The Top 5 Game: Essential Software

So we were talking around the office about how all of our desk computers are completely shot to hell from years of software tests, installs/uninstalls, weird registry entries, and data fragmented up and down the block. Ok, my computer's in worse shape than most (they actually brought the beast down from SF for me, much to my dismay), but those of you who like to experiment on your own systems know how nice is it to stop the insanity and start over with a clean slate.

This brings me to today's Top 5 Game:
If you had to choose, what five programs do you consider must-installs on a fresh and clean OS?

Here are mine (XP):

1. AIM (but only when combined with AIMutation for tabbed browsing, etc)

2. iTunes

3. WinRAR

4. Firefox (extensions: IE View, BugMeNot, Firesomething, GoogleBar to start)

5. Spybot Search & Destroy

Ok, what are your faves?

Comments

[James]

Your welcome Andrew...enjoy! :)

[Unhuman]

My last 2 Gmail invites are posted on my web site. Good luck!

[taylorjo]

Many thanks to J Mac (seattlesportsfan) for the gmail account!!! I've been trying forever!

Thank you, Thank you!

[krugs]

2 gmail invites to whoever registers and completes a free offer so i can get my ipod. i need help really bad to get one and itd help in gettin the ladies(as kevin would say). please help me and sent me an email and i will email u the link. thanks!!!!

[iwakura]

1. firefox2. trillian3. thunderbird4. winzip5. wallpaper changer

[gmailgiver]

hey, i'm giving away ONE g-mail account to the first person who e-mails me at rigoletto_2482@yahoo.com!!!!! today is 9/6/04 i will only be giving it away today, first e-mail i read i will extend a G-mail invitation to that person!TODAY ONLY.......no what to make it better i will only be doing this till 3:00, ONE ACCOUNT, 1 HOUR!LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

[g-mailgiver]

sorry people you missed your chance, i thought some one would want gmail but guess not!

[marwan]

hey if anyone wants a gmail invite just email me and ill send u one

[Dan]

Man everyone must have Gmail by now, they are giving invites out like mad. If someone DOES NOT have one by some chance, email me I have a ton.

[Teja]

Hey free gmail invites here:

http://www.fanteja.com/blog/archives/2004/09/gmail_invites_b.php

if you need one just post in comments. :)

I have quite a few.

[teja]

again free gmail invites here:

http://www.fanteja.com/blog/archives/2004/09/gmail_invites_b.php

[chris]

Hey, Patrick is keeping busy, check this out.http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10165_7-5465494-1.html?tag=cnetfd.sd#bio

[dan]

got 5 gmails invites. first 5 gets em

nitroblast at gmail dot com

(did it like that for spam reasons)

[Shane]

I personaly just started over with a fresh install of the OS. I would say iTunes is the one most important thing I had to install.

If you are interested in a Gmail invite, I have 11 left. Come get yours while they last.

All that is required is you need to register on this board http://computerhelpforum.org/forum and post at least 10 posts (spam does not count and will result in banning and disqualification from recieving an invite. I have the say whether a post in spamming or not, no arguing!).

Once you have posted 10 times, send me (shane) a private message including your current e-mail, your first name and your last name and I will send it to as soon as possible. Invites are given on a first come first serve basis.

Hope to be sending them to you soon. :)

[Matt]

I do this very frequently so i pretty much know what i generally need.

1. WINDOWS UPDATES!!!!!! - i cannot stress this enough update your cpu trust me2. Drivers -Tv tuner, graphics card, required3.iTunes - Need iTunes 3.5 thousand songs don't organize themselves but with iTunes they do4.Aim (With Dead Aim) - I have people to talk to.5.Microsoft Office - Obvious

[cprompt0806]

Anybody knows what happened to gmail? its redirecting to another site.... image bank something? was it hacked????!!!

[mlampp]

I Have Three GMail accounts to give away. First three people to email me a cartboy@gmail.com gets them.

