Last week I looked at the first of the best ten apps I consider should be added to a new computer. I gave you information about Ninite, Google Chrome Browser, BitWarden, (or LastPass), and Malwarebytes. By-the-way, just as in the last article, here I have indicated the applications that can be installed using Ninite.com. Ninite is an extremely useful tool allowing you to install several programs at one time with only one download.
Second Group of the 10 Best Apps for a New Computer
This week we will look at the next items on the list. We will start with production applications. So, #5 in our list will be a list of several potential applications. First off is Microsoft Office, which has multiple choices all of its own. You can get to it at Office.com. Microsoft is in the midst of renaming/rebranding Office to Microsoft365. So Microsoft365.com will currently take you to the same location as Office.com. There you may sign up with a free online account which could be all you need. You may also purchase the full Microsoft365 bundle for an investment from $69.99/year for an individual account to $99.99 annually for family. Check at, ghtech.site/office-versions, for a comparison of how each version differs.
Now, two more free choices for office like products. If you are a Gmail lover, I recommend the Google environment, Google.com. The office apps may be found at Drive.google.com. It is an excellent free substitute for MS365. You can add some upgrades for a price, but most people will not need those. And finally, in this group is LibreOffice, which is an almost identical product as MS Office but free. LibreOffice also has no fees for upgrades, so it is absolutely free. You can download LibreOffice.com or Ninite.com. Any of these are excellent choices but you know me, I like free best! They all include word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, and other apps you can use.
Next is email, not the brand, like Gmail, Yahoo, etc. but a client/application to access it. If you have Google or Microsoft365, you may easily check your email online. However, if you have LibreOffice and email that does not have online access, you will need an email client. I recommend Thunderbird (Thunderbird.net). You may also get Thunderbird at Ninite with other apps. If, like me, you have multiple email addresses, you may add them all in Thunderbird and access them in one place. It was created by Mozilla, the owner of the Firefox browser. But now it is an open-source application (ghtech.site/open-source) with email, newsfeed, chat, and calendaring client created by a team of people.
It is still free and an excellent program. If you install it, you can then click “Add an email” and be done quickly. And then you can set up multiple emails as easily, if needed. You can also add your online calendar associated with your email account.
Now onto a better audio-visual player than the one that comes with Windows. I have mentioned it before, VLC, which stands for Video Lan Client (Videolan.org). VLC is also available at Ninite. It will play any video or audio file with no addons or updates, for free. Most AV apps may require you to download additional files to play some sorts of audio-visual files. But not with VLC which is also free, with no cost ever.
Next week, we will look at more apps on the list. Remember, you may try any of these applications without harming your computer. So, try them out if you wish. If you do not find them useful or dislike them, you can easily uninstall any of them.
