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2012-06-06 18:39:49
12 votes, rating 4.3
12 votes, rating 4.3
New Laptop: Help me wise tech savvy persons of fumbbl.
Wahey, i got me a new laptop.
I likes it, i likes it a lot.
Its an Intel i5, has loads of RAM, a 1 MB graphics card and beats audio.
Got all the dull worky stuff, microevil office 2010 and a few add ons, all needed for work, installed, and have moved 90% of my stuff onto it via a back up drive.
So all is good.
Now comes the final fit out....
I have been using Avira for anti virus. Free and seems hassle free, especially compared to McAfee, which is busy eating my wifes laptop, having done so to my PC years before.
But i have norton preloaded and a free trial, is it as bad? should i strip it out and go for Avira again?
And what IRC client? Ive always used mIRC, but as im having to get used to plenty of new stuff (Windows 7, Chrome (rather than ie9) and web based Email (£200 for outlook? get f****d). maybe i should try a new IRC client as well? any ideas?
I need the occasional film clip edited and picture sorted, so i'm keeping all the preloaded HP stuff, and i have an HP printer too, so it makes sense.
I know Ill get use from gimp. So ill be grabbing that.
other stuff i have/will have:
Skype
sopcast
itunes
games wise i have invested in Civ5 and Shogun 2:Total War. With diablo3 likely next.
But anything else im massively missing, utility or game wise?
i shall not be MMORPGing, as i have a life.
As a final PS my new laptop has a fingerprint reader. At first glance it seems to be basically a fingerprint led shortcut system, rather than for security. Any one used such a thing, and what uise did you get out of it?
I likes it, i likes it a lot.
Its an Intel i5, has loads of RAM, a 1 MB graphics card and beats audio.
Got all the dull worky stuff, microevil office 2010 and a few add ons, all needed for work, installed, and have moved 90% of my stuff onto it via a back up drive.
So all is good.
Now comes the final fit out....
I have been using Avira for anti virus. Free and seems hassle free, especially compared to McAfee, which is busy eating my wifes laptop, having done so to my PC years before.
But i have norton preloaded and a free trial, is it as bad? should i strip it out and go for Avira again?
And what IRC client? Ive always used mIRC, but as im having to get used to plenty of new stuff (Windows 7, Chrome (rather than ie9) and web based Email (£200 for outlook? get f****d). maybe i should try a new IRC client as well? any ideas?
I need the occasional film clip edited and picture sorted, so i'm keeping all the preloaded HP stuff, and i have an HP printer too, so it makes sense.
I know Ill get use from gimp. So ill be grabbing that.
other stuff i have/will have:
Skype
sopcast
itunes
games wise i have invested in Civ5 and Shogun 2:Total War. With diablo3 likely next.
But anything else im massively missing, utility or game wise?
i shall not be MMORPGing, as i have a life.
As a final PS my new laptop has a fingerprint reader. At first glance it seems to be basically a fingerprint led shortcut system, rather than for security. Any one used such a thing, and what uise did you get out of it?
Comments
Posted by pythrr on 2012-06-06 18:51:53
imho Norton sucks.
Posted by Lill-Leif on 2012-06-06 18:53:44
I used my fingerprint reader for logging in to windows.
IRC - HydraIRC.
TeamSpeak client if you are chatty.
Windows security essentials comes with built in lightweight antivirus. NOD32 is also good.
IRC - HydraIRC.
TeamSpeak client if you are chatty.
Windows security essentials comes with built in lightweight antivirus. NOD32 is also good.
Posted by Lill-Leif on 2012-06-06 18:55:02
Oh, and I hope your graphics card have more than 1mb ram :-)
Posted by Sammler_der_Seelen on 2012-06-06 18:56:56
Calibre for E-book stuff , Virtual Dub for video cut and work with homemade Videos ,Dosbox for the old Games:),Jdownloader to grab videos and mp3 from youtube.Astroburn as simple Burning Prog (all these Progs are Free)
Posted by insanitie on 2012-06-06 19:00:07
thunderbird is a great free outlook alternative
Posted by Woodstock on 2012-06-06 19:06:46
Avira is great, mIRC is still the best out there...
And for the love of Nuffle, do not install iTunes... Apples software is so horrible, I don't even need to trash talk it.
And for the love of Nuffle, do not install iTunes... Apples software is so horrible, I don't even need to trash talk it.
