I thought I would tell you all about my ‘current’ five favourite Microsoft Windows applications that I use most weeks.
June 2020 update: I’ve updated this blog post over nine years after first publishing it. I’ve used various versions of two of the software packages mentioned in this post for over twenty years!
Winamp (free)
This is a June 2020 edition to this blog post. I used this excellent free music player years ago and then for some reason stopped using it. What felt modern years ago, now feels retro and I like it, along with the nifty equaliser and playlist features. You can change the ‘skin’ so that the software GUI looks different, but I like the default look.
I used this software on Windows 95 and now I’m using it with Windows 10! I’m currently using a Jabra Evolve 20 headset to listen to the music.
Some people might find this an excellent alternative to Media Player Classic if they just listen to audio files.
Notepad++ (free)
I used to use this software a lot for html, php and css file editing. I’ve used this software to help me create basic website themes.
The majority of the time these days I’m using it for basic text editing as a replacement for Microsoft’s OS bundled Notepad.
PaintShop Pro (paid)
I first used a trial version of this image editing software over twenty years ago! Other than skipping a few upgrades over the years, I’m still happily using the software. These days there are some excellent free alternatives, but this is by far my favourite image and graphic software I’ve used.
One of the reasons why I like this software is that the majority of the time I’m doing basic image editing, but then every so often I require an addition feature and this software meets my requirements and I usually can achieve the results I want.
I’m now using PaintShop Pro 2020 Ultimate and I use it for both personal and work needs. For example I like photography, but I wouldn’t say I’m a good photographer. Time and again this app helps me make subtle changes to my photos that I think improve upon the original image.
This software just makes my life easier.
Cobian Backup (free)
This is another original entry from the 2011 blog post. I also use Microsoft’s SyncToy as part of my backup plan and I’m thinking replacing Cobian Backup with Ashampoo Backup Pro.
Cobian Backup enables me to automate backups, such as to second HD in my PC and to a NAS box. I really like what this software has done for me all these years.
LibreOffice Writer (free)
This is a new edition to the blog post and I’ve used it for many years. On the original version of this blog post I mentioned FocusWriter, which provides a clean and minimal layout. I’ve also used other editing software and another past favourite was AbiWord.
All my draft blog posts are written in LibreOffice Writer before I move them over to my blog for the final edit and publication.
When working I use LibreOffice Writer almost daily and the free word processing software does everything I need and I’m able to quickly get the results I want.
However I am thinking about moving back to Microsoft Word. I used Word back in the DOS days and for many years on Windows. I’m only thinking about moving back to Word to gain experience and skills with the current version.
Conclusion – June 2020
I enjoyed updating this blog post eleven years after first publishing. It made me think long and hard about the software I’m currently using. I’ve been ‘sitting on the fence’ about some software decisions and this post has prompted me to decide.
There are quite a few packages that I really like, but I don’t use regularly so I didn’t include them and I think it’s time I spent more time with some of them and also looked at alternatives for some other apps.
What are your favourite Microsoft Windows apps?