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My 10 favorite Windows programs of all time

By Ed Bott | March 3, 2008, 4:57am PST

Summary

In this article and accompanying gallery, I list 10 Windows programs I use every day. Every one adds a feature that makes Windows easier to use or can help make you more productive. Most are free; for those that aren’t a trial version is available. All of the programs in this list run on XP and Vista. I’ve been using every program on this list for long enough to recommend it without reservation.

Topics

Windows Programs, Internet Explorer 7, Windows Vista, Search Technology, RoboForm, FeedDemon, FinePrint, Process Explorer, ClipMate Clipboard Extender, Software, Ed Bott

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Ed Bott

Biography

Ed Bott

Ed Bott

Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications. He's served as editor of the U.S. edition of PC Computing and managing editor of PC World; both publications had monthly paid circulation in excess of 1 million during his tenure. He is the author of more than 25 books on Microsoft Windows and Office, including the recently released Windows 7 Inside Out.

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I’ve been using Windows for nearly two decades, and during that time I’ve tried hundreds of programs. Most come and go, but a handful have stood the test of time for me by solving a particular problem particularly well.

My 10 favorite Windows programs of all timeIn this article and accompanying gallery, I list 10 Windows programs I use every day. Every one adds a feature that makes Windows easier to use or can help make you more productive. Each one comes from a company that has proven its ability to support the product and improve it over time. I’ve been using every program on this list for long enough to recommend it without reservation.

Most of the programs in this list are free; for those that aren’t a trial version is available. All of the programs in this list run on Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista (and most run on other editions as well). I’ve devoted one full page to each program, with info and download links and enough details to help you decide whether it’s something you want to try. I’ve also provided screen shots for each program to help you see what I’m talking about.

Process Explorer (Sysinternals/Microsoft) The most amazing diagnostic tool ever, created by Microsoft Distinguished Fellow Mark Russinovich. If you use Task Manager, you should replace it with this free alternative, which does so much more.

RoboForm (Siber Systems) Create strong passwords, save them, and automatically fill them in using Firefox or IE. If you’re frustrated by passwords, this is your answer.

Keyfinder (Magical Jelly Bean Software) If you had to reinstall Windows tomorrow, do you know where your product ID is? If the answer is no, get this tiny free utility, which finds product IDs for dozens of popular programs (including Windows and Office) and lets you print or save the results.

ClipMate Clipboard Extender (ThornSoft Development) When I set up a new PC, this is the first program I install. It’s that good. I save thousands of keystrokes a year thanks to this gem of a utility.

FeedDemon for Windows (NewsGator Technologies) The best damn RSS reader in the Windows world. Period. And it’s now free.

Windows Live Photo Gallery (Microsoft) You’ll have to search for it, but this updated version of the Windows Photo Gallery that debuted in Vista is worth the hunt. If you’ve chosen to steer clear of Vista, no worries: It works in XP too.

Allway Sync (Usov Lab) This powerful tool synchronizes the contents of folders over a network or to external storage and is an ideal complement to most backup programs.

SnagIt (TechSmith) As a technology writer, I use this screen capture program nearly every day. Even after six years, I’m still discovering new tricks it can do.

IE7 Pro If you use IE7, you need this free add-on, which provides ad blocking, tab management, inline search, crash recovery, and all the other features Microsoft left out.

FinePrint (FinePrint Software) Over the years, I can’t even imagine how many trees I’ve spared with the help of this program. If you print more than a few pages a month, you have to try this.

Next –>

Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications.

Disclosure

Ed Bott

Ed Bott is a freelance technical journalist and book author. All work that Ed does is on a contractual basis.

Since 1994, Ed has written more than 25 books about Microsoft Windows and Office. Along with various co-authors, Ed is completely responsible for the content of the books he writes. As a key part of his contractual relationship with publishers, he gives them permission to print and distribute the content he writes and to pay him a royalty based on the actual sales of those books. Ed's books are currently distributed by Que Publishing (a division of Pearson Education) and by Microsoft Press.

On occasion, Ed accepts consulting assignments. In recent years, he has worked as an expert witness in cases where his experience and knowledge of Microsoft and Microsoft Windows have been useful. In each such case, his compensation is on an hourly basis, and he is hired as a witness, not an advocate.

Ed does not own stock or have any other financial interest in Microsoft or any other software company. He owns 500 shares of stock in EMC Corporation, which was purchased before the company's acquisition of VMWare. In addition, he owns 350 shares of stock in Intel Corporation, purchased more than two years ago. All stocks are held in retirement accounts for long-term growth.

Ed does not accept gifts from companies he covers. All hardware products he writes about are purchased with his own funds or are review units covered under formal loan agreements and are returned after the review is complete.

Biography

Ed Bott

Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications. He's served as editor of the U.S. edition of PC Computing and managing editor of PC World; both publications had monthly paid circulation in excess of 1 million during his tenure. He is the author of more than 25 books on Microsoft Windows and Office, including the recently released Windows 7 Inside Out.

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Talkback Most Recent of 151 Talkback(s)

  • How does Windows Photo Gallery
    compare to iPhoto. I tried Photo Story, and it is ok, I do not take a lot of pictures, nor do a lot, so this is first time I heard of Windows Photo.