Posted by Fela on 2012-06-06 19:14:01
+1 for Thunderbird. Webmail is ok in an emergency but TB is way better.
I use HydraIRC too and prefer it to mIRC. Plus, it's freeware.
I use HydraIRC too and prefer it to mIRC. Plus, it's freeware.
Posted by Garion on 2012-06-06 19:22:59
Yes Woodstock speaks truth. Don't install itunes. It is pure evil. Windows media player is better and doesn't make duplicate copies of everything. It's also far less hassle. NEVER EVER install norton, its even worse for destroying your computer than McAfee.
Download Mozilla Firefox and then chatzilla. That's my preferred irc as you just launch it from your browser- Firefox.
Avira is fine.
Yeah hotmail.com for email has always prooved spam free for me, while yahoo web mail is aweful, crazy amounts of spam.
Download Mozilla Firefox and then chatzilla. That's my preferred irc as you just launch it from your browser- Firefox.
Avira is fine.
Yeah hotmail.com for email has always prooved spam free for me, while yahoo web mail is aweful, crazy amounts of spam.
Posted by Ehlers on 2012-06-06 19:24:35
I persoanlly use "AVG" for anti virus and then Search and Destroy for the occasual cleaning of the PC.
I suggest you get VLC for seeing video. Have never failed me watching anything at all.
I suggest you get VLC for seeing video. Have never failed me watching anything at all.
Posted by truckerpunk on 2012-06-06 19:51:31
For a Chat client I highly recommend Pidgin:
http://www.pidgin.im/
It's a universal chat client that handles all types of chat, and it does it very easy. Plus it's cross platform, and free!
http://www.pidgin.im/
It's a universal chat client that handles all types of chat, and it does it very easy. Plus it's cross platform, and free!
Posted by maysrill on 2012-06-06 20:07:48
Once you get Civ and Diablo installed, you won't have to worry about much else. I might recommend holding off Civ unless you're intent on experiencing it pre-expansion, the previews of Gods and Kings looks pretty promising.
If you're on the US servers, PM me if you're looking for multiplayer Diablo.
If you're on the US servers, PM me if you're looking for multiplayer Diablo.
Posted by Chainsaw on 2012-06-06 20:08:09
For chat use Nettalk. Much nicer than Hydra.
www.ntalk.de/nettalk/en/
Get rid of the anti-virus stuff. Windows 7 has its own protections. Unless you like to click on the links in your spam mail, or surf for cam whores, you're not going to need dedicate AV. It just slows your PC down.
Email, screw local email, waste of time. Gmail all day. Even if you use Gmail and want a local client, it has IMAP.
Games wise, a great free game or two is out there. Try 0AD:
www.wildfiregames.com/0ad/
Or if you like roaming around space, Pioneer:
www.pioneerspacesim.net
www.ntalk.de/nettalk/en/
Get rid of the anti-virus stuff. Windows 7 has its own protections. Unless you like to click on the links in your spam mail, or surf for cam whores, you're not going to need dedicate AV. It just slows your PC down.
Email, screw local email, waste of time. Gmail all day. Even if you use Gmail and want a local client, it has IMAP.
Games wise, a great free game or two is out there. Try 0AD:
www.wildfiregames.com/0ad/
Or if you like roaming around space, Pioneer:
www.pioneerspacesim.net
Posted by Chainsaw on 2012-06-06 20:11:42
Or, if you want a cool game that's in open alpha, try Overgrowth by Wolfire Games:
http://www.wolfire.com/
Just about the coolest beat 'em up going.
e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Em6bRBXFc
http://www.wolfire.com/
Just about the coolest beat 'em up going.
e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Em6bRBXFc
Posted by Chainsaw on 2012-06-06 20:12:45
The sequence at the end of that YouTube clip is awesome. :)
Posted by Calcium on 2012-06-06 20:34:06
Elite clone? OMFG Chainsaw....I LOVE U!
Posted by MattDakka on 2012-06-07 04:19:27
You might try Battle for Wesnoth, tactical turn based fantasy battles:
http://www.wesnoth.org/
http://www.wesnoth.org/
Posted by Meltyman on 2012-06-07 07:45:23
http://www.grimrock.net/
Just finished this game... it was really tricky, but just so tricky that even with my brains i could solve all the puzzles. Atmosphere of the game is fantastic, it really keeps you on your toes.
