Software
What’s Your Longest Running App?
I’ve been reexamining my toolbox of apps lately, simply because my work flow is continuing to evolve. Some of that evolution is because of the work itself, some of that is because of my own personal evolution in terms of the devices I find myself using. As I’m taking inventory of what applications I really need, as opposed to those that hang around and haven’t been used in awhile I’m curious about what our readers use/don’t use anymore.
So, here’s a couple of questions for our readers today.
- What’s your longest running app? You know the app you can’t live without, that follows you from machine to machine, and is always at the top of your reinstall list.
- What app or apps do you keep hanging around that you don’t use that much anymore?
- What apps have you retired recently? What have you replaced them with?
Kevin Purcell
09/17/2009 at 8:18 am
I have four. MS Word, Logos Bible software, WordSearch Bible software, and Bibleworks Bible software. After reinstall of windows or on a new machine, I do nothing until those four are running.
Dodot
09/17/2009 at 8:21 am
1.) Dropbox (Not my longest running, but has been at the top of my reinstall list)
2.) Thunderbird (Gmail is just too convenient, but for whatever reason I like having Thunderbird on my Tablet).
3.) Digsby, I now IM almost exclusively on my mobile.
Rob
09/17/2009 at 8:47 am
used to be Windows Live Mesh, but with their problems with the Mac lately I’ve switched to PogoPlug and SugarSync
MindManager
EverNote
Things
Dreamweaver
MiKeN
09/17/2009 at 9:12 am
1. I’d have to say that the apps I can’t live without is my firefox for all things Internet and windows live messnger for communicating to people. Those are 2 definite applications that follow me no matter where I go.
2. The application that I can’t let go of is probably my Nero burning software. I never know if one day I might need to burn something. It was faithful software for a long time lol.
3. The software that I am in the process of retiring is open office and slowly migrating to google documents.
John S.
09/17/2009 at 9:35 am
Not having roboform after a refresh is like not having my right arm. Interestingly enough, I can tell you my favorite piece of software to install LAST right before a refresh.
https://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
I only wish it listed Firefox add-ons.
mindmanager
roboform
hamachi
whs connector
paint.net (I never intend it to be it just is always necc.)
john s.
Achim
09/17/2009 at 9:48 am
1. Dropbox
like Dodot, not one my longest running apps, but the first thing to go on a new pc
(the longest running app is probably MS Office. I prefer OpenOffice now, but I always have one system with MS Office installed)
2. OneNote
Since I finished my masters degree and started working I almost don’t use OneNote anymore. But it is still one of the most powerful Tablet PC software around, so I like to have it just in case
3. Irfan View. I replaced it with Picasa recently.
smh
09/17/2009 at 10:24 am
MS Office suite on all three counts.
I love and hate MS Office and have used the products on and off, it depends on what i’m working on and what office is capable of.
On the other hand the oldest apps I have are PASCO apps that are from 1994 and i still use them – those are the ones that have highest priority when i reformat.
Scott
09/17/2009 at 10:30 am
SugarSync has greatly simplified my life, so that is first. Then it’s OneNote, Endnote, MS Word and SAS.
MS Access is starting to get more attention on my PC and the tablet functionality is starting to get less attention as it is not always convenient to switch.
Recently dropped launchy.
Kathy Jacobs
09/17/2009 at 10:44 am
Without a doubt, the top one is SnagIt. Next in line is Office, especially OneNote.
Why SnagIt first? Because it just works. Any time I need it, for just about anything screen shot related, it is there and working. (I even tend to use it for graphic and photo editing, because the interface fits me better than the other graphic tools at my disposal.)
OneNote come second because it is where everything goes that I need to remember.
The rest of Office and Jing are next after that. Both Outlook and Jing are always there and in use.
Funny thing: I have 13 or more tabs open in my browser at any given time, but I don’t think of that as a must have. That’s probably because I cycle through IE8, FF, and Chrome – no one does just what I need.
SAM
09/17/2009 at 11:04 am
RitePen
OneNote(old version)
ArtRage (been thinking about switching to Sketchbook)
Office 97
ARJ Zip
WinRAR
ACDSEE Photo viewer
VLC Player
WinAmp
+Work apps
borax99 (AlainC.)
09/17/2009 at 11:45 am
ACID Pro. Hands-down !
GoodThings2Life
09/17/2009 at 1:25 pm
Firefox, Windows Live Essentials, and Office 2007 for me… I spend 98% of my life in these apps, lol.
Medic
09/17/2009 at 1:54 pm
Word 2007
Onenote 2007
PcTools antivirus
PDF annotator
windows movie maker 2.6
David Howard
09/17/2009 at 6:38 pm
Gotta install right away:
FireFox with all my add-ins
MS Office, especially Outlook
PlanPlus for Outlook from Franklin Covey
MS Visio
MS Project
Mindjet Mind Manager
Bible Explorer
NotePad++
Bullzip PDF Printer
PDF X-Change Viewer
2. What I still install w/o much use:
Enterprise Architect from SparxSystems
3.) What is being retired
Stopped using FoxIt for PDF viewing a sit was too slow and buggy.
Stopped using TextPad for note editing because it was not as well supported as NotePad++
xyzzy
09/17/2009 at 6:43 pm
Irfanview by Irfan Skiljan just the best image viewer,
Firefox with NoScript addon,
Stumbleupon toolbar,
Wacom options gui,
livescribe desktop for Pulse pen
Dragon nat speaking,
vista TIP,
vista Snip,
double_o_don
09/17/2009 at 9:00 pm
Oldest: Original Office Set-
Word/Excel/PowerPoint
First installed and most used: OneNote (now 2007)
Used little but still around: Visio
JeffGr
09/18/2009 at 1:30 pm
I’m going to go even a bit more base-level here. After the OS and antivirus, the first applications that I usually install right away on any new or refreshed system are:
1. Winzip – Still works way better than Windows’ built-in zip functionality.
2. Textpad – Best general use text editor that I’ve found.
3. Beyond Compare – Excellent file compare program.
Once I have those apps installed, I usually move on to get Firefox and Thunderbird up and running and then Microsoft Office.
-Jeff
dwasifar
09/20/2009 at 11:02 am
I switched to Linux some time back, so most of the apps I’d list are Linux apps – not what this post is about. However, there are some Windows apps I’ve been using for years that followed me over when I made the switch, so they probably qualify as my longest running:
QuickBooks (under Crossover Linux)
DVDShrink (under Wine)
Firefox & Thunderbird (not Win apps, obviously, but I started with the Windows versions when I still ran Windows)
UltraEdit (I use this when working on clients’ Windows machines)
Max
09/23/2009 at 9:45 pm
Firefox/Chrome (I just cann’t stand Explorer)
Endnote
Acrobat Pro
Office (Word, Excel, Onenote)
Andrea
09/29/2009 at 3:37 pm
1. Firefox is first on a fresh install, and if for some reason I didn’t download it beforehand, that’s the one time IE gets used ever. After that comes my wireless printer driver (Brother HL-2070N which technically isn’t wireless but since it’s hooked up on a wireless router, it is) since I always end up needing to print something off after an install for some reason. Open Office, then the Adobe Creative Suite.
2. MS Office 2007. It’s incredibly slow on my tablet now (which is getting close to 5 years old now) and I really only use it to convert .docx files to something I can open in Open Office.
3. Nero has been retired because I never burn CDs or DVDs anymore. If I want to share something with someone, I have 4 512mb flash drives, 2 2gb flash drives, and an 8gb flash drive I loan out. I can also upload things on my website and link that to people if they’re not close to me distance-wise. It’s great to not be burning discs anymore really.