Opensource/Freeware Suggestions

[d4mo]

Gonna reformat, and just make sure these are legit/ the best.

CDex for CD Ripping

CDBurnerXP for burning(not sure if this is the best)

MP3Tag for tags

 

[CurseTheSky]

OpenOffice.org for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc.

ImgBurn for burning (CdBurnerXp probably works fine, though)

Paint.NET or IrfanView for general image editing

GIMP for advanced image editing

Avira Free or Microsoft Security Essentials for anti-virus

CCleaner for general junk cleanup / registry cleaner

MalwareBytes for malware scanning and removal

Google Chrome, Firefox, or Opera for Internet browser

Notepad++ for general programming work; Microsoft Visual C++ and others for a more advanced library / interface

Pidgin or Trillian for instant messaging

Thunderbird for email

CPU-Z, GPU-Z, HWMonitor, and various other programs for hardware / system information

 

[hypn05]

CurseTheSky's list is a good list, just want to add:

Comodo for firewall
Avast for anti virus
7 zip for file compression
Gom Player and VLC for video

 

[Relayer]

Use this to install your list.

http://ninite.com/

 

[zagood]

Use this to install your list.

http://ninite.com/

You're freaking kidding me. This is awesome.

 

[George P Burdell]

Use this to install your list.

http://ninite.com/

Is this adware/malware free?

 

[Chiefcrowe]

This looks Amazing!!! thank you! reminds me of autopatcher except with other programs!

Use this to install your list.

http://ninite.com/

 

[Chiefcrowe]

So i just tried ninite out and it seems pretty cool. Only issue is that if it can't download a program, there is no option to skip that particular program and go on to the next one.

 

[poisonthewell]

Too bad the stickied thread from the old system is gone, or at least not found easily. Great info here though, thanks to all who have contributed.

 

[thedosbox]

CDburnerXP sometimes has issues recognizing drives on systems running in AHCI mode. http://infrarecorder.org/ is a good alternate.

 

[floydenheimer]

BurnAware Free is a decent free burning app too.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Core FTP Lite is a decent FTP program.

(Rant: I used to use my paid-for copy of CuteFTP, but they have undocumented activation limits that are not reset no matter how many upgrades you pay for. After many years and a few PC upgrades / new systems I hit the limit and support said "too bad, buy it again.")

 

[tcsenter]

Use this to install your list.

http://ninite.com/

Similar unattended installer projects here (I think these have been around longer):

WPI - Windows Post-Install Wizard (not sure if this one actually downloads the application for you)

SIP - Smart Installer Pack

 

[konakona]

I like CurseTheSky's list too, but a few things I diverge on:

Paint.NET or IrfanView for general image editing

Paint.NET is a good one, not a big fan of irfanview, mostly because of the authors openly condescending stance on supporting unicode filenames. I think Faststone/XNview are better programs to begin with anyway.

CCleaner for general junk cleanup / registry cleaner

I hear most of these programs don't really have much benefit, cleaning empty MRU list and slack space is about the biggest things they accomplish in most cases.

Pidgin or Trillian for instant messaging

I never liked Trillian, but it's a matter of preference I reckon. Miranda is my pick for being lighter and more customizable, but it may take some work to get some of the plugins to work.

Avira Free or Microsoft Security Essentials for anti-virus

the MS one seems to get good reviews, is it as light as avira or even lighter? Maybe I should check it out one day.

Other programs I would tack on to that list include:

foobar2000 for music playback, potplayer for video playback, revouninstaller for uninstalling apps, virtualbox to experiment with/run all the nasty lil things you don't want on your computer.

 

[MrColin]

foobar2000 will handle the three things mentioned by the OP. Pretty well too.

 

[pcslookout]

Is there any disadvantage of using a site like ninite?