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Your Essential Software

P

Pacal

Member
Tell us what software you use and rely on along with your role as a computer user whether it be a gamer, entertainment, programmer (include type), web designer / graphics artist, power-user, or otherwise.

Please keep your lists succinct, and descriptions or reasons why are unnecessary.

Looking forward to hearing from you all...


~Pacal
 
Role: Power-user / Web Developer

(In no particular order...)
OS: Windows Vista 64-bit
Backup/Restoration: Acronis True Image
Multimedia: Adobe Creative Suite CS3
Audio & Related: N/A
Video & Related: N/A
P2P: BitTorrent
CD/DVD Emulator: DaemonTools Lite
Encryption: PGP Desktop
Firewall/Security: Windows Firewall
FTP Client: FlashFXP
FTP Server:: BPFTP Server
Java: JRE, JDK, NetBeans
Anti-Virus: Kaspersky Anti-Virus
PDA: Microsoft Active Sync
Office Suite: Microsoft Office 2007
Media Player: Microsoft WindowsXP Media Player
IRC: mIRC
Web-Browser: Mozilla Firefox
CD/DVD Burning: Nero Burning ROM
SVN Client: TortoiseSVN
File Integrity: QuickSFV
Text Editor: UltraEdit & Compare
File Compression: WinRAR, MagicISO
SSH Client: Putty
Virtualization: VMWare Workstation

(On going...)
 
non-serious Power Primary User: Vista Home Premium (64-bit), Xbox 360

Backup: MS Backup, Acronis TrueImage
Browser: Firefox
Office: OpenOffice
Media Players: WMP, Zune Software
Codecs: K-lite Full
Video Editing: Windows Movie Maker, Ulead Video Studio
Video Compression: Windows Media Encoder, DVDFab Decrypter, DVDShrink, Handbrake, AviDemux
Music Compression: dbpoweramp
Sound Editing: Audacity
Photography: Windows Live Photo Gallery, Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo, Paint.Net, Pixmantec Rawshooter Essentials
CD/DVD Burning: IMGBurn, ISORecorder
Text Editor: Notepad++
Blogger: Windows Live Writer
Email: Thunderbird
File Compression: 7-zip
PDF: Foxit Reader
Security: Antivir Free, Windows Defender, Windows Firewall
VPN: Hamachi
Sidebar Stuff: Digital Clock, Calender, Weather, Volume, CPU/RAM monitor, HDD monitor, IMAP checker, Todo List
 
Role: Everything but gaming. Main Rig-Use %50 / Laptop - Ubuntu %50

(In no particular order...)
Backup/Restoration: Acronis True Image
Multimedia: Adobe Creative Suite CS3 (Dreamweaver #1)
P2P: UTorrent
CD/DVD Emulator: DaemonTools
FTP Client: CuteFtp
Anti-Virus: Why bother? That spoils all the fun!
PDA: Microsoft Active Sync
Office Suite: Microsoft Office 2007
Media Player: Microsoft WindowsXP Media Player
Web-Browser: Firefox
CD/DVD Burning: Nero Burning ROM
File Compression: WinRAR, MagicISO
Video Editing: Power Director by Cyberlink
Simple Picture editing: Picasa 2
Programming - Visual Studio 08


 
Role: I'm a graduate PhD engineering student so I use my computer for work and games. In my work I never know just what I will need my computer to do next, so it helps to have a powerful rig that can do it all basically.

Backup/Restoration: none at this time. hardware RAID5 for hard drive failure protection, no backups. mission critical data is backed up on 3 different rigs that are on different sites, manually.
Multimedia: GIMP and Photoshop... I like them for different things.
P2P: uTorrent
CD/DVD Emulator: DaemonTools Lite
Encryption: Don't need it really
FTP Client: CuteFTP when I need it
Java: JRE
Anti-Virus: AVGFree
Office Suite: Microsoft Office 2003
Media Player: media player classic from CCCP, mplayer. WMP11 as a media center extender for PS3.
IRC: in 2008? o rly? haven't needed it for a long time.
Web-Browser: Mozilla Firefox
CD/DVD Burning: Ashampoo
iso creation: burnatonce
File Integrity: windows vista disk check?
Text Editor: Notepad ...
File Compression: 7-zip
Transcoding: MediaCoder
Virtualization: VMWare Workstation
Music: iTunes (FTL! crap software! but I like the service)
Defrag: perfectdisk 2008 pro
Games: steam (for quite a few)
PDF: foxit


