Software I can’t live without : Some Must Haves for me

I have always been a person who looks for new softwares, not because they are ‘wow’ but more because they can make my work/job easy; be it writing code, formatting documents, taking notes, browsing net, listening to music anything. And no wonder that a big part of my world roams around softwares, softwares & more softwares.
There are few softwares which gets into my machine in a jiffy. Let me take liberty to share few of these (in random order) with you. For me they are ‘must haves’. Just give it a try, and if you like add them to your must haves.
This list updates as and when I find some truly useful softwares. Here is a list:

Google.com
I know I know its not a software, but it stands #1 in my list. It’s a Search Engine, but to many its like the 1 stop resource station. Need anything, just google it. And trust me, you will get more than what you expected.
Google It!

Firefox
This little Web Browser is simply awesome. The ease of use, lightning-speed, tabbed browsing, thousands of Extensions, ease of bookmarking, download management, to name few. I remember how I got addicted to this browser from the very first time I used it. Yes Internet Explorer is always there but I only use it for my development projects and for those sites which do not support Firefox (bad!). This comes in various versions to support multiple languages and/or operating systems.
Download Firefox 2
Download Firefox 3 beta 4

Winamp
This is my favorite Music Player. The best features include, cool Skins (though I don’t use anything other than Winamp Modern or Bento), Global Hotkeys (this is a great life saver), Tray controls, notifications, beautiful shell integration and so so many other things.
Download

VLC
This is my favorite Video Player. The best part of it is its intelligence to play any kind of movie, yes you read it right ‘just any kind’. I have hardly seen any requirement to download any additional codec. Windows Media Player is always there but you need to download additional codecs, and if you don’t have internet at that place, God! And this software comes in various versions to support multiple operating systems, Windows, Mac, Linux & many.
Download

Stickies
This is a small Note Keeper software. It’s very light weight and doesn’t eat up your CPU much. It creates notes that sticks right on your desktop. Very useful when you need to have something right infront of you. I use it to store notes, and also to Alarm me ‘bout something.
Download

Internet Download Manager
My favorite Download Accelerator software. Everyone feels tired of that slow 40-50KBps download speed even if your internet connection supports a gallon. Its latest version has been improved gracefully and it integrates very smarty in almost all the browsers. This also provides Scheduling of download (a great feature), ability to download an Entire site, etc.
Download

WordWeb
This is a computerized Dictionary. Not just that it provides you with Antonyms, Synonyms but also with word usage examples. A truly must have for everyone.
Download

WindowFX
This is UI Improvement software. It just changes the way objects on your monitor ‘talks’ to you. Yes! Just install this tiny software and you will feel elated!
Download

GoogleTalk
This is the cleanest Instant Manager Client. This enables a Gmail user to chat with their online buddies. This also supports features such as file transfer, voice chat, etc. And not just this, it also notifies you of the new mails in your Gmail box & is smartly integrated with your Orkut account (if any).
Download

Yahoo Messenger
This is another Instant Manager Client. Almost every person who uses internet, must have used this one once. This is one of the very old IM clients. This has almost all the features an IM client shall have, such as voice chat, file transfer, Web Camera sharing, etc.
Download
Download YM Beta
Download YM for Vista

AVG Antivirus
This is my favorite Antivirus Software. Its very light weight yet quite powerful. And the best part of it, it’s FREE!
Download

Irfan View
This is my favorite Image Viewer software. This is a very small software and can open any form of image, even PSDs. Features like Thumbnail view, Image transform, resize, bulk conversion are just amazing. A must have!
Download

Winrar
This is an Archiving software. This has support for not only .rar files but also .zip files. Another great feature is the ability to split a big archive in small pieces.
Download

xplorer2 pro
This is my favorite Folder/File Explorer software. The day I started using it to browse folders on my machine, I remember how li’l I use Windows Explorer now. The user interface is great and so powerful. Smart features such as Bookmarking a folder, Robust File Move/Copy, quick navigation keys, treeview, etc. are just brilliant.
Download

SlickRun
This is a tiny software which presents you with a calendar/time right in front of you. No need to click/hover over your system clock, its always on top for you. And not just this, it can also be used to execute programs/websites, same as your Start->Run.
Download

CutePDF
This is a File-To-PDF converter. It can save any thing, that can be sent to a printer, to a PDF file. It gets added as a printer in your machine. Neat & great!
Download

FileRecovery
This is an File Undelete software. Many times we just casually shift+delete a file and in next few seconds we scream “God! I needed that file”. This will help you undelete your files even if it’s out of your recycle bin.
Download

