Tech Talks Today
PC Apps You Didn’t Know You Needed
Or, Maybe You Did…Still, Here’s My List
What is an Operating System without its apps? I’ll say this much, it is not a fun place to hang out. An OS can only do so much, and as we’ve discovered over the years, especially in the last two decades, the apps are what make or break that OS.
The more things you can do on your computer, and the easier it is to do those things, the higher the chance to finish the day as a happy camper.
Now, I work in IT, so I use various environments and operating systems, but my main one is Windows, so this list is more Windows-focused. I will probably dig into other OS experiences another time.
An Antivirus — BitDefender
I like to know that I have an extra layer of protection against the unfriendly part of the Internet. It is not that I don’t trust Windows Defender, which, arguably, has improved quite significantly since its launch. However, I like to bet my money on a de-facto security solution provider. I use the entire suite of BitDefender products, and they have protected me from unwanted surprises across the years.
Other viable solutions are also present, it is pretty much up to you what you choose, as long as it is something and not nothing.
Yes, antivirus software costs money, and you have to pay for the added comfort of feeling safer. Nothing is infallible, but I like to keep safe from most threats, and paying that monthly/yearly fee gives me some peace of mind.
ShareX — Screen Freeze!
On the other hand, if you don’t want something that costs money, then ShareX is a great, open-source, capture tool that also comes packed with a multitude of other features.
So, you can screen capture both images and videos, scan QR codes, pick colors, edit images, convert videos, check hashes, and many other things. It’s just like having that swiss pocket knife that also has a dozen other instruments attached to it. In any case, it is not my job to sell the product. You can give it a try and see for yourself.
Microsoft Office — The Productivity Synonym
I like and appreciate the work that’s being put into open-source office packs such as LibreOffice or Apache OpenOffice. They are great instruments that can help you do your office work. But, if I’m being honest, nothing beats the office suite from Microsoft. The power that comes with apps like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Visio, and so on, cannot yet be matched by its competitors.
A big plus comes from the fact that it is connected to the Microsoft Cloud. I find it more advantageous than ever to buy a Microsoft 365 plan and pay either a monthly or yearly fee. You can use your apps in the cloud and local on your PC, so you have the best of both worlds. Classic, one-time purchase plans are slowly fading away.
Still, it is not free, so for your everyday tasks, the open-source tools I mentioned above are great options.
PuTTy — The Connector
If you don’t know what this is then you probably don’t need it but come on, you must have heard about it. PuTTy is the go-to SSH and telnet client. If you’re in IT, you probably use it daily, if not, chances are you’re never going to use it. Nonetheless, it is an outstanding piece of software.
Cortana
Just kidding! :)
WinSCP — Transfer Away
I don’t know where to start, but, if you have some file to transfer and need to connect to various SCP, FTP, S3 or, WebDAV clients then you have found the right app.
WinSCP is a fully packed with features application that does its job. Nothing more, nothing less.
Here are a few of the other apps I prefer:
Total Commander — I Am The Master Of My Files
There are a lot of file managers out there, all trying to follow in the footsteps of the legend. I’ve probably tried all of them twice, if not more. The fact of the matter is, I always come back to Total Commander.
Even if there are other free managers, I think Total Commander is worth the money. Windows Explorer never had a chance.
HandBrake — Encode/Decode/Transcode
You don’t need anything else to encode your videos.
If your video files are too large and you want to reduce the size if you want to reduce the size of your old movie library, go for HandBrake.
Maybe you want to prepare a video for upload on YouTube, or you need a specific video format for your TV/ console, go for HandBrake.
EarTrumpet — I Can’t Hear You
Sure, the Windows 11 volume controls are better and better tuned, but they are still lacking. Introducing EarTrumpet: A simple Windows app that improves the granularity of your volume control. You can thank me later.
Microsoft PowerToys — Toys for Power Users
Windows utilities that should have been included in Windows, but aren’t. I honestly don’t know why. I love the included quick launcher, the mouse finder, the color picker, and the file explorer add-ons. So, bad job, good job Microsoft.
FastStone Image Viewer — Nice Pictures
Anything is better than the default Windows picture viewer. Yes, really. I have used IrfanView for a large number of years until I had an annoyance of some sort with it at some point. That made me look for something else. I found FastStone (I always refer to it as Fastone purely by mistake, but it is indeed fast) and never looked back.
It is a quick-to-open image viewer/editor that comes bundled with all the features you would expect from such a package.
HWiNFO64 — Too Hot or Full of Errors?
This is my go-to hardware information and monitoring tool. I love the detailed statistics and info, the customizability, and the integration. I feel like it’s only gotten better as the years have gone by.
If you want to monitor your hardware “from within,” then you cannot go wrong with HWiNFO.
ZoomIt — Yes!
A small one kept for the end. It’s just a little agent that I again feel should have been a Windows default feature. If you make presentations like I sometimes do, then it comes very handy to zoom in and annotate with it. Not much more to it. Simple and useful.
Okay now, that’s enough for today. Don’t go rushing all at once and download all the apps above. Who knows, servers might have trouble handling the load. If they don’t crash, enjoy.
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