Starting Fresh Guide

Whether you've just burnt a hole in your pocket by buying a fancy new Samsung Series 9 laptop, or you've burnt a hole in your current desktop and need a refresh then here's a little guide to help you on your way.

I'm going to focus on Windows7 for now but I'd hope to get something for Linux(Ubuntu) at some point, and Ally may want to set you Mac boys on your way.

So first things first, lets think about what generally comes standard with Windows systems. There can for one be a lot of bloatware that just doesn't get used. Not to mention trial versions that only last until next Monday. I recently rebooted my laptop with Windows7 Ultimate 64Bit and was delighted to see a nice clean slate to get stuck into. A lot of the big brands, HP, Dell and Sony can be bad for bundling bloatware with new laptops as well as trials so be aware and as they can even slow boot times.

While I'm not going to specifically tell you how to install your chosen OS or software, (automatic wizards do a better job of that) I am going to share a few of what I feel should be essential items of software to get you started.

Walls of cyber steel.

Now I understand that it is probably very good practice to spend a bit of money when it comes to internet security, it is after all your sensitive data at stake. I for one am running AVG Internet Security which you can grab a free copy here. There are plenty of alternatives to put you out of pocket too *cough* *Norton*. But as I mention to everyone who asks me, "Oh where can I get an antivirus?", I say Microsoft Internet Security Essentials is as safe a bet then any, and is a very light weight but effective bit of software. Get security sorted before you start anything else.

Simple and effective

As previously covered by Ally here, a browser is almost the most essential bit of software you are going to need. Please, if you take anything from this post, go ahead right now and remove IE from your system. It just hurts to see people still using IE6 (Microsoft I believe are hoping to roll out a silent update for those poor thousands out there). My choice, as well as Ally's, is Chrome, moving from Firefox because even with Palemoon, the customized Firefox optimizer, and some additional add-ons, things just got slow especially for start up times. Chrome offers both quick launch and quick browsing capability, crash support and a wealth of add-ons to enhance your browsing experience. Google sync allows you to also carry your custom settings with your email.

Back to the old days.

Surprise surprise, Microsoft put a time limit on Microsoft office too. And while it comes in a fancy new shell, with what can be seen as a positive step towards usability, it will put off the more veteran Office user. Lets face it, who actually gets round to using all the different office applications anyway. I'd like to suggest something a little closer to what we once knew. OpenOffice, is an open source Java built bit of kit to satisfy all your document needs, with standard formats and the ability to read a write other document files. Best of all its free and open to the support of its ever growing user base.

Warning - May play videos better.

Next stop is for your viewing pleasure. Now while I don't completely hate Windows Media Player, it still just doesn't do what it claims without some 'geektavention'. Introducing VLC player, an open source multimedia solution. Not only is this another piece of free software, but it is both faster running, has far more video formatting options and its Codec library will allow you to dig up those long and forgotten video formats and bring back their glory. As well as keeping up to date with new encodings present today. It also has streaming capability and a media converter to boot. GOM Player, isn't a bad alternative either.

Striking the hearts of fans

Now I'm undecided on this so it's down to one thing, do you own an IPhone or IPod? If the answer is yes to either then Itunes is for you. While its not the best audio software out there, you are a little restricted when it comes to syncing any of your apple devices, unless you've 'Jailbroken' it of course. There are some nice features none the less like, access to Itunes store for very competitive track prices, Itunes cloud service allowing you to take your music to the cloud and the genius function. Genius scans your track list and uploads them to a central on line system which is then able to identify trends in music to help suggest a seamless playlist. And so while I like itunes, strictly because I have an IPod, you could also try something like Winamp. A more professional and far more customisable media player at your fingertips. With one of the latest releases you are even also able to sync to your Ipod like this.

Fancy yourself an artist?

So that's one side of media covered, which just leaves pictures. I quite like Google's take with Picasso. On first load it prompts you to scan for media files so no need to organise yourself, just let it churn through your folders. Once its done, you're free to do some rearranging and deleting etc. A variety of editing features are at your disposal too if you feel like getting a bit creative. Don't worry if you get too carried away, Picasso allows you to undo to original. Social integration now also lets you tag your friends and share photos on your Google+ profile.

I guess that's the basics for now, enough to get you going and handle most of your daily needs. There are a few other hidden gems out there but I'll get back to you on that one.


Mooch.