[Rich]

I just found this awesome site that totally gives you the low-down on all this Gratis Free Ipod/Flatscreen/PC stuff. They also have a really cool conga line that actually tells you what place you are in. Click below to check it out.

http://snipurl.com/8ts9

[Mandy]

heres a gmail account if you want it:http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-4b3b16e7a-5b5d319e1f-c12d86dc91

[Amanda]

heres a gmail account:http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-4b3b16e7a-6aaa7efa13-ccbb2069cc

[amanda]

heres a gmail account:http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-4b3b16e7a-364cecad65-0a88e79d92

[amanda]

heres a gmail account:http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-4b67d13143-5dcce33131-d8e73ed401

[Syniel]

1. firefox /adblock

2. XMMS

3. thunderbird

4. gzip/bzip

5. kopete (msn/aim/etc aggregator)

^_^

[Tom]

My contribution:1. IrfanView - image viewer / editor / thumbnail creator / slide show viewer (I've used every version since Win95)2. PrintKey 2000 - screen capture program (very small, takes over PrntScrn key, allows you to grab just 'objects', as well as rectangles, let's you launch you're favorite image editor)3. GZip - supports PKZip files and RAR files, maybe even Stuffit format, but for that I use Stuffit - best cross platform archive utility4. X-News - news reader (not RSS aggregator - Kill file support, decodes Yenc, configurable for sorting, categorizing and prioritizing messages)What do they have in common (other than OS)? Free ware, written and updated by individuals, light weight with many features.5. PDF995 - advertising-ware supported PDF creator for Windows (no need to learn how to install GhostScript or pay for Acrobat - installs as a windows printer and pops up an html page with an ad after each use, until you pay for a registered copy. NO added text to the PDF file or page limits.)

[Tom]

Oops - my bad. NOT GZip ... ZipGenius. (Brian - I agree)

[ZenBro]

1 - Ad-Aware2 - Spybot S&D3 - SpywareBlaster4 - Firefox5 - Spoofstick

OK, OK, OK ... I'm a tad paranoid!

[mike]

glad to see that at least you kept a bit of profesionalism on the first L.A. show. try to pass it on to the rest of the cast.

[Graham]

1. FireFox (AdBlock,Basics,GoogleBar,TargetAlert)2. AIM3. Winamp4. mIRC5. Counter-Strike ;-)

[tom tordel jr]

...oh so sad! how did that guy get set as Co_host. ?? good luck girl; you're in la la land now ,, get a real job. tt

[Adam]

1. Gmail Notifier2. WinRar3. Nero4. OverNet5. Mame32 with Roms

[Baby Arm]

1. SmartFTP2. WinRar3. Total Annihilation4. Nero 65. M.A.M.E

[Tom Hardcastle]

Just want to tell you how much I enjoyed the old format. Call for help and The Screen Savers were my favorite!

I can't wait till tomorrow night when the new show aires. We'll be watching.

I am 67 YO, Retired from the show business field. Spent over 25 years working in NYC.Now I live out in the boonies here in WV on 112 acres.

I upgraded my puter to a pent 4, and added Starband as my ISP. A lot faster than the 2600 I got on the dial up!

I've been in and out of hospitals for the last year or so. Had to have my rt leg amputated due to medical neglect. I hope I can get used to the prosthesis!

Again I really appreciate your show. I'm sure I will be happy with the new show!

Ill call in sometime with my webcam and would enjoy talking to the crew there!

Have a nice day and keep up the gpood work!

Tom Hardcastle

[Domon Kasshu]

Order Windows XP Service Pack 2 on CD

Thank you for your interest in the Windows XP Service Pack 2 CD. Microsoft will ship the CD to you free of charge. This CD includes the same Service Pack 2 software that is available for download from Windows Update.

System Requirements

To install Windows XP Service Pack 2 via CD, you need:

*

A PC with Windows XP Home Edition, Professional, Media Center Edition, or Tablet PC Edition installed*

233-megahertz or higher processor*

64 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher*

1.6 GB of available hard disk space during installation*

CD-ROM drive

Share This CD with a Friend

After you have installed Service Pack 2, Microsoft encourages you to give this CD to a friend or family member using Windows XP.

Getting Started

Please choose your country/region and language from the appropriate drop-down menu below. In order to successfully install Windows XP SP2, you must order the CD in the same language as the version of Windows XP that is currently running on your computer.

If you do not see the CD available in the language you require, please check the chart below to see when that language version will be available.

G4 Tv sucks. I want my Tech Tv

[Domon Kasshu]

Order Windows XP Service Pack 2 on CD

Thank you for your interest in the Windows XP Service Pack 2 CD. Microsoft will ship the CD to you free of charge. This CD includes the same Service Pack 2 software that is available for download from Windows Update.