    My mom uses iPhoto for about fifty thousand pictures, and that grows each year as she gets more pictures from friends, family, and the ones she takes.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    BroGnorik
    03/03/2008 02:01 PM

  • ZDNet Blogger

    iPhoto is only for Mac
    And Windows Live Photo Gallery is only for Windows. So it's really hard to compare. I've tried iPhoto and didn't like it at all. But I'm sure others have different opinions.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Ed Bott
    03/03/2008 02:06 PM
  • I guess what I meant,
    was, can the Windows Photo Gallery handle 50,000 pictures or more if not, what windows program out there can.

    I will be inheriting these pictures, and I am not sure how much of the Mac I want to learn, while it is ok and I am my mom's tech support, I like Windows better.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    BroGnorik
    03/03/2008 02:56 PM

  • ZDNet Blogger

    Yes, Windows Live Photo Gallery can handle very large collections
    I have about 7,000 photos in my collection, but I've talked to people with 50,000+ photos who are pleased with the performance.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Ed Bott
    03/03/2008 03:00 PM
  • Here Are Some Excellent Photo Prog For Windows
    I recommend either Adobe Lightroom or Acdsee Pro 2. Both programs were designed to handle large numbers of files and both have impressive capabilities. Lightroom is probably the more professional of the two, but it is more costly.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    chessmen
    03/04/2008 09:57 AM
  • Lightroom...
    Lightroom is ace, even more so on a dual screen setup. To have full-screen, live feedback of potential crops is such a time saver.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    LeeC
    12/30/2008 05:38 AM
  • How does Windows Photo Gallery
    If it's anything like similar programs I tried that were
    originally Windows and were then ported to Mac, it will
    have an unbelievably ugly interface. I can't remember
    how many programs I downloaded and discarded before
    iPhoto came along.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    labarker
    03/04/2008 09:17 AM
  • My View on a few of the 10
    Ed,



    Right on the mark with Process Explorer.



    Keyfinder is a nice small utility, but what about a program just as small that does so much more. SIW - System Information for Windows from gtopala.com gives you any and all information about your computer including your license keys for most of your other installed software. It also finds any stored passwords.



    Clipmate was a product of EmmaSoft until a few years ago. It's a great program.



    FeedDemon is a waste when I have Google Reader (GR) and can access it from any computer without any extra software. I use 3 different computers as my own for work and home, so GR is an all in one solution.



    I got the SnagIt bug from one of your posts on your Windows Expertise blog. Best money I've spent for software in a while.



    I'm going to try Allway Sync this week for use at school.



    The rest I haven't used enough or at all to give an opinon, ut it gives me something to look at in my spare time.



    Ray
    ZDNet Gravatar
    k12IT
    03/03/2008 04:47 PM

  • ZDNet Blogger

    One correction...
    "Clipmate was a product of EmmaSoft until a few years ago."

    I don't think so. ThornSoft bought Emmasoft and picked up Darn! Passwords, but ClipMate has been Chris's baby for as long as I can remember.

    You can read the bios of Dan Veaner and Chris Thornton here:

    http://198.63.208.118/membership/asphof.asp
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Ed Bott
    03/03/2008 05:39 PM
  • You are Right
    I'm a friend of Dan's from way back when he and I were with AOL. I thought I had gotten Clipmate from Dan, which shows you where my memory is going these days.



    Thanks for the correction Ed....
    ZDNet Gravatar
    k12IT
    03/03/2008 07:57 PM
  • And One More thing
    Just as a side note, Darn! Passwords! hasn't been updated since 2004. I'm still at version 3.1.3.14. It's still a great little program, but a wish it was being worked on and upgraded.

    Ray
    ZDNet Gravatar
    k12IT
    03/03/2008 08:08 PM
  • Try KeePass
    Looking at the Flash animation of it, and except for a few minor feature differences, it looks like it's pretty much the same as KeePass. Try KeePass, I think you'll find it's a decent replacement.

    http://keepass.info/
    ZDNet Gravatar
    CobraA1
    03/03/2008 09:52 PM
  • Extra note on KeePass
    Extra note on KeePass: The upcoming version of KeePass (2.x) looks like it will support the ability to import more icons and create extra fields, which are probably some features you'd miss by switching from Darn! Passwords! to the current version of KeePass. Best of all, KeePass is very actively developed happy.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    CobraA1
    03/03/2008 10:14 PM
  • Thanks Dude !!
    Hey CobraA1 ... Nice tip, checked out KeePass and DL'd it. Looks awesome, gonna try it out at home this eve.

    You da man !!

    ;-{D
    ZDNet Gravatar
    TheRealPauper
    03/07/2008 10:37 AM
  • RE: My 10 favorite Windows programs of all time
    My 10 (or more) favorite Windows Programs
    Firefox, SeaMonkey, Opera
    OpenOffice, Star Office, AbiWord, Gnumeric
    VLC, Mplayer
    The Gimp, Picasa,
    Google Earth
    Celestia
    Audacity
    Doom, Xplane, UT
    Apache, MySql
    Inkscape, Scribus
    Blender, LiveActor
    And probably several dozen more I don't recall at the moment.....

    And the Best part they are not limited to Windows only.

    Many are available on the OpenDisc
    http://theopendisc.com/
    http://theopendisc.com/programs/
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDisc
    If all you want to know is only Windows.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    LazLong
    03/03/2008 07:04 PM
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