Must Have Software for a New Windows 7 System

Well, I have been setting another new Windows 7 Home 64 bit machine. So this is my updated list of must have software. Most are free and open source.



Browsers

I run multiple browsers almost all the time. Firefox as a development and default browser. Chrome or Safari for web surfing, and SeaMonkey for those multiple profile sort of situations.

• Firefox - Best overall browser and best for development.
  
  
  
  


• Chrome - Fast browser from Google. Minimalist interface.
  
  
  
  


• Safari - Default browser for a Mac. Small and fast like Chrome.
  
  
  
  


• SeaMonkey - Based on the original Netscape browser. Supports multiple profiles.  Can run 2 or 3 browsers, each with its own set of bookmarks.

Internet

Internet utililies and cloud applications.

• Drop Box - A disk drive stored in the cloud. Provides access to a disk from Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Linux, you name it. A must if you want to move files between different platforms and devices.


• Filezilla - A secure FTP client for Windows. A must for transferring files to and from a Unix system. FTP and SFTP is supported. Lots of features.


• Pidgin - Open source chat client for Windows. Used to be know as GAIM.


• Putty - Windows SSH and Telnet client. A must if you do any Linux or Unix work.


• Skype - Free Internet phone service and chat. You can group chat with up to 5 people


• Thunderbird - Mozilla's awesome e-mail client.
  
  
  
  

Development

• ActivePerl- Perl for Windows.


• Cygwin - Want a Bash shell on Windows? Want some of your favorite Unix utilities?  Then Cygwin is for you.


• Jedit - A really flexible programming editor written in Java.
  
  
  
  


• Java - Install the 32 bit and 64 bit versions for 64 bit Windows. Just the 32 bit for 32 bit.


• Komodo Edit - A cross platform open source programming editor. Lots of features for free. A commercial paid full featured IDE is also available.


• Notepad++ - It is always a good idea to have a good native programming text editor around. For those times when you need a quick tweak or just want to view something. For Windows, Notepad++ is the best option out there.
  
  


• NetBeans - A great Open Source Java IDE.
  
  
  
  


• SQLite - File based SQL database.
  
  


• Silk Svn Subversion Client - Windows 7 64 bit command line version.
  
  

Office

• Open Office - Open source office suite.
  
  
  
  


• Paint.net - Open source graphics program.  A basic photo app without all the features or price of Photoshop.
  
  


• SVG Anti-Virus - Great free or paid anti-virus you can buy and install online.