My Windows XP SP2 Professional Environment

I decided to create a guide describing my Windows set-up (I'm currently running Windows XP Professional SP2). I thought it would be handy for when I decide to reinstall windows (once every three years it seems). Also, I've been reading a bunch of people's "best of" guides, and I thought this might help someone who's very similar to me find some nifty applications. Because I know I wish I had a guide like this when I was spending my time configuring stuff anyways.

I'm going to expand on what I'm like. I was born in 1983 and spend lots of time browsing the internet. I don't chat so much, but when I do, I talk for a while. Professionally, I'm a programmer. I enjoy programming, so I do it at home as well. I do a fair amount of web site stuff at home as well. As for on-computer hobbies besides internet browsing, I read a lot of Japanese comics, watch tons of video media, and play Japanese style non-text PC games. I don't play much strategy, MMORPG, or FPS games. I use dual monitors with 2 GB of RAM, and am very, very much annoyed by random clutter on the desktop. I put a lot of effort into organizing my data. I also try my best to avoid using the mouse. If this sounds close to you, this list will probably interest you as I've found some decently obscure stuff you might like.

Oh, last thing before I start. Please don't take this as a best of list... seriously, I don't have the time or energy to research what "the best" is. This is just the best I've found for my specific needs so far. It'll change if I find (or am pointed to) better stuff. And I don't include great programs that I have no need of here. If you want more general yet all-encompassing "best of" lists, let me point you to:

- The 46 Best-Ever Freeware Utilities
- 100 Best Freeware Utilities
- Top Firefox Extensions

That said, *large breath* here I go.

-- My Essentials --
The following is a list of my core applications. These are the applications (and configurations, if I can supply it) that I use a lot on windows. They're fired up at least a few times a week.

() Web Browser: Firefox
My main browser, and I doubt I have to justify its inclusion to you, so I won't. I will admit Opera is tons faster. But firefox's customability (its options, themes, and extensions) wins me over. For themes, I switch between the default, opera, and iFox themes. As for extensions (plug-ins)... They are the reason I love firefox, so I'm going to list out all the ones that I completely rely on. I haven't upgraded to Firefox 2.0 yet (waiting until the dust clears), so all the extensions I list may or may not be compatible.

() Linkification
This plugin changes plain-text urls to hyperlinks in html (stuff you can click on). For example, certain forums do no allow hyperlinks, so instead people type them out. To visit their links, you probably have to copy and paste into the address bar and press enter. Linkifcation will style the link text and let you click on it directly. This extension is very similar to Text Link (which allows you to go to the textual link by double clicking on it.) Supposedly, Linkification slows down the loading of a page because it needs to parse and edit the whole thing first. I decided to go with the better usability, but I'd use Text Link if I was worried about performance.

() NextPlease!
This extension allows you to easily go to the "next" and "previous" pages. For example, instead of clicking the "Next" link on a google search, I press Shift+Ctrl+Right. This becomes very useful for me when browsing forums. It works by looking for links with certain keywords (reg-exp) or specific images, and you can customize it as you need. I think it's my favorite and most used plug-in.

() Tab Mix Plus
Gives you a lot of control over your tabs; you really have to install this and play around with it to understand its usefulness. A few of the nice features are session saving, tab progress bars, specifying tab widths, and allowing multiple rows of tabs. This offers so much, so I won't even try to explain it all, you just need to try it out. If you want to see my preferences, here they are: My Preferences.

() Download Status Bar
Shows your downloads as tabbed items in a new bar above the status bar instead of opening that annoying popup download manager. I hate the download manager and this interface is very, very nice (and customizable.)

() AdBlock
() Adblock Filter Set G
Probably the best ad-blocker available. I think Firefox has a lot of these features built in, but this plug-in really makes customization and setting up new things to block very simple. I tend to leave text and most image ads, but I block all pop-up and flashing ads. The filter just allows Adblock to update its list of bad ads every four days or so.

() Gmail Manager
This extension notifies you of new gmail for multiple accounts. You set it up to check for new mail at set intervals. It'll bring you to your account in a single click. It's very handy if you use gmail with multiple accounts and are forgetful in checking it (that's definitely me...)

() Organize Status Bar
This extension allows you to organize your status bar. It's useful because a lot of these extensions will place (usually useful) icons in the status bar. Sometimes, you really don't want them. Other times, you want them in a different order. This extension can fulfil either wish.

() Menu Editor
This extension allows you to edit firefox menus. This includes all the top menus (like File and Edit) as well as the menu when you right click anything. Similar to organize status bar, this is mostly useful to remove the clutter from the other extensions. However, I did end up clearing up a lot of menu items under the Tools menu as well.

