So you just bought a new computer, pulled it out from the delivery package and have the delivery guy install it for your first use. Buying a new computer can be a very exciting, joyful experience and you’re all set to try it, isn’t it?
Hey, wait for a moment! It’s all for naught if you don’t set up your new computer correctly for your own needs. Your new computer is not truly yours until you tweak it for your daily activities. One of the first factors to consider is to install some awesome software to enjoy a seamless computing experience. Spare some time to learn about the best software for new computers in 2021 to make things quicker, easier, safer and convenient. Let’s begin.
Mozilla Thunderbird (Free)
Looking to catch up with your emails, schedules, reminders and pending tasks? The all-in-one email client from Mozilla lets you track your emails, manage contacts, chat with people, and do much more.
Some of you might ask, “Why a new email client when you already have one preinstalled in Windows 10?” To your surprise, the Windows Mail program does NOT download your email messages to your PC. Every time you want to access your email messages or attachments, you will need to be connected to the Internet. There is no other way to read your messages in the offline-mode. This is a major drawback for those who aren’t connected to the Internet 24*7.
In contrast, Thunderbird not only provides you offline access to your emails and attachments but also the ability to create a backup archive in the event you accidentally lose any important emails.
OpenOffice (Free)
Apache OpenOffice is a major truly freeware alternative to Microsoft’s Office productivity suite. It comprises of a word processing software (Writer), a spreadsheet program (Calc), a presentation program (Impress), a database management program (Base), a mathematical formula editor (Math), and a drawing editor (Draw).
As a free productivity suite, you’re free to use it for personal, educational, or commercial use and install it on as many computers as you like. You can also import your previous Microsoft Office files, or export your new OpenOffice files to the Office formats. This robust productivity suite from Apache is supported by a huge global community of volunteers. It truly stands for its words and reputation.
PictureEcho (Paid)
Are you a traveler or a photographer? Do you take a lot of photos, selfies and share them with your friends and family?
As you visit different places, countries and bring back unforgettable memories and adventures, you’ll need a good photo management app to organize your digital memories.
It’s no secret that as you transfer hundreds of photos from your digital camera/ smartphone to your PC, it accumulates duplicate & similar photos. These photos not only eat up precious storage space, but also cause clutter. With PictureEcho, you can search through folders, drives for duplicates. You can look for exact matching or similar matching photos.
Though PictureEcho is not free, it’s definitely worth buying. Regularly cleaning your computer for duplicate photos will make it super easy to search for the right files, reclaim your lost storage, improve computer performance and keep your beautiful memories alive.
Google Backup and Sync (Freemium)
I hate to say this, but every single day, somebody suffers a huge data loss that could have been easily avoided with a proper backup. Don’t forget, data loss is not just the loss of some piece of information. Data loss can have serious consequences for students, professionals and businesses.
Data disasters cost businesses millions of billions of dollars. And this monetary cost is only the tip of the iceberg. Data disasters can halt the organization’s productivity for several hours, days or sometimes, even months. Data disasters also cost the loss of potential business opportunities and new clients. On top of this, the organization could also come into serious trouble due to legal fines, convictions, government and judicial inquiries. So, what are your justifications today for not taking a backup?
Nothing can save you from a data disaster except a regular data backup. Nonetheless, an old backup is better than a no-backup. And a recent backup is always better than an old backup.
Google’s Backup and Sync allows you to take regular backups of your data on to the cloud— all for free. Just install & set it up once and Google will automatically synchronize your files online. You can select which folders to backup (including top-level files and all the sub-folders). The free plan gives you 15 GB storage quota.
A laptop has an exceptionally higher chance of being stolen than a desktop computer. Syncing your important data with other devices can save you in the event of such unforeseen situations. With Google Backup & Sync, you’ll be able to access your files from other devices such as a MacBook, Linux, Android smartphone, or tablet by simply logging into your online account.
Malwarebytes (Freemium)
A backup program alone isn’t sufficient to make your data truly secure. An Antivirus will protect your computer against viruses, malware, adware and junkware. Full-fledged antivirus software with Internet security features can save you from potential online banking frauds, though there’s absolutely no guarantee of any kind.
It’s a good practice to leave your pre-installed Windows Firewall turned on unless it causes conflicts with your antivirus software, or your antivirus software installs complementary firewall protection.
These days, there are so many antivirus software in the market, so why Malwarebytes? This antivirus has evolved over the course of many years. Though it’s not fully free, it enjoys a reputation for identifying many harmful threats and viruses that some other antiviruses have failed to recognize. Once installed, Malwarebytes offers you a fully-functional 14-days free trial. After the trial period has elapsed, you’ll be automatically downgraded to the basic free version that offers only an on-demand scan. What this means from the user’s perspective is that you’ll need to periodically run it yourself for scanning newly downloaded files(s) for viruses.
Zoom (Freemium)
Zoom is a communication application for students, professionals, businesses and NGOs. Zoom provides a virtual environment for conducting virtual meetings, online webinars, group chats, and voice conversations.
Zoom is a multi-platform device available for download on Windows, Mac and Android devices. Founded in 2011, Zoom offers real-time communication, video conferencing and content sharing platform for anyone who needs it.
Zoom also offers a free plan. The free plan imposes a cap of 40 minutes of group meetings with upto 100 participants at once. Don’t worry, you can have unlimited group meetings. There are other premium plans that offer more participants, automatic cloud recordings, social media streaming, meeting transcriptions and company brandings.
Internet Download Manager (Paid)
Internet Download Manager (popularly known as IDM) is one of the most highly downloaded software around. IDM tweaks your computer so you can enjoy optimum download speed, and catch video downloads right from YouTube.
IDM automatically detects the nature of your file and downloads it into relevant folders- for example- compressed files, programs, etc. You can also customize IDM to skip certain prompts and set a default action. Once installed, IDM configures itself to integrate with supported browsers installed on your PC. Though IDM is a paid application, you can try it for free for upto 30 days.
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Raza Ali Kazmi works as an editor and technology content writer at Sorcim Technologies (Pvt) Ltd. He loves to pen down articles on a wide array of technology related topics and has also been diligently testing software solutions on Windows & Mac platforms. If you have any question about the content, you can message me or the company's support team.