The operating system itself is not enough to work with a computer easy, fast and efficient.
Different programs are required for different types of activities.
These programs here are for free or can be downloaded in exchange for registration.
Data
7Zip
File archiver with a high compression ratio.
http://www.7-zip.org
Gparted
Partition Editor
http://gparted.sourceforge.net
Burning
CD Burner XP
CD Burning Software
http://www.cdburnerxp.se/
Img Burn
CD Burning Software
http://www.imgburn.com/
Deep Burner
CD Burning Software
http://www.deepburner.com/
Ashampoo Burning Studio
CD Burning Software
http://www.ashampoo.com/
General
Total Commander
Professional file browser
http://www.ghisler.com/
TuneUp Utilities
Configuration tool for Windows
http://www.tuneup.de/
ZoomIt
Desktop Zoom
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897434
Skype
Calls over the Internet
http://www.skype.com
NFO Viewer
NFO editor
http://flyingcode.de/
Office
Open Office
Office software
http://www.openoffice.org
LibreOffice
Office software
http://www.libreoffice.org/
Acrobat Reader
Software to view PDF files
http://www.adobe.com
Notepad++
Intelligent text editor
http://notepad-plus-plus.org
Browser
FireFox
Internet Browser
http://www.mozilla.org
Opera
Internet Browser
http://www.opera.com
Google Chrome
Internet Browser
http://www.google.com/chrome
Internet Explorer
Internet Browser
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer
Safari
Internet Browser
http://www.apple.com/at/safari/
Addons
Flash
Plugin for animation
http://get.adobe.com/de/flashplayer/
Shockwave
Shockwave player
http://get.adobe.com/de/shockwave/
Silverlight
Silverlight player
http://www.silverlight.net/
FF – Addons
XMarks
Bookmarks synchronization between different Computers / Browsers / OS
http://www.xmarks.com
TabMixPlus
Intelligent “TAB” handling
http://tmp.garyr.net
All-in-One Sidebar
A small but very useful Sidebar control
http://firefox.exxile.net/aios/index.php
Down Them All
Download almost everything
http://www.downthemall.net/
Download Helper
Downloader almost everything
http://www.downloadhelper.net/
FireFTP
FTP explorer
http://fireftp.mozdev.org/
Screengrab
Save the whole Home Page as picture
http://www.screengrab.org/
Firebug
Tool for HP development
http://getfirebug.com/
Web Developer
A Toolbar full of goodies (for HP developer)
http://chrispederick.com/work/web-developer/
ColorZilla
Tool for HP development
http://www.colorzilla.com/
Deutsches Wörterbuch
German dictionary
https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/german-dictionary/
United States English Spellchecker
English dictionary
https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/united-states-english-spellche/
Protection
Avast
Antivirus scanner
http://www.avast.com
Avira
Antivirus scanner
http://www.avira.com
CCleaner
Windows cleaning tool
http://www.piriform.com/
Codecs
K-Lite Codepack
Video & Audio Codec’s + Windows Mediaplayer Classic
http://www.codecguide.com
.Net Framework
Microsoft extension for Windows
http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/
Java
Runtime library
http://java.com
Graphic
IrfanView + Addon
Photo viewer (very fast)
http://irfanview.tuwien.ac.at
Riot DLL
Batch converting photos for the internet
http://luci.criosweb.ro/riot/
Gimp
Photo editing program
http://www.gimp.org
Paint.Net
Picture editing program
http://www.getpaint.net
Inkscape
Vector picture editing program
http://inkscape.org
Media
VLC
Mediaplayer – VideoLAN Client
http://www.videolan.org
iTunes
Apple Mediaplayer & CD Ripper
http://www.apple.com
Winamp
Mediaplayer & Online Radio
http://www.winamp.com
Camstudio
Desktop recording
http://camstudio.org
Audacity
Audio recording and editing
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/