 
Operating System: Windows XP SP2 | Ubuntu 7.10
Productivity: Microsoft Office 2007 Pro (student deal a few months back)
IDE: Visual Studio 2008 Pro (C++ on Windows, free through Microsoft student promotion), NetBeans 6.0 (for Java based coding), Geany (C++ on Linux)
WebBrowser: FireFox (only use it because of ad-block plus)
Burning: imgburn
Picture editing: irfanview
Virtual Drive / image creator: Alcohol 52% Freeware Edition
Anti-Virus: AntiVir Personal Edition Premium (switching to free edition when my license expires)
Compression: 7-zip (windows), whatever ships with Ubuntu for Linux
Media Player: Windows Media Player | Totem (for Linux)
PDF: Foxit Reader | Whatever Ubuntu ships with
SSH: SSH Secure Shell
 
OS: Windows XP
Office: OpenOffice 2.3.1, awaiting 2.4
Picture Viewing: InfraView
Graphics Manipulation: GIMP 2.4.4
Anti-Virus: AVG Free Edition
PDF: Adobe Reader 6.0
Media: Windows Media Player 10
Html Editor: Alleycode
Video: Windows Movie Maker
WMA to MP3: Jodix (old but works just fine)
Audio Editor: Audacity
Hardware Temperature Monitor: SpeedFan 4.33 (perfect replacement for Motherboard Monitor)
TextEditor: Notepad (searching for possible replacement)
 
OS: Windows XP Pro SP2
Surfing the Web: Opera
Office: Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise
PDF: Foxit Reader
Secuirty/Anti-Virus/Firewal: Zonealarm Internet Secuirty Suite
Music+videos: WMP11 supplemented with K-Lite Mega Codec Pack
Compression: WinRar
Maintenane: CCleanr + Registry Mechanic + VOPT 8.18 + TuneXP
Virtual Drive: Daemon Tools Lite
Burning: Nero 7 Ultra
Bit-Torrent: uTorrent 1.8 beta Build 8192
 

Role: 3D graphics modeling/general every day stuff
OS: windows xp x64
Email: Thunderbird, Eudora
Browser: Firefox, IE7
Media Player: KMPlayer
Burning: cdburner XP
Virtual Drive: Virtual CD , clonecd
Compression: Winrar
Office: MS Office 2003
Backup: Acronis TrueImage
PDF: Adobe Reader
Firewall/AntiVirus : snort, clark connect
Video conversions: TMPGEnc Express

Work Related:
Adobe Photoshp CS3
3DSMax 2008
Maya 2008
XSI Foundation 6.5
Zbrush 3.1
Silo 2.1
Genetica
Deep Exploration
BodyPaint 3.1
Avid Liquid


Hobby Related (former engineer)
NI Multisim
CCS PIC C
Hi-Tech PIC C
Python 2.5
 
Big thanks to those of you who decided to participate.

I find this kind of information hugely valuable when evaluating the productive worth of certain software choices. There are a lot of options out there, and knowing your role as a computer user and software choices is very insightful.

Hope to see more of you onlookers contribute 😉 And thank you for keeping your contributions concise and on-topic.
~Pacal
 
Role: Photo Development / Web Development / Video / General Use
OS: Vista Ultimate 64-bit
Browser: Firefox & IE7/8
Photo Development: Adobe Lightroom
Color Calibration: Pantone Huey Pro
Graphics: Adobe Photoshop CS3
Video Transcoding: Videora & MediaCoder
Video Encoding: DVD Decrypter & DVD Shrink
Video Editing: MS Movie Maker, Sony Vegas
Office: MS Office 2007 Pro
Multimedia: Windows Media Center, Windows Media Player 11, Zune Software
Web Development: MS Expressions Web (MS freebie gratuity for focus group participation!)
FTP: Filezilla
P2P: uTorrent
PDA: Blackberry Desktop Manager
Antivirus: NOD32
 