(bought it on steam, but as you can see you can get it from there too)
Just finished this game... it was really tricky, but just so tricky that even with my brains i could solve all the puzzles. Atmosphere of the game is fantastic, it really keeps you on your toes.
(bought it on steam, but as you can see you can get it from there too)
Posted by Sp00keh on 2012-06-07 10:45:27
screw anti virus software. they're all pretty worthless now, compared to how beastly some of the malwares out there are.
if you're not stupid about clicking on dodgy stuff that sounds too good to be true, then the time+effort cost of re-installing windows if you do get infected is less than the time+effort cost of having AV installed.
AV is just not worth it any more.
irc. if you've used mirc and are happy with it, why change? the others aren't significantly better. remember Zawinski's Law:
“Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail. Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones which can.”
Coined by Jamie Zawinski (who called it the “Law of Software Envelopment”) to express his belief that all truly useful programs experience pressure to evolve into toolkits and application platforms (the mailer thing, he says, is just a side effect of that). It is commonly cited, though with widely varying degrees of accuracy.
http://catb.org/jargon/html/Z/Zawinskis-Law.html
as for browsers, i actually use 4
IE - i have some work programs that i can access from home, but require IE
Firefox - my main browser, with cookies blocked and extreme privacy protecting addons and settings. this causes some websites to not work properly. i can either white-list them or open them in chrome
install adblock!
Chrome - my second main browser, with mild privacy settings, used when i want single use access to some website that won't work in firefox
install adblock!
Opera - for online banking only. any malwares that i might pick up on other internet browsing is likely to only affect the browser that caught it. Opera is pretty secure anyway, and also more obscure so less targetted, making it the safest option for online banking type stuff
CCCP - combined community codec pack. a codec pack
media player classic home cinema - main media player
VLC - secondary media player, i install both, i prefer MPC but VLC is better sometimes
RealAlternative - codec for real player files so you don't need to install ghastly real player
QuickTime Alternative - codec for .mov files so you don't need to install ghastly quicktime
Winamp - music player. great set of addons, lets it play any music types. auto resume, auto play on startup, press Q to enque a list of files, press J to jump to files
don't install itunes, its ghastly, and you don't need it to update your ipod, you can get winamp to do it apparently, or you can get free other software
Peerblock - a firewall that IP-blocks a huge daily-updated list of IP addresses of known malware addresses, portscanners, federal agencies that monitor you, ad servers, and all other kinds of evil that lurks in the depths of the internet. unfortunately it frequently also blocks stuff that you want, like games, so you need to whitelist them manually
Winrar - for rar, zips etc
if you're not stupid about clicking on dodgy stuff that sounds too good to be true, then the time+effort cost of re-installing windows if you do get infected is less than the time+effort cost of having AV installed.
AV is just not worth it any more.
irc. if you've used mirc and are happy with it, why change? the others aren't significantly better. remember Zawinski's Law:
“Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail. Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones which can.”
Coined by Jamie Zawinski (who called it the “Law of Software Envelopment”) to express his belief that all truly useful programs experience pressure to evolve into toolkits and application platforms (the mailer thing, he says, is just a side effect of that). It is commonly cited, though with widely varying degrees of accuracy.
http://catb.org/jargon/html/Z/Zawinskis-Law.html
as for browsers, i actually use 4
IE - i have some work programs that i can access from home, but require IE
Firefox - my main browser, with cookies blocked and extreme privacy protecting addons and settings. this causes some websites to not work properly. i can either white-list them or open them in chrome
install adblock!
Chrome - my second main browser, with mild privacy settings, used when i want single use access to some website that won't work in firefox
install adblock!
Opera - for online banking only. any malwares that i might pick up on other internet browsing is likely to only affect the browser that caught it. Opera is pretty secure anyway, and also more obscure so less targetted, making it the safest option for online banking type stuff
CCCP - combined community codec pack. a codec pack
media player classic home cinema - main media player
VLC - secondary media player, i install both, i prefer MPC but VLC is better sometimes
RealAlternative - codec for real player files so you don't need to install ghastly real player
QuickTime Alternative - codec for .mov files so you don't need to install ghastly quicktime
Winamp - music player. great set of addons, lets it play any music types. auto resume, auto play on startup, press Q to enque a list of files, press J to jump to files
don't install itunes, its ghastly, and you don't need it to update your ipod, you can get winamp to do it apparently, or you can get free other software
Peerblock - a firewall that IP-blocks a huge daily-updated list of IP addresses of known malware addresses, portscanners, federal agencies that monitor you, ad servers, and all other kinds of evil that lurks in the depths of the internet. unfortunately it frequently also blocks stuff that you want, like games, so you need to whitelist them manually
Winrar - for rar, zips etc
Posted by Were_M_Eye on 2012-06-07 17:56:25
Don't litsen to Sp00keh about antivirus. Just because some virus might get through is no reason to leave your computer totaly unguarded.
