchscreen laptop or tablet like the Surface, for instance (but non-touchscreen laptops still deserve Windows 7).
Recommended Free Software
Firefox - my preference for third party internet browsers
Chrome - another solid choice for third party internet browsers
Skype - video chat/IM software, group chats are now free for everyone
iTunes - if you have an Apple device
VLC - a solid all-around great media player
Audacity- a great open source sound-editing program
Adobe Reader - a good PDF viewer
PDFcreator - a good PDF file creator
7-Zip - a great file extraction tool (for unzipping/zipping files)
Dropbox - a nifty tool for Dropbox users that allows syncing to a local folder
Google Drive - a nifty tool for Drive users to launch Drive files
Filezilla - a wonderful file-transfer tool, if you do a lot of that stuff
CCleaner - a cache/trash tool for freeing up extra space on your computer
Handbreak - a CD/DVD ripping tool
Malwarebytes - an anti-malware tool (use in conjunction with an anti-virus program)
[Runtimes/Plugins]
Java 7
Adobe Flash Player
Adobe Shockwave
Microsoft Silverlight
Classic Start - this is a Windows 8 program that allows you to launch a Windows XP/7 style start menu from the desktop and avoid having to always use the clunky navigation tiles.
Open Office - a free, open source office suite; use if you don't want to pay for Microsoft Office or a 365 sub
Microsoft Office - while Office 2013 and newer are technically *free*, you still have to buy an Office 365 subscription to use them to create files. I recommend buying Office 2010 if you opt for the software, as it is more simplistic and time-tested, and you're probably already familiar with that version.
Anti-virus Software - I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND getting a good anti-virus program. I personally use McAfee VirusScan Enterprise because Purdue offers it for free to its students, but McAfee, AVG, Norton or Kaspersky are all great options. I also recommend just going ahead and buying the paid version from the get-go, you avoid conflicting installations that way. Also, choose one program and go with it, you'll thank me later when your computer isn't blowing up because multiple anti-virus programs are fighting each other.
Downloading/Installing
Everything listed (except for Microsoft Office, CCleaner & Adobe Flash) are available for download from Ninite, which is a self-installer website program (and the handiest tool ever for IT people). Just select which programs you want, then download and run the Ninite program and it will automatically install/update all of the programs that you have selected. You can also use it to update all your programs quickly and easily. CCleaner is available from the Piriform site and Adobe Flash Player is available from Adobe. Microsoft Office is available for purchase from Microsoft or a retailer such as BestBuy or Amazon, or likely from your University IT dept. at a discounted price if you attend a college (unfortunately, Purdue no longer offers older Office software at a discounted price though iTap, but does offer a 4 year Office 365 subscription).
Free software installers from Ninite
CCleaner download
Adobe Flash Player download
Mac OS X based computers
Overview
Not to be biased, but I switched to a Mac cold-turkey back in 2011 and never looked back, and I don't think I'll be switching any time soon. I love my Mac and have used it every OS X iteration since Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) (by comparison, I'm currently running OS X Mavericks which is OS X 10.9, with OS X Yosemite (10.10) debuting sometime this year - yes, I'll likely be upgrading). The nice thing about the new future of Apple is that they are making all future OS X releasing since Mavericks free (as in $0.00 to upgrade or install). With every new Apple computer purchase, you get a free download of the Mac office suite as well (Pages, Numbers and Keynote - the Apple equivalent of Word, Excel and Powerpoint).
