Filed under: Features
Ask Download Squad: What's the first thing you install on your computer?
Looks like not too many of you are into structured text editing (either that or you're all out at the beach). The response to last week's question was relatively light, though some previously mentioned programs, such as Treepad, resurfaced as favorites. This week, we're going to follow up on Victor's "Virgin Install" series and ask: what's the first thing you install when you get a new computer or reinstall/upgrade your OS? Is it anti-virus software? A favorite game? Third-party drivers? Let us know! Post your answer in the Comments section below. And, if you'd like to have your question included here, send it to us using this form. We'll post one question each week. 
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Colin Hill said 12:12PM on 8-20-2005
Firefox, definitely.
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Ant said 12:23PM on 8-20-2005
Video Drivers.
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Chris said 12:42PM on 8-20-2005
1. Firefox
2. AVG
3. Winamp
4. Itunes
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tom said 12:57PM on 8-20-2005
just did reinstall windows and it was firefox.
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Hkid said 1:06PM on 8-20-2005
1. AVG Free
2. Ad aware
3. FF
4. TBird
5. Copernic Desktop Search
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William said 1:24PM on 8-20-2005
easy for me to remember as i just bought a new laptop
1. firefox
2. thunderbird
3. shareaza (great music downloader, found out about it on here)
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Fermac said 1:41PM on 8-20-2005
1 - ZoneAlarm from zonelabs
2 - AVG free from Grisoft
3 - make a restore point
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David Chartier said 1:37PM on 8-20-2005
It's tough to say what's first when I reinstall OSX, as a good majority of OSX apps are simply drag and drop from the zip file or disk image. There is no "installation". So I just keep a folder of 3rd party apps I use, back it up, and once the reinstall is done I just drag and drop all 44 of them over. Firefox, NetNewsWire, StickyBrain, a few games, Adium are some of the bigger names though.
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Mike said 1:49PM on 8-20-2005
firefox - because I have to download the drivers for everything, which means visiting the websites for the latest available.
I feel so ICKY using IE to get firefox, but it's a sacrifice I have to make when reinstalling windows.
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~J~ said 1:51PM on 8-20-2005
1) Mcafee Internet Security Suite
2) Drivers!
3) Firefox
4) MS Office 2003
5) VisualStudio 2003
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Lisa said 1:53PM on 8-20-2005
1) Antivirus
2) Firewall
3) All XP updates
4) Firefox
5) Thunderbird
If I could, i'd install em all in 1 step.
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Holt said 2:24PM on 8-20-2005
After drivers, Windows Updates, and removing the software that came with my OEM copy of XP, I download Opera then head over to filehippo.com for all my favorite software, and install them in no particular order. Then I head over to a few specific websites for anything not in their listing.
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David G. Hong said 2:50PM on 8-20-2005
A. Windows
- Motherboard chipsert drivers
- All the other drivers
- Windows Update
- Firefox, Thunderbird
- MSN Beta (what ever the leaked ones are)
- Microsoft Office
- EditPlus 2
- Cgywin
B. Linux (Fedora Core)
- CPU Driver
- Chipset Driver
- Soundcard Driver
- GFX Driver
- Update Fedora Core
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Fabian said 3:09PM on 8-20-2005
On Windows machines, always the following...
First is the tool to use the internet safely for all my other software needs so:
1. Firefox
2. Firewall
3. AntiVirus
4. Compression tools (Freezip for example)
5. Picture Viewer (Irfan View)
6. Video Lan Client
7. Adobe Reader
8. ICQ software (normally GAIM or some such)
9...x Everything else...
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Tal Ater said 3:51PM on 8-21-2005
Wingo!
Not the new versions... but an old super-simple one.
Working without it is like having one hand tied behind my back.
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J.T. Mill said 4:15PM on 8-20-2005
1)Firefox
2)Windows Updates
*Uninstall IE*
3)Virus Protection
4)Winamp
5)Photoshop
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Greg R said 4:15PM on 8-20-2005
well in order to get Firefox I have to install ethernet adapter drivers then
Firefox...OF COURSE
and then Display Drivers for...
STARCRAFT!
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Jason Clarke said 4:29PM on 8-20-2005
I think for Windows, we just have to assume an AV tool, spyware blocking tools (Spyware Blaster, Spybot S&Ds) and a software firewall are all assumed, after doing the requisite Windows Updates. Beyond those, and Firefox, (and, I suppose, Office), what other interesting tools do we install?
For me, I can't live without ActiveWords on a machine I'll be using regularl.
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Miguel Lopes said 4:29PM on 8-20-2005
Anti-virus - I use McAfee Viruscan Enterprise - then immediately update
Firewall - Free ZoneAlarm
Microsoft Office
All Microsoft Updates (I install Microsoft Update as it allows me to update Windows and Office at the same time)
AdAware
Spybot Search and Destroy
Quicktime
RealPlayer
Adobe Reader 7
WinZip or similar
Nero or EasyCDCreator
This is what I consider a nice baseline config.
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Jason Clarke said 4:30PM on 8-20-2005
Sorry for the typos above; that's what I get for trying to type with a baby in my arms!
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