Software I cannot live without

Almost anyone that works with computers collect a few programs they can’t live without. For me, there are a few of them, and here they are:

1 – Notepad++
I’ve written about Notepad++ earlier, and there’s not much more to say other than the fact that it’s the best simple text editor I’ve encountered, and the one I use for most of my writings.

Notepad++ can be found here.

2 – Mozilla Firefox
My web browser of choice is, and has been for a long time, Mozilla Firefox. While I’ll concede that they haven’t been first to post with such essential features as tabbed browsing and integrated search, I simply prefer their implementation. With extentions and addons galore, you can tweak it to do what you want and then some. All in all an excellent browser, that gets better with each new revision.

Mozilla Firefox can be downloaded here.

3 – Paint.NET
As has been noted by others, Paint.NET is to MS Paint what Notepad++ is to Notepad – same-same but different, or rather better. Based on Microsofts .NET-framework it is a easy to use graphicseditor that simply works, and handles a crapload of formats as well.

Paint.NET can be found here.

4 – FileZilla
FileZilla is a simple-to-use, Open Source FTP that is simply packed with features. To mention a few, it has support for FTP, FTP/SSL, SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SSH/FTP. It runs on Windows, Linux, *BSD and OSX. I’ve been using it for a long time, and it works beautifully.

Find FileZilla here.

5 – Gadwin Printscreen
Gadwin Printscreen is a simple to use printscreen utility that replaces the old “Press printscreen, open paint, paste, save” with a simple press of a button, define what to take a printscreen of, exit, which automatically saves to the format, and filename structure of your choice. Most screenshots taken for this blog, and other screenshots I need to take are taken using this simple program.

Get Gadwin Printscreen here.

6 – SpaceMonger
SpaceMonger is a simple and effective way to view graphically how a disk has been stuffe with data. It exists in a few versions, I use version 1.40 which is old, but works, and more importantly is free.

SpaceMonger can be found here.

7 – Open Office
I don’t mind using Microsoft Office, in fact I quite like it. Even so, I think it is too pricy, and for my needs, OpenOffice does the job. An Open Source alternative, it is also free of charge, and in constant development.

OpenOffice can be found here.

The major advantage to all of the above pieces of software is that they are free to acquire and use. In addition, they are all very simple to use, and they all simply work.