Recommended Free Software (Non-App Store)
Firefox - my preference for third party internet browsers
Chrome - another solid choice for third party internet browsers
Skype - video chat/IM software, group chats are now free for everyone
VLC - a solid all-around great media player
Audacity- a great open source sound-editing program
PDFcreator - a good PDF file creator, although Preview can manipulate PDFs and is built-in
Dropbox - a nifty tool for Dropbox users that allows syncing to a local folder
Google Drive - a nifty tool for Drive users to launch Drive files
Filezilla - a wonderful file-transfer tool, if you do a lot of that stuff
Handbreak - a CD/DVD ripping tool
Malwarebytes - an anti-malware tool (use in conjunction with an anti-virus program)
[Runtimes/Plugins]
Java 7
Adobe Flash Player
Adobe Shockwave
Microsoft Silverlight
Anti-virus Software - I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND getting a good anti-virus program. I personally use McAfee VirusScan Enterprise because Purdue offers it for free to its students,
but McAfee, AVG, Norton or Kaspersky are all great options. I also
recommend just going ahead and buying the paid version from the get-go,
you avoid conflicting installations that way. Also, choose one program
and go with it, you'll thank me later when your computer isn't blowing
up because multiple anti-virus programs are fighting each other.
Recommended Free Software (App Store)
iTunes - if you have an Apple device or just want to use the native media player
iMovie - video editing software
iPhoto - photo organization program
CCleaner - a cache/trash tool for freeing up extra space on your computer
Microsoft Office - while Office 2014 and newer are technically *free*, you still have to
buy an Office 365 subscription to use them to create files. I recommend
buying Office 2011 if you opt for the software, as it is more simplistic
and time-tested, and you're probably already familiar with that
version.
Apple iWork - this is Apple's version of
Microsoft Office, and includes Pages, Numbers and Keynote (instead of
Word, Excel and Powerpoint). They are free to download from the App
Store if you buy a new Mac computer, otherwise they are $20/program as of the last time I checked.
Other Useful Programs/Tools (Free/Paid)
Smart Converter - video format conversion tool; App Store - free
Stuffit Expander - file unarchiving tool (zip, rar files); App Store - free
Caffeine - menu bar tool for disabling screen sleep; App Store - free
Memory Clean - menu bar tool for freeing up memory (RAM); App Store - free
Auditri - FLAC file conversion tool; App Store - paid
InsomniaX - machine sleep tool; Internet - free download page
gfxCardStatus - graphics card switching control tool for 2009-2012 MacBooks; Internet - download page
Nocturne - day/night screen tint/brightness tool; Internet - free download page
Fan Control - allows controlling the speed/turn-on conditions for the internal fan; Internet - download page
Connect 360 - allows streaming music/videos from iTunes to an Xbox 360 over wifi; Internet - purchase
Perian - self-updating media codec tool for a wide variety of formats; Internet - free download page
Itsycal - calendar app that sits in the menu bar, very streamlined and non-intrusive - free download page
PS3 Media Server -DLNA based media server program, useful to stream your Mac files to an Xbox One/PS3/PS4 - free download page
Downloading/Installing
Just like the Ninite program that allows easy installation of the free programs for Windows, GetMacApps allows for easy installation of a lot of the non-App Store programs that I've mentioned. Just open their website, select which programs you want to install, and copy/paste the code they give you into the Terminal app on your mac, and all of the programs that you selected will auto-install.
Programs not available via this method have download links below or next to their description.
Microsoft Office is available for purchase from Microsoft or a retailer
such as BestBuy or Amazon, or likely from your University IT dept. at a
discounted price if you attend a college (unfortunately, Purdue no
longer offers older Office software at a discounted price though iTap,
but does offer a 4 year Office 365 subscription). Apple iWork is available for download through the App Store.
Free software installers from GetMacApps
Malwarebytes download
Java 7 download
Adobe Flash Player download
Adobe Shockwave download
Microsoft Silverlight download
Linux based computers
Overview
If you're using Linux, you're obviously advanced enough to not needing to be reading this blog post about what free software to install on your machine.
Afterword
If there is more software or utilities that you think deserves to be on this list or helps you out, feel free to post it and I'll check it out and add it to the list. Also, if you have any questions about any of the programs that I have mentioned or need help in any way setting up or working on your computer, let me know and I'll see if I can indeed help.