() Session Saver
    This extension lets you save your sessions. It automatically goes about its business in the background, so even if Firefox crashes or you accidentally close it, you can have it go back to what it was. It even saves the text and such that you had entered. Tab Mix Plus does this, but I find this plug-in does a better job.

() Text Editor: TextPad 4
This program isn't free (though there is a never-expiring evaluation version) and isn't really all that great (compared to vi and emacs, anyways). However, I've been using it for my windows development for a while and I really got it customized to my likings, so I stick with it. I hope to migrate over to emacs soon, but the learning curve for a good Text Editor is just so steep and I'll have to translate all my plugin code. So for now, I've got this.

() Video Codecs: K-Lite Codec Mega Pack
This is all that you need in order to play video on your windows machine. Whenever you find a new video format you can't play, all that means is that you haven't gotten the latest codec pack. It comes with the "Windows Media Classic" and "BSPlayer" players. Personally, I use "Windows Media Player Classic." Make sure you get the "Mega Pack" version, otherwise you don't get Real Media and Quicktime alternatives.

() BitTorrent Client: Azureus
For me, this had the best download speeds of the three I tried (uTorrent, BitComet, Azureus). This could have merely been coincidence, so I'll be redoing my tests soon and my client may change as a result. However, I really like the plugin architecture and there are a few plugins that I really love. Plus, I've got lots of memory and I grew up on Java. The plugins I really like are:
    (1) Auto Speed
    (2) Auto Scheduler
    (3) SafePeer

() Super Smart Windows Input/Output Program: Windows Miko
The mouse slows you down. While it's great for intuitive design, it's horrible to use for things you do a lot. I know it hurts my wrist, slows me down, and annoys me in general. And so I really suggest writing what I call a "Super Smart Windows Input/Output Program." It's basically a command prompt (I really miss using *nix at work), except more catered to your needs. "Windows Miko" is my implementation, written in Ruby. The main idea is that you type something, and Miko does something as a response (opens a web page, makes a note, gives you information, does a calculation, launches a program...). It uses regular expressions and is very extensible. She has a plug-in personality and appearance also.

() Hot Launcher: PS Hot Launch
This application allows you to run programs from key presses. There are some keys and combinations it doesn't allow you to use, but letters, numbers, alt, shift, and win are all available in any combination. It's wise not to use too many keyboard shortcuts though because they aren't intuitive at all. I think a Hot Launcher is best used with scripts. For example, my key press "Ctrl+Down" replaces "Alt-F4" via an AutoIt3 script. Also, I use "Win-V" to go to Windows Miko, and from there I can quickly get to run any progam by some nickname. This is faster than using a mouse to double click an icon somewhere and doesn't require worrying about key conflicts or contrived combinations.

() Sequential Art Viewer: CDisplay
The best, by far, image viewer to read my manga with on a windows machine. At some point, I considered writing my own software, but there isn't anything that I would do differently than this program. If you read scanned comics in Windows, this is probably your best bet, you just have to try it for yourself to really understand. Its best features are allowing you to view two pages at a time and its smart "next" feature. I also modified my right click menu to open folders with CDisplay.

() File Archiver/Zip Utility: 7-zip
Unzipper, basically on par with WinRar in its unzipping. The major difference between the two for my purposes is that it is completely free. I actually do like using WinRar better, but I'm not willing to pay for it yet and so refuse to use it. You may have a difference of opinion.

() IM Client: Trillian
This is the instant messenger client I use. It allows you to chat with people using AIM, Yahoo, MSN, and ICQ protocols. I have friends that use these different clients, so it's useful to have one program I can use to chat with all of them. I'm aware of the IM client Miranda, which can be made to look very cool. Since I like how Trillian looks on my desktop and it seems to have no other benefits, I've stuck with Trillian.

() Image Editing: Photoshop 7.0
Definitely not free, but I think it's worth it. Plus, I've been using it for years, so I am pretty familiar with it. For web sites, I think it's pretty important to have a real good image editor.

() System Measurements: Rainmeter
This program is a bunch of meters. It has a plug-in architecture that allows you to measure anything you want, but I find plug-in writing... very time-consuming, though I wrote some that I use. Most importantly, it does all the measurements of the task manager. However, it stays on your desktop and you can (somewhat) easily configure the appearance. I admit that this kind of slows down the system and isn't all that necessary... but... I can't help but use it because it looks cool. I have a key combination that pops it up on the screen for me. Here's a snapshot of my set-up:. And here's some skins.
    () Skin Set I use. It's a modification of other skins that I found.
    () Original Ayuka Skin in English
    () Original To Heart 2 Skin
    () Good weather set

() MP3 Player: Winamp
Okay, I really have no good reason for using this other than it was my first MP3 player. My wife prefers the Windows Media Player, and most people use iTunes now (it seems)... but, I stick with winamp. I don't really configure it at all (I have four different playlists and make sure breaks between songs are clear). All I use it for is listening to MP3s, which I can queue (but so can everything else). Well, although I don't strongly recommend it, I've never been dissatisfied with it, so that is that. I use an old kare-kano skin for it because I haven't spent any time looking for new ones. But it is really annoying that winamp does not internally support Unicode (or any other kind of language support).