Posted by Sp00keh on 2012-06-08 10:33:01
some virus will be blocked by AV, yes
however the cost of this would be having to re-format & re-install, which takes several hours
people ignore that having AV has its own cost - it makes your machine significantly slower.
the extra time penalty of intrusive and cumbersome slowass software, added up over the course of the life of the machine, will total more than several hours.
therefore, i deem AV not worth it
the best defence is to keep your data backed up, and not to click stupidly on dodgy things.
however the cost of this would be having to re-format & re-install, which takes several hours
people ignore that having AV has its own cost - it makes your machine significantly slower.
the extra time penalty of intrusive and cumbersome slowass software, added up over the course of the life of the machine, will total more than several hours.
therefore, i deem AV not worth it
the best defence is to keep your data backed up, and not to click stupidly on dodgy things.
Posted by Sp00keh on 2012-06-08 10:40:42
Also note that i do advocate using:
-Peerblock: an ip-blacklisting firewall (although, it can be a pain in the ass sometimes)
-windows firewall
-very restricted browser with java disabled, loads of protective addons. I'm using firefox with:
adblock plus
advertising cookie opt out
ghostery
https-everywhere
privacychoice trackerblock
refcontrol
sharemenot
if you feel something is dodgy, scan with malware antibytes and spybot search and destroy. I un-install them again after i've scanned though.
-Peerblock: an ip-blacklisting firewall (although, it can be a pain in the ass sometimes)
-windows firewall
-very restricted browser with java disabled, loads of protective addons. I'm using firefox with:
adblock plus
advertising cookie opt out
ghostery
https-everywhere
privacychoice trackerblock
refcontrol
sharemenot
if you feel something is dodgy, scan with malware antibytes and spybot search and destroy. I un-install them again after i've scanned though.
Posted by JockMcRowdy on 2012-06-08 14:03:17
echoing a lot of comments below;
Norton is the work of the devil steer well clear.
Same for iTunes, worst music player there is.
After years and years of trial and error and sometimes crying I use;
WinAmp - Music
VLC - dvds and any other video
Firefox - Browsing
Chatzilla - Firefox plugin for irc.
Thunderbird - email
7zip - instead of winzip
foxit - instead of adobe .pdf reader
Avast - best free one at the moment (avira is fine too), best to look around every 6 months though for the best free one, AVG has trimmed down the free version too much now
Probably not needed extras;
PowerDVD - for blu ray playback
Virtual CloneDrive - mount downloaded dvds and games as if they were on a disc
unlocker - force deletion of files, can be used as a last resort virus remover.
Portable Apps - if you want to install stuff on a flash stick/drive instead, very handy when using work computers without having to install software.
Rocket Dock - because the start bar is lame
Norton is the work of the devil steer well clear.
Same for iTunes, worst music player there is.
After years and years of trial and error and sometimes crying I use;
WinAmp - Music
VLC - dvds and any other video
Firefox - Browsing
Chatzilla - Firefox plugin for irc.
Thunderbird - email
7zip - instead of winzip
foxit - instead of adobe .pdf reader
Avast - best free one at the moment (avira is fine too), best to look around every 6 months though for the best free one, AVG has trimmed down the free version too much now
Probably not needed extras;
PowerDVD - for blu ray playback
Virtual CloneDrive - mount downloaded dvds and games as if they were on a disc
unlocker - force deletion of files, can be used as a last resort virus remover.
Portable Apps - if you want to install stuff on a flash stick/drive instead, very handy when using work computers without having to install software.
Rocket Dock - because the start bar is lame
Posted by Balle2000 on 2012-06-26 01:15:51
browsehappy.com/ for quick rundown of all browsers
eset.com/ (NOD32) for a tight, reliable and non-clingy anti-v
eset.com/ (NOD32) for a tight, reliable and non-clingy anti-v