System Requirements

To install Windows XP Service Pack 2 via CD, you need:

*

A PC with Windows XP Home Edition, Professional, Media Center Edition, or Tablet PC Edition installed*

233-megahertz or higher processor*

64 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher*

1.6 GB of available hard disk space during installation*

CD-ROM drive

Share This CD with a Friend

After you have installed Service Pack 2, Microsoft encourages you to give this CD to a friend or family member using Windows XP.

Getting Started

Please choose your country/region and language from the appropriate drop-down menu below. In order to successfully install Windows XP SP2, you must order the CD in the same language as the version of Windows XP that is currently running on your computer.

If you do not see the CD available in the language you require, please check the chart below to see when that language version will be available.

G4 Tv sucks I want my Tech Tv.

[Jag3k]

Here are mine (Debian GNU/Linux):1) Gaim2) FireFox3) OpenOffice.Org4) GnuPG5) Eterm

[soham]

can somebody pelase send mea gmail invite please please please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pepeto]

w2fyh@rtol.net

dear friends, two questions:. can someone send me an invitation to GMAIL,,. How can I order service pack 2 via Mail ??I read w2fyh@rtol.net how did you do this??

Thanks a Lot,

I want Techtv back!!!!!

[Chad]

1. AVG 6.02. Pest Patrol3. YahElite!4. Nero 6.35. Winamp

p.s. Love the show! I try to catch it when I'm not doing my Geek Squad duties!

[Hao La]

My Desktop :

1- NAV20042- Winamp5.053- ACDsee7 power pack4- photoshop85- Nero6- AIM & yahoo !!7- XoftSpy, Spy Boot, Ad-aware,....8- 3D Max 6 (my favor)

[schmalls]

In no particular order:

FirefoxOutlook 2003Directory Opusavast!a-squaredDreamweaver MXEclipseSpybot S & DAd-AwareCutePDFdc++J. River Media CenterMedia Player ClassicKazaa Lite K++NeroIZArcDVD-ShrinkCygwinSygate Personal Firewall

Whew! That is a lot of stuff I use all the time.

-Schmalls

[John]

For those of you who use multiple messengers, I found a little program called "Miranda-IM" to be a great alternative. It is super small: the base version will fit on a floppy disk! It supports AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, MSN, and many others. No install is required, which makes it a great program to have on your USB stick or portable media:) it is freeware, and there are many plugins to expand the capability of the program. I've been using this program for about a year. Stable, no spyware/adware of any kind and it is freeware.http://www.miranda-im.org

[Regime]

Sarah my love i dont want a gmail account i need oneand if i could get your number that would be great too lol :~}

[jorge trana]

I'd say the best thing i've done to date is downloading redhat 9 . I used to have windows, but since downloading redhat i've yet to have a blue screen,windows freezing, any trojans/hijackers/booters/etc. The best thing i'd reccomend anyone is to get themselves a (distro) of linux . At first i thought linux was not for everyone, but i'm glad i gave it a shot. Yes it does take 1 , maybe 2 days to learn it. But honestly i think that's trivial in comparison with what you get out of using linux. All software is free/free updates. Just my 2 cents.

[jorge trana]

That being said. Software that kicks ass.

1) The gimp- free open source photoshop alternative (availabe in multi-platform) go here http://www.gimp.org/



2)vi - All you really need for writing/editing html (free unix/linux based text editor) check it- http://www.vim.org/

3) a)Yum b)apt-get These are what you need to install additional .rpm files in the redhat/fedora platform (a must must must have) since you can download virtually any app/progg with a single shell command . If you need yum go here - http://linux.duke.edu/projects/yum/index.ptml

4)Open Office.org - This is the Do-all office suite. Why pay Micro$oft dough when you can download a program that will not only read word files, but make them as well. The best thing is you can save a file in PDF format how cool is that? Available in multi-platform as well win32 -get it here www.openoffice.org

5)Browsers a)Konqueror b)firefox these 2 browsers kick serious ass...You can get firefox for windows at www.getfirefox.com

You know what the best thing is? With the exception of yum, and apt-get you can get all these programs for FREE when you install most of Linux operating systems and many more . You can though, if you must, download versions for windows for The Gimp, and Open Office org which in my opinion work just as well, if not better than their name brand (commercial) counterparts.

[CongaMate]

Hi - saw some people in your comments are spamming congalines! We've rigged up a fast, free and fair congaline on www.congamate.com which doesn't require any spam except for the launch, which is currently in progress!

http://www.congamate.com

[Stether]

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