I finally got my computer back up and running a few days ago. Though the reformat/reinstalling process was an excruciating experience I hope I don’t have to repeat again for a very long time, it did allow me to ditch a lot of crap I wasn’t using and set everything up just the way I wanted.

Basically the big three roadblocks were the printer drivers, my soundcard and ZoneAlarm BSODs. I had forgotten that my LaserJet 1200 doesn’t exactly play nice with Windows XP. No, it needs these weird generic DOT_4 drivers to work, which I had to call HP to get working. Then the soundcard, which is also old. It played dead. I had to disable all sound in the BIOS, physically remove it (and left it out a few days actually) and then reinstall it again. Then it was happy. Finally I had to make it get along with the PlusDeck I have installed (how lovely it will be when they come out with a USB version). I installed ZoneAlarm dead last and with much trepidation because of the terrible Blue Screens of Death it had been causing lately. Just when I seemed out of the woods with that I noticed that Spyware Doctor, a new program in Google pack, caused other problems (I got rid of it posthaste).

Anyway, everything seems to be getting along now. I thought I would share a list of my new favorite software, mostly free and the rest pretty cheap:

* PDFCreator - $100 for Adobe Acrobat? Screw that.
* SensorsView Pro 3.1 ($19) - to monitor temps and voltages of everything in your system
* Network Magic - an awesome program for helping you setup and maintain your network
* Tag&Rename ($30) - for renaming and tagging MP3s correctly
* Skado ($19) - for recording internet radio (I could probably use Audacity but this is a little easier/smarter)
* File Hippo Update Checker - checks to see if your software has updates…this managed to find an obscure update for Nero that I needed that wasn’t even listed anywhere on their website
* AM-Deadlink - checks your bookmarks for 404s and gets those favicons
* Audacity - sound recorder and editor, very popular
* Azureus - bitorrent…I HIGHLY recommend using with plugin called SafePeer to avoid getting a letter from your ISP like I did…and be vigilant about updating your antivirus
* Firefox - goes without saying
* Juice - podcast receiver, this is what I use to download and listen to Weekly Signals
* DVD Shrink - great free program for copying encrypted DVDs
* DVDFab - This will usually get around any new encryption that DVD Shrink can’t
* ImgBurn - you’ll need this to actually burn your DVD copy if you don’t have Nero
* HD Tune - monitors your hard drives and warns you of impending disaster
* FLV Player - plays those downloaded YouTube videos
* Exact Audio Copy - great MP3 ripper; try LAME encoding (not lame!)
* Winamp - great lightweight yet feature-rich MP3 player (see this if you want to use with your ipod)
* Soulseek - for getting MP3s (excellent!)
* Picasa - I’ve tried a lot of photo organizers, and I think this one’s pretty darn good (with one caveat: discover how to back up your albums/labels, because Picasa doesn’t do this for you and if you switch and restore hard drives you lose all your labels and albums. I lost three years worth of labeling in something like 80GB of photos because I didn’t know this. I sincerely hope Google fixes this in future editions).

Other useful programs:
* WinAudit - not the prettiest UI, but tells you everything you could possibly want to know about your computer system
* PC-Decrapifier - This is a GREAT tool for automatically uninstalling all the CRAP that they install on new computers
* Trend Protect IE - say you have a relative that simply will not release their grip on Internet Explorer. You can make their online life a little safer with this plugin.
* TweakUI Powertoy - a little Microsoft program that’s very handy for eliminating Windows’ default annoyances, like the “informative” balloons and login hassles

Next time: Firefox extensions!

P.S. You can save yourself some trouble by using GooglePack to install & update some of the above automatically, like Google Earth, Picasa, Real Player, Firefox, etc.

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Links!

MOM My Ride! - hilarious YouTube clip (well, hilarious if you have kids. Now you know what my minivan looks like, bleah) - via sk*rt I think
Review of Fiesty Ubuntu
Who Wore It Best?
Picasa2Flickr plugin
Don’t let this happen to you