Introduction

I'm someone who often tinkers around, so reinstalling Windows is a regular thing for me. Here are the software that I always need whenever I use a computer for work.

1. Notepad++

Notepad++ is a popular choice among programmers, system administrators, and regular users due to its powerful features, user-friendly interface, and free availability.

Benefits:

• Multi-language support: Notepad++ can switch to languages familiar to users (over 80 languages) if they are not comfortable with English.
• Beautiful display for various programming languages: Customizable programming language settings ensure clear display (Java, C#, HTML, etc.).
• Advanced search and replace: Enables searching and replacing across multiple files using regular expressions (regex).
• Tabbed interface support: Multiple tabs in a single window ease file comparison and navigation.
• Other advantages: Free, lightweight, fast, user-friendly, and customizable with plugins.

Limitations:

• Windows-only: Notepad++ is exclusive to the Windows operating system and does not support other operating systems.

2. Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a top choice among programmers due to its free and open-source nature, powerful features, and cross-platform support.

Benefits:

• Free and open-source: Download, use, and modify completely free of charge.
• Cross-platform support: Runs smoothly on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• Lightweight and fast: Saves system resources, quick startup, and operations.
• Customizable interface: Customize UI, toolbars, and shortcuts as desired.
• Multi-language support: Supports over 70 interface languages and syntax highlighting for hundreds of programming languages.
• Advanced search and replace: Regex search/replace, multi-file search support.
• Rich extension ecosystem: Community-developed extensions expand functionality.
• Git integration: Built-in Git version control management.
• Debugging support: Effective debugging with powerful debugging features.
• Intelligent IntelliSense: Code completion suggestions, syntax error detection, and code refactoring.

Limitations:

• Resource-intensive with multiple plugins: Can consume significant system resources when using multiple plugins simultaneously.
• Steep learning curve: Due to its extensive feature set, it can be challenging for beginners to get started initially.

3. Everything

When you're fed up with the slow and laggy Windows search, this is the perfect choice for you.

Benefits:

• Indexed searching enables quick and convenient file searches.
• Small installation file size.
• User-friendly interface.

Limitations:

• No apparent limitations observed.

4. Greenshot

Greenshot is a highly regarded free and open-source screenshot tool known for its simplicity, ease of use, and effectiveness. It offers many useful features to help you capture screenshots efficiently.

Key Features:

• Screenshot Capture: Supports full screen, region selection, active window, scrolling capture, etc.
• Image Editing: Crop, rotate, resize, add annotations, arrows, shapes, effects, etc.
• Annotation: Add annotations directly onto the screenshot.
• Automatic Saving: Automatically saves screenshots in the chosen format and location.
• Sharing: Share screenshots via email, social media, cloud storage, etc.

Benefits:

• Free and Open Source: Download, use, and modify freely.
• Lightweight and Fast: Saves system resources, operates smoothly.
• Ease of Use: Simple interface, easy to learn, suitable for all user levels.
• Rich Feature Set: Meets diverse screenshot needs.
• Large Community: Support and assistance available when needed.

Limitations:

• Windows and macOS Only: Does not support other operating systems.
• Limited Advanced Features: Compared to some other screenshot tools, for example, drawing shapes only allows Ctrl+Z for undo without treating it as a separate editable element.

5. Open Broadcaster Software

OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software) is a free, open-source, cross-platform software used widely by streamers, gamers, educators, YouTubers, and many other users. It offers powerful features to create high-quality video content and share it with audiences worldwide.

Key Features:

• Screen Recording: Capture entire screen, selected region, application windows, webcam, etc.
• Streaming: Broadcast video content live to platforms like Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, etc.
• Video Editing: Edit videos by cutting, merging, adding effects, transitions, subtitles, etc.
• Multi-source Support: Combine multiple video, audio, image, text sources, etc.
• Customizable Interface: Customize interface layout, toolbars, according to preferences.
• Plugin Support: Extend functionality through community-developed plugins.

Benefits:

• Free and Open Source: Download, use, and modify completely free of charge.
• Cross-platform: Runs smoothly on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• Lightweight and Fast: Efficiently uses system resources, operates smoothly.
• Rich Feature Set: Meets diverse needs for screen recording and streaming.
• Large Community: Support and assistance available when needed.

Limitations:

• Resource-intensive: Can consume significant system resources when using multiple plugins simultaneously or streaming at high quality.

Conclusion

This article has introduced you to some of the software that I frequently install. There are many more software options available, but they often come with a cost, so I won't share them here.

Happy coding .