Imagine you got a new computer - What are the first programs you install?

[kurohaato]

Long story short, I'm about to reset my pc to fix a really nasty xbox gaming services error and I'm making a list of all the programs I have to reinstall once I'm done. It got me thinking about what I use on my PC and what I feel like I absolutely need on my computer. So let's compare! What programs do you feel you'd need to install if you got a new PC/had to reset your PC? Are there any big categories you notice? Or is it mostly general programs?

For me it's going to end up a little something like this:

Utilities:

• Vivaldi Browser
• WinRar
• Quick Share

Coding:

• Git
• GitHub Desktop
• VSCode

Gaming:

• Steam
• Flashpoint
• GOG Galaxy
• Roblox

V-Synths:

• Vocaloid 6
• Synth V
• OpenUtau
• Audacity

Misc:

• OBS
• Discord

I'd say gaming is the biggest category for me. Steam is essentially 7 different installations in a trench coat, and GOG is another 3. That being said Vocaloid might overtake it if I have to reinstall all my voice banks when I reinstall V6. Guess I'll have to see.

[Malice]

Ooh, I got a new laptop a few months ago so I can actually answer this without too much thought haha


- Firefox
- Discord/Better Discord

ART:
- Huion tablet driver
- Krita
- PureRef

MEDIA:
- VLC
- Soulseek
- Free Download Manager

GAMING:
- Steam
- Minecraft

This is a bit different from when I had a Windows laptop (I'm on a Macbook now), so some stuff like 7zip, Winamp, and WizTree are missing from this (I also had iTunes on it but that's just the Music app on Mac, so no extra download is necessary for me). I still use my old laptop for gaming since a lot of games aren't compatible with Mac, so I wiped it and just added Steam and Firefox :p

[2010]

when i got this computer in september 2022, some of the things i immediately installed were:
waterfox - wanted to try a browser that wasnt chrome (though i did also install chrome because it only had microsoft edge + initially this was going to be a family computer but it turned into just mine since it sat in my room since i had a desk)
7zip - ive been using 7zip since i was a kid n though ive used winrar before too i always just preferred 7zip
tablet driver
paint tool sai - main art program !!!!
n sony vegas 11 - main editing program !!! :]
i think i also installed steam

[Dan Q]

Every time, the very first thing is a package manager (unless I'm on an OS that has a good one already). So Homebrew for MacOS or Chocolatey for Windows. Then I use that to install almost everything else, all at once!

I usually just look at what I last installed on a machine of that same OS, filter slightly, and just type something like e.g. choco install firefox git 7zip curl gnupg handbrake audacity sublime-text deskflow kdenlive keepassxc lazygit lynx netcat wireshark yt-dlp obsidian lagrange syncthing vlc slack inkscape font-fantasque-sans-mono-nerd-font grep ffmpeg

Soo... I guess a package manager plus all those applications! (And usually some others too!)

[Dan Q]

though i did also install chrome because it only had microsoft edge

These days I'd take Edge over Chrome any day! It's basically the same rendering engine and runs the same plugins, but the intrusive tracking and antifeatures aren't quite so bad!

(I mean: I use Firefox or derivatives of it for preference. But sometimes you need an alternate!)

[2010]

These days I'd take Edge over Chrome any day! It's basically the same rendering engine and runs the same plugins, but the intrusive tracking and antifeatures aren't quite so bad!

(I mean: I use Firefox or derivatives of it for preference. But sometimes you need an alternate!)

ohh thats fair! at the time i didnt know, all i knew is that i didnt want edge hahah i wouldve taken internet explorer over it lol

[littlelum]

Honestly, I probably wouldn't install anything until I need/want to use it. Most programs I just don't use that often.

Right now I have three web browsers, Edge, Firefox, and Opera. I used to have a reason for having each one, but now it's just out of habit that I use each website for what purpose. I don't use Firefox anymore, though. I should probably consolidate them, and if I do that, I'm thinking of using Brave, unless I'm lazy, then I'll just stick with whatever.

For image editing, right now I use a web tool since I'm too lazy to install GIMP.
If I ever need a video editor, kdenlive.
Of course, Steam, Epic and GOG for gaming (I'm not a PC gamer though, I just got a lot of free games through giveaways).
Other tools I might find useful in the future: ImgBurn, VLC, FileOptimizer.

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

Coding;
Geany
Meld

Multimedia:
SimpleScreenRecorder
Shotcut
LMMS
SMPlayer
VLCPlayer
GIMP
Strawberry
Audacity
Ardour
mpd/ncmpcpp

Internet:
Firefox
Thunderbird
Nicotine
Transmission
Filezilla
Mumble

Libs/Compilers:
SDL2/Dev
g++
mingw32-c++

Misc:
gparted
LibreOffice

Games:
Atomic Tanks
Super Tux Kart
Hedgewars
Mame
Snes9x/bsnes

[IndigoGolem]

Kanata as soon as possible. The last time i reinstalled my operating system, i wrote instructions for myself and backed up all the relevant files to make it as easy as possible for next time. It's a program for changing keyboard inputs so i can use a custom keyboard layout on my laptop's built in keyboard, so it's pretty essential for me.

