Ninite - This software is fantabulous! Normally, when I reformat a PC I’d go one by one to get the latest versions of Firefox, Skype, Notepad++, etc… and practically all the relevant software is there. This is a massive time-saver in installing new software after a clean install. Works on XP, Vista, and Win7. Timely since I just reformatted 2 PCs for the house just today.

You just check the software you need, hit submit, and download the installer that Ninite has customized for you. Just leave it running and after a few minutes or up to 1 hour, all the software you needed is already installed.

I recommend as a minimum for your basic home PC:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Skype
• Digsby for multiple IM (disable the sending of statistics in Options since this hogs your bandwidth)
• Songbird for Music. iTunes if you have an iPod.
• VLC
• Foxit Reader
• CutePDF (so you can print any document as a PDF)
• avast! antivirus
• All the Runtimes (Flash, .net, Java, Silverlight)
• uTorrent
• Dropbox - 2GB free online file sharing and backup
• CCleaner
• Revo Uninstaller
• 7-Zip (instead of WinRAR)

For writing documents, just use Google Docs or install OpenOffice, if you have to. Or if you have an extra flash disk just get the PortableApps version of Open Office so you can just run it from your USB stick.