If you’re among the lucky ones to receive a new PC this holiday season, rejoice. There are few things as exciting as the potential of a brand-new machine.

1. 27/12/2011 04:16
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6 Free Software Packages You Should to
Load on Your New PC
6 Free Software Packages You Should to 1. Ubuntu Linux or Linux Mint
Load on Your New PC
If you’re not crazy about Microsoft Windows, or if
CloudTags: Software , PC , laptop battery , Toshiba you’d like to have an alternative on hand, there are
pa3534u-1brs battery , Dell inspiron 1525 battery countless Linux options you could try.
If you’re among the lucky ones to receive a new PC Among the two most popular, though–and the ones
this holiday season, rejoice. There are few things as most agree are best suited for new users–are Ubuntu
exciting as the potential of a brand-new machine. Linux and Linux Mint.
Ubuntu, of course, was long the No. 1 Linux distri-
bution out there, and rightfully so. It was the first
to put Linux on the “map” with mainstream users,
I’d argue, and it still offers a really nice, easy-to-use
open source operating system. The latest version of
Ubuntu is “Oneiric Ocelot,” or version 11.10, which
can be downloaded for free from the Ubuntu site.
http://blog.batteryfast.co.uk/6-free-software-packages-you-should-to-load-on-your-new-pc/
Linux Mint, however,
has recently usurped
Ubuntu’s No. 1 spot, lar-
gely because of Canoni-
cal’s decision to begin
using the Unity inter-
Assuming it’s not a Mac–or a machine with Linux face by default in Ubun-
preloaded–Windows almost certainly came instal- tu. That’s been less than entirely popular with many
led on your device. If you’re a Windows fan, that’s longtime users, in particular, giving Mint a new
great–you’re all set for an operating system, then. If boost.
not, the hard part is choosing what to install instead.
Mint is a great distribution as well–also very focused
In any case, the world of free and open source on ease of use–and it gives users a number of choices
software has you covered, both for an operating for the desktop environment they want to use. So,
system and for just about any other software you for flexibility in your computing environment, you
might need. Where to begin? Here are six sugges- won’t go wrong with Mint.
tions.
There are, of course, numerous other Linux distri-
butions as well. I’d say pick one and give it a try; if
you don’t like what you see, it’s easy to switch.
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6 Free Software Packages You Should to Load on Your New PC
2. Firefox or Chrome 5. GIMP
Assuming you have Windows, you probably have If you ever work with photos or other images, GIMP is
Internet Explorer as well. There are many reasons to a must-have alternative to Adobe’s expensive Pho-
consider installing something else, however–either toshop software. GIMP is great for making Web
in addition or instead of that browser–and Firefox graphics, creating marketing materials, and retou-
and Chrome are the most obvious examples. ching product photos, and any images you create
can be saved in numerous formats, including Pho-
Chrome recently assumed the No. 2 spot in the toshop. Once you try out GIMP’s high-end graphics
browser market–displacing Mozilla Firefox–and it’s editing and creation features, you’ll be amazed that
widely considered the most secure choice. Firefox, it doesn’t cost anything.
however, just got a really speedy update, and it’s
designed with numerous ethical considerations in 6. ClamAV
mind.
Finally, whether you’re running Windows or not,
All in all you really can’t go wrong with either of it’s a good idea to have some sort of antivirus pro-
those, and of course they’re both free. tection in place, and ClamAV is a great free choice.
The popular cross-platform tool detects Trojans,
3. Thunderbird viruses, malware, and more.
Also made by Mozilla, Thunderbird is free, cross- Related Articles:
platform e-mail client software that I’ve been using
for years. It’s very easy to set up and customize,
http://blog.batteryfast.co.uk/6-free-software-packages-you-should-to-load-on-your-new-pc/
and it’s available in countless languages. Numerous
extensions are available as well.
4. LibreOffice
It used to be OpenOffice.org that was the most com-
monly recommended free and open source office
productivity suite, but over the past year or so Li-
breOffice has taken its place.
I use LibreOffice every day for my writing, and I
can attest that it’s a great alternative to Microsoft
Office and the other big competitors out there. Just
like Office, it includes modules for word processing,
spreadsheets, and presentations.
LibreOffice is free, it’s open source, it’s business-
ready, and it does everything most people need.
There are also lots of extensions that extend its ca-
pabilities even further.
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