After that is usually LibreWolf, because i need a web browser. Then i usually set up other stuff as i need it. PolyGlot, Image Magick, Inkscape, Krita, GIMP, Blender, Lagrange,..

And a few other things that have come preinstalled on every Linux distribution i've used, like LibreOffice and basic tools like a calculator and plain text editor.

[lakes]

I actually had to live this because my hard drive had bad blocks of code due to overheating from being FILLED with dust and I kept having to reinstall my OS until I got my new hard drive.
So I know from experience, the 1st things I'd install would be:

The super important stuff & definitely what I'd install 1st:

• Librewolf
• Bitwarden
• Waterfox
• VPN
• KeepassXC
• Flatseal (really important if you install flatpaks on linux)
• Local Send
• ClamAV + ClamTk
• Kate
Stuff that's important for chatting:

• Nheko (Matrix)
• Vesktop (Discord)
• Hexchat (IRC)
• Gajim (XMPP)
Stuff that's only/mostly important when it comes to entertainment:

• Freetube
• Ultimate Media Downloader
• SMPlayer
• AIMP (Linux support is in beta but it was my fav music player on Windows 10)
• Plex (I know it's enshittified. But my friend uses it for his media libraries. I also like the swiss army knife approach to media streaming AND that it's a flatpak on Linux.)
• Nicotine+ or Soulseek
• QBittorrent (I know Linux Mint comes with its own default torrent program but I'm used to QBittorrent, sorry)
• Clementine or Strawberry just in case I have problems with AIMP
Other:

• Either I2P+ or I2Pd with I2PSnark Standalone or both
• Conky + Conky Manager if I'm using a desktop environment with no widgets/desklets/etc
• Cool Retro Term(inal)
• Kiwix
• Themes & Icon Packs:
• Dark Ice but modified a bit
• Either Oxygen or Oxylite Icon Pack (albeit modified a bit)
• Redmond97 Themes & Icon Pack
• E17gtk-resolved
• Chicago95 Theme & Icon Pack
• Some variation of Clearlooks

[stellarfieldanomaly]

I went through this recently! Built a new desktop and moved to linux fully. I used pop!os so firefox and a few others things were already installed.

Otherwise my progression was something like this:

1.) Discord
2.) Nemo (Better file explorer)
3.) Joplin (Open source note sync app)
4.) Thunderbird (email client)
5.) BTOP (pretty terminal task manager)
6.) Rawtherapee + NegPY (Photo editing suite)
7.) Steam

Everything else I just add as I go, I don't really have a large list of things I absolutely need, most of my initial setup time is taken up by aesthetic customization tbh.

[sunnyp4rk]

Hmmm...aside from Firefox instead of whatever it installs, probably Vocaloid (but that's a lot more than a few first programs lol) and Keepass. and maybe Clip Studio. and iTunes. Too many to choose lol

[slm]

having experienced this back in october from swapping OSes, windows to linux mint, i've got a list! there will  some programs listed even if they're preinstalled, as i'd install them regardless.

• firefox
• zerobrane studio
• steam
• discord

the swap has defiantly mixed up what i'd normally install, as paint.net isn't supported natively and running it through something like wine sounds tedious. i long for an image editor that isn't gimp... 

[tarraxahum]

I also recently swapped my OS so in my experience it went something like:

- Waterfox (used to be Firefox but. stuff)
- Steam (technically came pre-installed with Nobara but let's count it)
- Games (usually Cyberpunk 2077 to test performance)
- Communications (Discord, Zoom, etc)
- A drawing program. Currently Krita (used to be CSP but too much pain on Linux)
- VLC media player
- Audacity
- LibreOffice (also was technically pre-installed, but if it wasn't)
- Printer utilities
- VPN
- Torrenting client
- Video recording software (OBS or currently GPU screen recorder, used to be NVIDIA Shadowplay)
- Video editing software (currently DaVinci Resolve)

perhaps not exactly in that order, but you get the general priorities 

so basically the main categories are Creativity, Gaming and Useful, I guess. and a lil bit of work. and a lil bit of crime

[lakes]

the swap has defiantly mixed up what i'd normally install, as paint.net isn't supported natively and running it through something like wine sounds tedious. i long for an image editor that isn't gimp... 

you might wanna try photopea
it's a website for photo editing & proprietary, but it's often agreed to be the closest free cross-platform replacement for photoshop AND it supports raw image files
don't use the "photocrea" flatpak from flathub because it isn't officially supported by photopea & freezes up very easily
instead use it as a progressive web app for it to show up in the start menu, app finder, etc
on chrome & chromium browsers, you can just click "install photopea" on the website
but you can also use a PWA-creating app like Web Apps and Hermit if you either use firefox(-based browsers) or just want more control over the PWA