() Anti-Virus: NOD32
This is not free at all, but it's the best Anti-Virus program I know of. It catches a lot of stuff Norton and Symantec don't catch, and that doesn't seem to happen the other way around. Anyways, you can search for free anti-virus programs if the cost for such an important program is an issue (but in that case, why are you using xp instead of a unix-like system?)

() Anti-Spyware: AD Aware
Not that good, but it gets rid of spyware. I'm currently looking for a replacement to this.

() Registry Cleaner: RegCleaner
Based on what I've seen, I believe that cleaning the registry helps. This is the best free registry cleaner that I've found and I've read it has one of the lower chances of messing things up. Lots of people suggest the general tool CCleaner to me, but I don't like it as much.

() FTP Client: Filezilla
A simple to use FTP Client that has all the features you'd expect. It's also completely free, which is a huge plus to me.

() Cygwin
Umm... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygwin. Either you need it and have it, or you have no idea what you'd do with it. I guess there's that slim chance you need it and haven't heard of it... but... well, just read up.

-- Occasionally Essential Programs --
I use these, but not all that much, so I wouldn't really say I *need* them. They are incredibly useful the times I do need them, which might happen a few times a month, if that.

() Virtual CD: D-Tools
Every once in a while, I find this useful. It allows you to load a cue/iso file as a real CD. I prefer it to Alcohol 120%. Also, It's free.

() Office: Microsoft Office
Sometimes Microsoft Word and Excel are necessary, so... I very rarely use this stuff anymore though, mostly just when people send me stuff or expect me to send them stuff that is in these formats. I prefer html tables to organize my lists and text documents nowadays for my work. At work, I do use Excel frequently though. Too bad the suite isn't free.

() CD/DVD Burning: Ahead Nero
Yeah, this is common and it's not free (though you get it with most of your Burners nowadays). I rarely burn stuff anymore (external hard drives and usb drives have replaced most of my needs for cd/dvd), but when I do need to create a cd/dvd, this is what I use. Perhaps it's not the best tool. I really don't care.

() Visual Studio
For C# and windows application development.

() More Firefox Plugins

() IETab
(Text stolen from joelonsoftware) IETab takes advantage of the fact that Internet Explorer is available as an ActiveX control, which is available to be embedded in any Windows application, to open certain websites in Firefox using Internet Explorer. Whenever a website comes up complaining that you need to get "Netscape 4.0 or some other modern browser" you can just right click on the tab and it'll pop up right in Firefox being rendered by Internet Explorer. You can set up a list of websites that always come up in IE tabs.

() Web Developer Extension
This helps web developing an incredible amount. I can't imagine not using this toolbar and trying to design a site. It lets you disable anything, resize the window, mark boundaries, validate code, and tons more.

-- Very Nifty and Useful Non-Essential Programs --
These are applications I love... but I guess I could live without. They make my life easier and help keep my eyes, brain, and wrists happy. For me, they are necessary applications for convenience.

() Unlocker
I organize (read: cut and paste) my directories a lot and use external drives frequently. Windows is pretty stupid sometimes (read: very often) and annoyingly locks files so that they can't be moved or deleted and the external drive can not be stopped. Using this program, it's very easy to free things up (right click and click unlock over any file or folder.) Now you can delete and move stuff or stop your external drive.

() TaskSwitch XP
Much desired (by me anyway) improvement to alt-tab. It allows the window to be "stickied" and it will not close unless the enter or escape key is pressed. Also, it allows you to exclude programs from the list, move minimized windows to the end, and all kinds of other convenient things. Download it, play with it, and if you don't like it remove it. But you'll probably like it.

() EjectMedia / RemoveMedia
To safely remove external disks (like an external hard drive or a USB drive), you normally have to right click some icon, double click another, right click again, and finally tell windows to stop the disk. These programs allow you to do this in one step: "EjectMedia.exe E:". Tie it into your Super Smart Windows Input/Output Box and you get a much simpler way of stopping your devices. You could also script it together with Unlocker for better use.

() TweakUI
This allows you to tweak a bunch of stuff in windows. Like... it let's you remove the recycle bin from the desktop, customize displays... man, too many stuff. Just download it and play through the options. If you don't see anything useful, just uninstall it.

() More Firefox Extensions

() Statusbar Clock
Puts a clock in the status bar. I use dual screens, usually with firefox opened, so this allows me to see the time when I look at the bottom right no matter what. This is important to me, though it may not be for most people. I just really like to know the time.

