I love finding new applications. I have not explored many of these but I thought I would a) make note of this list safely on my blog and b) share this list with you. Thanks so much to Lifehacker and their readers for collecting such a smashing list — list after the jump.
- Firefox (see also: Power User’s Guide to Firefox 3, Top 10 Firefox 3.5 Features)
- VLC (see also: Master Your Digital Media with VLC, VLC Hits 1.0 with Better Playback and File Support)
- CCleaner (see also: Five Best Windows Maintenance Tools)
- Dropbox (see also: Use Dropbox for More Than Just File Syncing, Sync Files and Folders Outside Your My Dropbox Folder)
- 7-Zip (see also: Five Best File Compression Tools)
- OpenOffice.org (see also: OpenOffice.org 3.1’s Usability Tweaks, OpenOffice.org Screenshots Preview a Ribbon-Like Toolbar)
- Google Chrome (see also: The Power User’s Guide to Google Chrome, 2009 Edition)
- µTorrent (see also: Tweak uTorrent’s Settings for Faster Downloads, Five Best BitTorrent Applications)
- Notepad++ (see also: Five Best Text Editors, AutoSave Adds Reassurance to Notepad++ Editing)
- Gmail (see also: Our full Gmail coverage)
- GIMP (see also: Gimp 2.7 Beta Improves Text Editing, Streamlines Saving)
- Paint.NET (see also: Paint.NET Releases Big Update, Still a Killer Photoshop Alternative, Paint.NET Plugin Lets You Open Photoshop Files)
- Microsoft Security Essentials (see also: Microsoft Security Essentials Free Antivirus App Leaves Beta, Stop Paying for Windows Security; Microsoft’s Security Tools Are Good Enough)
- Revo Uninstaller (see also: Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Windows Downloads)
- Evernote (see also: Evernote 3.5 Beta Brings Tons of Tiny Fixes to Windows, Expand Your Brain with Evernote)
- Thunderbird (see also: Thunderbird 3 Release Candidate Available for Download)
- Audacity (see also: Geek to Live: Make a ringtone from any MP3)
- ImgBurn (see also: Turn Your PC into a DVD Ripping Monster, Five Best CD and DVD Burning Tools)
- Picasa (see also: Picasa 3.5 Organizes Your Photos with Facial Recognition)
- Skype (see also: Our full Skype coverage)
- Pidgin (see also: Ten Must-Have Plug-ins to Power Up Pidgin, Five Best Instant Messengers)
- Ubuntu (see also: First Look at Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala, Dual-Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu in Perfect Harmony)
- iTunes (see also: iTunes 9 Improves Syncing, Network Sharing, More)
- foobar2000 (see also: Screenshot Tour: The beautiful and varied world of foobar2000, Hack Attack: Roll your own killer audio player with foobar2000)
- Foxit Reader (see also: Five Best PDF Readers, Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Windows Downloads)
- FileZilla (see also: Five Best FTP Clients, Build a Home FTP Server with FileZilla)
- VirtualBox (see also: The Beginner’s Guide to Creating Virtual Machines with VirtualBox)
- TrueCrypt (see also: Geek to Live: Encrypt your data, Five Best Portable Applications)
- Avast! (see also: Five Best Antivirus Applications)
- Defraggler (see also: Five Best Disk Defragmenters)
- KeePass (see also: Eight Best KeePass Plug-Ins to Master Your Passwords, How to Use Dropbox as the Ultimate Password Syncer)
- Opera (see also: Opera 10.10 with Unite Media Server Released)
- AVG (see also: AVG 9 Free Now Available for Download)
- Digsby (see also: Five Best Instant Messengers, Digsby Sees the Light, Removes (Some) Bundled Crapware)
- Google Reader (see also: Our full Google Reader coverage)
- Winamp (see also: Win7shell Adds Windows 7 Jump List Support to Winamp)
- Google Earth (see also: Google Earth 5.1 Speeds Up Your World Browsing)
- TeraCopy (see also: Five Best Alternative File Copiers)
- Launchy (see also: Our full Launchy coverage)
- Transmission (see also: Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Mac Downloads)
- Eclipse IDE
- SpyBot Search & Destroy (see also: Five Best Malware Removal Tools)
- Adium (see also: Adium Updates with Security Fixes, Better Facebook Integration)
- PuTTY (see also: Add Tabs to PuTTY with PuTTY Connection Manager)
- Songbird (see also: Songbird 1.0 Release Official, Fixes Bugs, Plays iTunes Purchases, Killer Add-ons Make Songbird So Much Better)
- Sumatra PDF (see also: Sumatra 1.0 is a Blazing Fast Replacement for Adobe Reader)
- XBMC (see also: Build a Silent, Standalone XBMC Media Center On the Cheap, Customize XBMC with These Five Awesome Skins, Turbo Charge Your New XBMC Installation)
- Blender (see also: Learn Blender with free e-book)
- CDBurnerXP (see also: Five Best CD and DVD Burning Tools)
- Everything (see also: Everything Finds Windows Files As You Type, Top 10 Tiny & Awesome Windows Utilities)
- HandBrake (see also: HandBrake Updates to 0.9.4 with Over 1,000 Changes, 64-Bit Support)
- Rainmeter (see also: Rainmeter 1.0 Brings the Enigma Desktop to Everyone)
- AutoHotkey (see also: Turn Any Action into a Keyboard Shortcut, Hack Attack: Knock down repetitive email with AutoHotKey)
- Google Calendar (see also: Our full Google Calendar coverage)
- MediaMonkey (see also: MediaMonkey 3.2 Syncs with More Devices, Adds Auto Folder Watching)
- Quicksilver (see also: A beginner’s guide to Quicksilver)
- WinSCP
- Google Voice (see also: Make Unlimited Free Calls on Your Cellphone with Google Voice, How to Ease Your Transition to Google Voice)
- Boxee (see also: Build a Cheap But Powerful Boxee Media Center, Boxee to Launch Beta with Loads of New Features)
- AdBlock Plus (see also: Top 10 Must-Have Firefox Extensions, 2009 Edition)
- Media Player Classic (see also: Five Best Video Players)
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hmm… I use more than half the apps on the list. How scary :-)
Well, you’re pretty advanced. I don’t use more than maybe 25% of them.
Chris, you’re very gentlemanly, to reframe my obsessive compulsion to adopt new tools as being “advanced.” You just saved me at least six months of therapy.
(Given that it’s Black Friday, perhaps I’ll take that money and buy a new productivity tool. Er, no. I’ll donate it to Give Back Friday instead. A great idea by Dreams for Kids to suggest we skip one small purchase on Black Friday and donate to a worthy cause instead. We have lots of national “buy stuff days,” but no national “give back” days.)