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QOTW: Which free PC software should everyone be using?

by David Ross on 5 February 2016, 16:30

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacyhc

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We enjoyed reading your nominations for preferred desktop web browser last week, and in the midst of all the usual suspects, we were intrigued to see a few votes for Pale Moon - a lesser-known but rather useful option.

And that made us wonder, which other free software solutions might we all be missing out on? Most modern operating systems ship with an array of pre-installed apps, and with so much of our computing activity taking place within the browser itself, it's fair to say that fewer programs are being sought out by end users.

So let's hear some suggestions. Which free PC software (be it for Windows, Linux or Mac) should we all be using? I'll get the ball rolling with OneNote, a cross-platform note-taking tool that I've found to be particularly useful. Now over to you, whether it's a full-blown freeware office suite, a media player or something as simple as a text editor, let us know your suggestions using the comments facility below.



HEXUS Forums :: 72 Comments

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Ninite isn't really software, as such but it's good and useful at downloading and updating multiple apps that would otherwise take a while - and you don't have to worry about crapware/advert stuff.

Virtualbox is a pretty good and easy VM application for those wanting one to play with those.

Teamviewer is great for remotely controlling a pc.



Can you tell I work in IT Support?
I'm sure most people have heard of/used all these but they are some of the programs i tend to immediately install on a fresh OS.

keepass : password manager
7zip : file archiver
notepad++ : basic text editor
VLC : media player
libreOffice : Office suite
Gimp : Photo Editor
Audacity : audio editor
Sigh I'm going to be predictable and suggest that LibreOffice and VLC are both worth a look.

And Vim (for Windows) is pretty decent if you need to edit - especially if you're also lumbered (grin) with Linux/Unix boxes.

Of course, speaking of “software solutions” - how about Linux itself, especially as gateway to all those lovely free-but-still-good applications?
Libre Office. It's supported on most pertinent platforms - including Google docs. Germany has adopted it officially. I'm not willing to subscribe to Microsoft Office. There are compatibility issues between Libre and MS Office, but if everyone used LibreOffice it wouldn't matter, and the whole world would save money every month.