() Clear Private Data Button
Adds a button to clear private data. It's useful when you need it.

() Mouseless Browsing
This is an extension that I love the concept of, but I still think needs a little work. Essentially, it assigns numeric ids to links so that you can quickly select the links without needing to use a mouse. However, sometimes it can take quite a while to assign all the numeric ids, which makes the whole thing pointless. I would like it a lot more if I could have it automatically be on for certain sites. Nevertheless, I like the extension a lot and I do use it when I really want to avoid the mouse.

() All-In-One Gesture
This allows you to do tasks (like back and forward and close) by using the mouse. I'm still undecided whether or not I really like this. I'm not quite sure how much it gets in my way and causes me to do stuff on accident. The only gestures I occasionally use are for back (left), forward (right), next page (>), previous page (<), and close (down) anyways. I dunno... I'm generally anti-mouse anyways also... but even though I rarely use it, it is really cool idea...

() Customize Google
Another one that I'm not quite sure if I really like or not. I don't want to block google ads and the customization doesn't really mean that much to me. Mostly, I like the google images links going directly to the real image. Is it worth having a whole extra extension for this? I don't really know.

-- My Essential PC Games --
As a supplement to the essential application list, I decided to make of list of my essential computer games. Due to my personal interests there aren't any FPS, RPG, or strategy games. Instead, a bunch of Japanese games. My idea of a good computer game is something quick to start and quick to end. Something very simple or something that requires reactionary skill. If I want an immersive, story-intensive, complex game I much prefer using a console. I play computer games as a quick break. With that said, here's what I have.

-- Free Games --
() Gal Panix
It's a "uncover the image while things shoot at you game." I think it's too hard, but on the easiest setting, I have a lot of fun going through it in 15 minutes or so. The challenges are too hard, so I haven't unlocked much of anything.

() Stepmania
It's PC DDR for free, with a plug-in system for songs. I downloaded a huge pack of songs for it. Plus, you can hook up a dance pad to it (with a game-pad to USB converter, I use KIKY's converter myself). For me, it's fun to dance at easy settings and have quick keyboard rounds with the tough songs.

() Cave Story
No, it's not really a quick play, but... it's so good, I had to list it here. Most likely, you know what this is. The style is like 2-D Metroid (or the newer Castlevania games), only free, but just as (if not more) awesome. The story line is a bit sad though.

() Grid Wars 2
Free shooting games are good. This is an improved clone of Geometry Wars. You're a shape shooting at other ships that materialize out of nowhere. All the action happens on a single grid, which you have free travel over. The explosion effects are awesome, the game gets intense, and you are allowed to modify a lot of stuff to make satisfying bursts of gameplay.

() Flash Collection:

() Fishy
Very simple game in which you eat fish smaller than you and avoid fish that are bigger than you. You grow bigger as you eat more fish.

() Happy and Smile
Fun (but difficult) side-scrolling shooter. The awesome designs and specials make this game especially worth playing.

() Bouncing Giraffe
You bounce and collect stuff. I think I'm going to make my own version of this someday.

() Eyemaze
You get pretty fun explorative "Grow" games as well as the "whack-a-mole" like tontie.

-- Not So Free Games --
() Touhou series shooters.
Awesome, awesome, beautiful series. I don't need any other vertical shooting series; these are definitely worth their cost. There's about 10 of these suckers now. It's a vertical curtain shooter (bullets everywhere). True, it's essentially impossible on its most difficult setting, but it's not even challenging on the lowest difficulty. They are a lot of fun. There are free demos for the games, and some of the games have been translated into English.

() SOS Dan
If it didn't have characters from The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, I doubt that I would play this game. But it does, and therefore it is great. Supposedly, it's like the Playstation game Fantavision.

() Insaniquarium
It's hard to describe this game, but it's really, really good. This probably won't make any sense, but... You feed fish to collect the treasures they poop, all the while protecting them from aliens. I don't play it so much anymore since my wife waaay overdid it and made me just short of sick of it. There's a flash version if you want to give the concept a try.

() Uwaterumono Battle
It's fun to unlock characters. Afterwards, it's a simple and fun beat-em-up with 30 characters to play around with (and co-op play!)

-- Conclusion --
Okay, I believe that I babbled on long enough. I think it would be cool if more people did guides like these. Hey, I'll even host your guide if you make one. I'm always looking for new applications that make me feel more productive. As a programmer, I always try to master and then extend my applications. To work quickly, I also always learn shortcuts for my most frequent operations (Windows+L to lock my computer at work; Ctrl+L, Ctrl+T, Ctrl+W for firefox); sometimes even creating shortcuts for my own applications (like I did with Miko.) Being comfortable in your environment is a very important part of being more productive and enjoying the environment.