We reveal the 100 applications that make Windows Vista the best operating system in the world. By James Stables
Published
on 01 September 2008
Dreamweaver CS3 Student
Web designers should look no further than Adobe’s Dreamweaver, which is to web design what Photoshop is to image manipulation. A full copy will cost you over £400, but the student edition brings the essentials of Dreamweaver at an affordable price.
Price
£86.99
Web http://www.adobe.com/
SnagIt
The ultimate screen-capture software, SnagIt not only takes standard screenshots, but enables you to capture stuff that’s off-screen as well, with an excellent scroll capture function and edit, too.
Price
$49.95 (£25.14)
Web http://www.techsmith.com/
ATI Tray Tools
If you’ve got an ATI Radeon graphics card, then the ATI Tray Tools application is a must-have. It enables you to tweak your graphics and get the most out of your system, from colour and resolution settings to overclocking abilities for the real power users.
Price
Free
Web www.guru3d.com
CCleaner
This useful application cleans and streamlines every aspect of your computer, from temporary files through to your registry, making sure your Windows Vista PC keeps that fresh and clean feeling.
Price
Free
Web http://www.ccleaner.com/
Stardock’s Objectdock Plus
Objectdock Plus is another application nominated by scores of readers who are looking for a little piece of Apple on their PC. It’s a quick-launch application that sits at the bottom of your screen, and enables you to start up your applications quickly and attractively.
Price
$19.95 (£10.04)
Web www.stardock.com
TuneUp Utilities 2008
If you want to give your PC a performance boost, then TuneUp Utilities 2008 is the perfect software. Whether it’s defragging your hard drive, boosting internet performance, registry cleaning or data recovery, Tune Up Utilities is our readers’ choice when it comes to making your PC run better.
Price
£29.99
Web www.tuneup-software.co.uk
Nero 8
Take burning CDs to a new level with Nero 8. The program enables you to burn video, music and photo discs, has multimedia streaming features and includes support for Blu-ray and HD DVD.
Price
£39.98
Web www.nero.com
AVG AntiVirus Free Edition
One of the most popular free anti-virus programs around, AVG offers virus protection, and is a great way to keep your Windows Security Center status green.
Price
Free
Web www.grisoft.com
Diskeeper 2008
When it comes to keeping your PC in check, our readers recommended Diskeeper 2008 in their droves. The program offers advanced defragging to keep your hard drive
healthy, and tunes up every part of the Windows Vista experience.
Price
£28
Web
www.diskeepereurope.com
Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft OneNote brings the pen and paper experience to your PC by enabling you to make notes and lists quickly and easily, and share them with others, making it a great productivity tool.
Price
£88.99 (Part of Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student)
Web office.microsoft.com
PC Tools ThreatFire
Two heads are better than one, so the saying goes, and ThreatFire proves the point. This free behavioural antivirus application is designed to complement your existing security package so you’re guaranteed to be safe.
Price
Free
Web www.threatfire.com
Windows Live Writer
Undoubtedly the number one blogging tool, this should definitely be in your writing arsenal. Windows Live Writer enables you to upload your creative musings to the major blogging services direct from your desktop.
Price
Free
Webget.live.com
Windows Live Mail
Bring web mail to your desktop with Windows Live Mail. The free tool offers you the power over emails previously seen in Microsoft Office Outlook, and enables you to import Windows Live Hotmail accounts as well as RSS.
Price
Free
Webget.live.com
Adobe Reader
When it comes to reading PDF documents, you don’t get a more complete experience than with Adobe Reader. Not only can you open PDFs but you can interact with the information as well, making this a truly essential program.
Price
Free
Web www.adobe.com
Windows Live One Care
If you’re looking for a complete security package for Windows Vista, you need look no further than Windows Live OneCare. It protects your PC and integrates seamlessly into Windows Vista, and is totally unobtrusive, leaving you to get on with the things you want.
Price
£19.99
Webonecare.live.com
Totalidea TweakVI
If you really like to get hands-on with your computer, then you need TweakVI. It enables you to customise any part of the Windows Vista interface, functionality
and overall look in a safe and secure environment.
Price
Free
Web www.totalidea.com
Windows Live Photo Gallery
When it comes to viewing photos, there’s no hotter program than Windows Live Photo Gallery. Not only are the tagging and viewing elements fantastic, but the panorama stitching is one of the best.
Price
Free
Webget.live.com
Photoshop Elements
Another market leader, this time for image manipulation, Elements brings Photoshop to the mainstream. The package offers some of the high-end editing features from the full Photoshop package, as well as the usual quick fixes, which makes it great for beginners and experts alike.
Price
£54.98
Web www.adobe.com
2007 Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition
When it comes to office suites, the 2007 Microsoft Office system rules the roost, and you’ll find it in most business environments across the world. Microsoft Office Word, Office PowerPoint and Office Excel have established themselves as the only choices for word processing, presentation building and spreadsheet compiling respectively.
Price
£64.99
Weboffice.microsoft.com
100 -80 │ 79 - 60 │ 59 - 40 │ 39 - 20 │ 19 - 1