Microsoft Office 2007
This is a complete Office Suite, comprising of Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc. The new 2007suite has an amazingly soothing UI, powerful new features, new tools…….overall a completely new way to work.
Download

Xobni
This is an Outlook Extension. Trouble in remembering name? It's word "inbox" spelled backwards ;) This is the smartest outlook extension I have ever seen. And trust me, its Lighting fast. The search feature (the best), the conversation view, the network view, the attachment view, the UI, the reports….all are just Fabulous. I am sure once you try this, you will get addicted to it. The way I am. It’s just 3MB download and works tremendously elegantly.
Download

Visual Studio IDE
Obviously being a Software Engineer, my list has to contain some programming softwares. This one is simply the best IDE for development. It has beautiful support for writing codes in C#, VB.Net, HTML/ASPX, CSS, etc. Most of my everyday time is spent on this one only.
Download VS 2005
Download VS 2008

Web Developer Toolbar
This is a Browser Extension. This helps one dig to the bottom of a page and its element, enable/disable CSS/JavaScripts/Images, etc. A truly must have for any web developer.
Download for IE
Download For Firefox

Firebug Firefox Extension
This is also a Browser Extension for Firefox. And is same as Web Developer Toolbar for Firefox. But in terms of its usability and features, it’s way ahead. Trust me! A must have for me, b’coz I have to keep digging the pages I make and find out layout issues, on the fly page editing previews, etc. etc. A truly must have for any web developer.
Download

Windows Vista (Ofcourse)
This is the latest Windows Operating System from Microsoft. Everyone must have heard the buzz around regarding it and it truly deserves it.
Download


Links may change in future, if any just Google it


Just try any of the above, I am sure it will be a nice experience.
Do let me know your Fav-Must-Have-List too.

Cheers!

We All Love History (a scene from "इतिहास की परीक्षा") (Language: Hindi)

A very sweet poem shared by one of my friends recently. The Poem is in Hindi. Here it goes:

एक कविता जिसने बचपन में हमेशा मेडल दिलवाये ...जिससे बहुत सी यादें जुडी हैं :-)

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"इतिहास की परीक्षा थी,...इतिहास की परीक्षा थी ..,यह सोच के ह्रदय धड़कता था , घर से निकलते ही बायाँ नयन फड़कता था"
तुम बीस मिनट लेट हो ...तुम बीस मिनट लेट हो..." द्वार पर चपरासी ने बतलाया
मैं मेल ट्रेन की रफ्तार से कमरे के भीतर आई "

"यह १०० नम्बर का पर्चा था मुझको २ की भी आस नहीं,
चाहे सारी दुनिया पलटे, पर मैं हो सकती पास नहीं ...पर मैं हो सकती पास नहीं ॥!"

फिर आँख मूंद के बैठ गयी, बोली- " भगवान् दया कर दें , इन प्रश्नों के उत्तर दिमाग में ठूंस-ठूंस के भर दें".
आकाश फूट अम्बर से आई इक गहरी आवाज़ - "ऐ मूर्ख व्यर्थ क्यों रोती है? तू आँख उठा के इधर देख गीता कहती है , 'कर्म करो फल की चिंता मति किया करो '.. जो मन् में आये बात वही उत्तर पुस्तिका में लिख दिया करो "

मैंने लिख दिया ...मैंने लिख दिया ................" पानीपत का दूसरा युद्ध कठसवान में जापान और जर्मनी के बीच १८५७ में हुआ था......"
मैंने लिख दिया ...मैंने लिख दिया ................" महात्मा गाँधी महात्मा बुध के चेले थे ...गाँधी जी के संग बचपन में आँख मीचौली खेले थे"
मैंने लिख दिया ...मैंने लिख दिया ................"महाराणा प्रताप ने था महूमद गौरी को १० बार हराया ...अकबर ने हिंद महासागर अमेरिका से मँगवाया ..."
मैंने लिख दिया ...मैंने लिख दिया ................" मोहम्मद गजनवी रोज़ सुबह उठ कर २ घंटे नाचता था ... औरंगजेब रण में जा के औरों की जेबें काटता था "

लिख दिया अंत में "इतिहास की कोई बात न सच्ची ....इसको पढना व्यर्थ की माथापच्ची "!!

हो गया ............., हो गया परीक्षक पागल सा मेरी कापी देख देख....,
बोला ..."इन सारे बच्चों में होनहार बस यही एक ....होनहार बस यही एक "

औरों के सब पर्चे फ़ेंक दिए .....!
मेरे सब नम्बर छांट लिए......!!
"जीरो नंबर दे के बाकि सब नम्बर काट लिए :-( .....!!!"

by SJM

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