OS: Windows XP Pro 32-bit
Audio & Related: iTunes
Video & Related: Videora, DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink
P2P: Azureus, Limewire
CD/DVD Emulator: Alcohol 52%
Firewall/Security: Windows Firewall
FTP Client: FileZilla
Security: AVG Anti Virus, AVG Anti Spyware, Threatfire, Ad-Aware 2007, Hijack This
Office Suite: Microsoft Office 2003
Media Player: K-Lite Codec Pack w/ Media Player Classic, PowerDVD
Chat: Aim
Web-Browser: Mozilla Firefox
PDF: FoxIT
CD/DVD Burning: Nero Burning 7
Text Editor: Notepad++
File Compression: WinRAR
Virtualization: VMWare Workstation
Monitoring: CPU-Z, Real Temp 2.0, Coretemp 0.97, Speedfan 4.33, Prime95, Google Toolbar
 
Role: Power user / Digital Artist

OS: Windows XP Pro 32bit
Backup/Restoration: Acronis True Image 9
Multimedia: Adobe Creative Suite CS3/Lightroom/Corel Painter X
3D Modeling/render: Maya 8/Poser 6//Cinema 4D/Bryce
Video Editing: Adobe Premiere Pro CS3
Video converer: Alive Video Converter
Picture Browser/Gallery: Canon ZoomBrowser
P2P: BitTorrent
Firewall/Security: ZoneAlarm Pro 7
Anti-Virus: Avria AntiVir
Video Conferencing: EnVision SL
Office Suite: Microsoft Office 2007 Enterpise
Email Client: Outlook Express
Email backup: Genie Soft Outlook Express Backup
Media Player: Microsoft Media Player 11
Web-Browser: Internet Explorer 7
CD/DVD Burning: Nero Burning ROM 7
File Compression: WinRAR, MagicISO
Defragmenter: Diskeeper Premier Pro 7
IM Client: Trillian Pro 3.1
 
Role: Currently at College for Digital Film Production so I use it for Games, Video and Audio Editing software, and Programming for my Com Sci minor.

(In no particular order...)
OS: Windows Vista 64-bit
Backup/Restoration: N/A
Multimedia: Adobe Photoshop CS3
Audio & Related: Adobe PAudition CS3
Video & Related: Adobe Premier CS3
Programming: Visual Studio 2008
P2P: UTorrent
CD/DVD Emulator: DaemonTools Lite
Firewall/Security: Windows Firewall
FTP Client: WS FTP
Office Suite: OPen Office
Media Player: Media Player Classic
IRC: mIRC
Web-Browser: Mozilla Firefox
CD/DVD Burning: Magic Iso
File Compression: WinRAR
 
Role: Gamer/Entertainment/High School Student

OS: Windows XP Pro 32-bit
Multimedia: Adobe Photoshop CS3, Fairuse Wizard 2.8
Audio & Related: Audacity
P2P: uTorrent, Frostwire
CD/DVD Emulator: PowerISO, Daemon Tools
Firewall/Security: Windows Firewall
FTP Client: CuteFTP Pro
Anti-Virus: avast Home
Office Suite: Microsoft Office 2007
Media Player: Windows Media Player 11, VLC Media Player
Web-Browser: Mozilla Firefox
CD/DVD Burning: Nero Burning ROM
Text Editor: Notepad
File Compression: WinRAR

Misc software:
National Instruments Multisim
Guitar Pro 5
 
Since I'm going to do a wipe/reinstall soon, good timing:

OS: XP Pro sp2
Multimedia: GIMP
P2P: uTorrent
CD/DVD Emulator: DaemonTools
FTP Client: FileZilla
Anti-Virus: AVGFree
Spyware: Spybot, AdAware, Webroot
Office Suite: Microsoft Office XP
Media Player: MPC & VLC
Video Making: Super, DVDFab
Communication: Pidgin, Teamspeak, Ventrillo
Web-Browser: Mozilla Firefox
CD/DVD Burning: Nero 7
iso creation: isoburn
File Compression: winrar
Music: Media Monkey
Defrag: Diskkeeper Pro
Games: steam
PDF: foxit
Email: Thunderbird

Other: xplorer2, ccleaner

I'm a Gamer and a TV/Movie whore
 
I think this should be a sticky, but maybe with room for discussions too. i'm setting up my gf's laptop, but i realize that we both have different "needs" in our pc. she wouldn't use half of the stuff that i install on my computer, but she probably would want / require other software that would make her computing easier.
 
