Window$ XP Essential Applications


This list is dedicated to my laptop Wesley, a T22 Thinkpad. He had to have Window$ reinstalled because he was not "genuine." He is now healthier and happier, and we didn't lose any data thanks to backups!

Free software:

Firefox
The best web browser. I am morally opposed to the use of anything else.

Picasa
Google's program to help you organize photos. You can batch-edit (rename, resize, lighten, etc.), make elegant webpages, send emails, search, play slideshows.

Foxit
A pdf viewer/printer that is not evil! No more "My eBooks" folder, no more crashes because there is another update available! The filesize is about 1MB. Goodbye, Adobe.

ImageJ
Scientific image processing and analysis using Java.

Scilab
Matrix-based scientific analysis, modeling, etc. software. Very similar to Matlab, but free!

SSH
Practice safe computing: always use ssh2, never telnet or ssh1, for remote connections. Use scp, not ftp, for file transfers.

AdAware
Swedish anti-spyware.

Spybot
Anti-spyware by a guy in love with a girl. He dedicates the software to her.

iTunes
The newest version is a great improvement over previous ones. It's great for listening to the very few songs I have, my favorites being Scandinavian instrumentals/chamber music.


Not free software:

Ahead Nero
The most popular, and my favorite until something more obscure comes along.

Mathematica
Essential to life as a physicist. If you learn one program, learn this. Michael Berry himself uses Mathematica!!

Matlab
Another scientific computing program. It can be more cumbersome than Mathematica, but has greater programming features.