What is the basic software package you need for a new computer?

[Tenbatsuzen]

Here's what I'm thinking:

Firefox
ZoneAlarm
AVG
Peerguardian
WinAmp
Quicktime
Divx
Aim
WinZip
WinRar



What else?

[MrPink]

Microsoft Word

[patsopinion]

itunes
deamon tools
paltalk
office
google eart
adobe/macromeida(flash, pdf, that kind of thing)
bittorrent

[edyhdz]

winrar should do zip files as well so ig uess technically there is no need for both.

i was poking around for codecs and found this http://www.free-codecs.com/ACE_Mega_CoDecS_Pack_download.htm a while back. It comes with windows media player classic. i havent had problems playing any video since.

[jetdog]

Audacity is nice.

[cupcakelove]

Open Office

[zentraed]

vlc mediaplayer
ffdshow codec package (divx/xvid,ac3, dvd, mp3 encoding and decoding)
firefox + extensions
trillian (aim, msn, and yahoo in one program)
ms office
winrar
XaMp
newsleecher
matlab
foxit pdf reader (adobe is so bloated)

[furie]

Os X.4

[feralBoy]

DVD shrink or something to that effect if you plan on ripping dvds.
Nero
spybot
I also second trillian. It's pretty cool.

[Tenbatsuzen]

I think we should also explain what software is used for what. For example, I had no idea what OpenOffice was until I googled it.

I'll add GIMP to the list - it's a free photo editing software, like Photoshop.

[reeshy]

Shit...I have exactly what Matty has!!!!!!! WOW!!!!

[Wallower]

Metapad for notepad replacement
AI Roboform for password and form filling
Foxmarks for Firefox bookmark sync
Nero
ADBlocker for Firefox
Citrix client
HTML-Kit

[empulse]

FireFox - Browser
MacroMedia Bundle - Dreamweaver (Html editor) Flash (edit /create flash)
Registry Mechanic - Repairs Windows schizophrenic registry
AD-Aware Professional - Gets rid of all the clutter from viewing porn...err news sites.
Office 2007 Suite - Excel, Word, PowerPoint
Adobe Photoshop CS2, CS3 - Image editing
Adobe Image Ready - I like this for editing GIF's
Zone Alarm - Decent firewall, easy as heck to configure. Allows hiding of last 3 octets of IP.
Total Recorder - For recording pesky streams.
DScaler - Replaces the software bundled with my TV tuner card (worx with 99% of cards)
SoundForge - Editing audio
ImTOO MPEG Encoder - Good for converting just about any video files to any format.
NERO - CD / DVD burning software.
Codec pack - Makes it so whatever Media Player you use can actually play most file types
Azureus - Torrent client, has good UPNP capabilities that keep it from getting stuck behind your router
Norton System Works - good set of tools to fix common windows problems
FlashFXP - FTP client, allows upload download to my FTP site and Website

everytime i reformat this is what i install. these are just the basics for me.