Role: digital artist

Camera: Canon PowerShot A610
Photowork: Adobe Creative Suite CS3
Photo Gallery and Catalong: Canon ZoomBrowser
Image Resize rename batch: Graphic Workshop Professional
Backup: Acronis True Image
DVD Video editing and Authoring: Nero Buring ROM
OS: Windows XP SP4
Firewall: ZoneAlarm Pro
AntiVirus: AntiVir
 
Backup/Restoration: Acronis TrueImage. Now trying out Perfect Image.
Multimedia: Photoshop
P2P: uTorrent
CD/DVD Emulator: Don't use them
Encryption: Don't need it really. I'm the only user
FTP Client: FlashFXP
Java: JRE
Anti-Virus: Kaspersky
Office Suite: Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate
Media Player: Windows Media Player for videos. Winamp for music and Internet Radio
IRC: mIRC, used sometims with Autoget for music.
Web-Browser: Mozilla Firefox 3 and IE8
CD/DVD Burning: Nero Burning Rom
iso creation: WinISO
File Integrity: sfc /scannow 🙂
Text Editor: Notepad ...
File Compression: WinRAR
Transcoding: K-Lite Codec Pack
Virtualization: Don't need to use it
Music: allofmp3
Defrag: perfectdisk 2008 pro. Ditto.
Games: Consoles and some WoW
PDF: Adobe Reader
 
Role: Miscellaneous BS

O/S- Vista64
Browser- Firefox
Email- Thunderbird
A/V- Avira
PDF- Foxit
Office- OpenOffice
Optical Burning- Infrarecorder
Video- VLC
Music- Foobar2000
Virtual Machines- Virtual Box
IM/IRC- Pidgin
Torrent- uTorrent
GUI addition- ObjectDock
Firewall- Built in
FTP client- Fireftp extension for Firefox
Partitioning- Gparted
System rescue- UltimateBootCD4Windows
Compression- 7Zip
Text editor- Notepad++
Image manipulation- Paint.NET
Calculator- Excal32


Edit:
Added a couple
 
Role: Gaming / Crunching / Programming (school)

OS: Vista 64-bit
Browser: Firefox
Email: Outlook
A/V: Avast!
PDF: Foxit
Office: MS Office 2007
Optical Burning: Ashampoo Burniong Studio
Video: VLC
Music: Media Monkey
Virtual Machines: none
IM/IRC: Trillian
Torrent: none
GUI addition: ObjectDock
Firewall: hardware & Windows Firewall
FTP client: Fireftp extension for Firefox
Partitioning: none
Programming: Notepad++, Bloodshed Dev-C++
System rescue: Windows Home Server
Compression: winzip
ISO handling: PowerISO
Spyware: Super Anti Spyware
Encryption: TrueCrypt
misc program I can't live without: EPIM & Personal Finances Pro


 
Mine's boring, but for home use:

OS: Vista 64-bit
Browser: Internet Explorer 7
Graphics: Adobe Photoshop Elements 7
Email: None
A/V: None
PDF: Sumatra PDF
Office: None
Video: Windows Media Player
Music: Windows Media Player
Virtual Machines: None
Instant Messenger: None
Torrent: None
Firewall: Windows Firewall
FTP: FileZilla
Partitioning: None
Programming: Visual Basic .Net 2008 / Notepad
Web Development: Notepad
System Rescue: None
Compression: Windows built-in ZIP
Spyware: Ad-Aware
Multi-monitor Software: Ultramon
 
Role: Engineer, amateur photographer, general user

OS: Windows XP
Browser: Firefox, IE
3D Cad: Solidworks
Photo editor: Photoshop CS4, Lightroom 2
Office suite: MS Office 2003
Games: World of Goo, Bioshock
DVD Playback: PowerDVD
Firewall: Comodo
AV: Kaspersky (although would prefer ESet)
IM: Yahoo
Thought-organizers: Sticky Sorter (from MS Labs), Xmind
Math programs: Scilab, R
OS utilities: Startup Control Panel, CCleaner,
Misc: Evernote, Xobni, Yahoo Widgets, Password Agent
 
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