December 19, 2008, 9:18 PM — PC World has been going nuts, putting together gift guides for the holidays. "Buy this!" "Consume that!" Or just "Look at how crazy-cool (and crazy-expensive) some of this tech is!" Hey, I'm all for helping the economy along. Problem is, I can't afford to buy everyone on my list a gold-plated, jewel-encrusted cell phone this year. Sorry, Mom. So, I'm making some people PC mixtapes.
A PC Mixtape?
You heard me. Maybe I'm dating myself, but back in the day I'd load up olde-tyme magnetic tapes with songs from my collection, samples, and sound bites from the radio; it was a lot of work, but something I put a lot of thought into. Computers killed the art of making mixtapes ages ago--damn you, MP3s!-- but I'm bringing it back to life. (Okay, I'll give Muxtape props for trying.)
Here's the concept: Create a custom pile of legitimate applications, free music, and whatever else you want to bundle, pop everything onto a USB flash drive (or flash memory card), and--bam--gift given.
You can apply the idea to a lot of things (smart phones that take memory cards, for example), but for the sake of this story, I'm going to focus on a bunch of applications for general PC use. Feel free to start with these links and go crazy from there. Have fun mixing and mashing up--and be sure to send me links to your own creations when you're done.
(You're more than welcome to read through the whole story, but if you're in a hurry, here's a quick link to our Downloader's Gift Guide collection.)
Antivirus and Security
People have varying degrees of success, and wildly differing preferences, when it comes to antivirus and security software. Here are my picks.
Avira AntiVir Personal antivirus software is a solid program that can keep you protected reasonably well without charging you for the privilege.
Wherever Ad-Aware falls short in its scans, Spybot Search & Destroy picks up the slack. And maybe I'm going a little overboard in this respect, but I also like to make sure that Javacool SpywareBlaster is up-to-date and watching my back as well.
McAfee Site Advisor is handy because it monitors and rates safe Web sites--and it's especially handy if you accidentally stumble into the red-light district of the Intarnets.
Want to surf securely regardless of what computer you're on? Try installing ArmorSurf onto a flash drive.
Utilities
Whether you want to optimize your PC's interface, tidy up the Registry, or find out what the heck lurks inside your machine, here are a couple of useful starting points.
Don't like the look and feel of Windows Vista? Yeah, don't get me started on that one. Tweak UI did the job for XP, but for the newer OS you need to download Ultimate Windows Tweaker for Vista or Fresh UI.
Using CCleaner is like putting Lysol scrubbing bubbles to work on the insides of your computer--without having to put on rubber gloves or deal with funky fumes. In that same vein, I also recommend you check out Secunia PSI. Secunia keeps your system up-to-date by searching for any patches for whatever you have installed in your system.
And with CPU-Z you're a double-click away from learning in detail everything you need to know about the guts of your computer. It's particularly convenient for when you're trying to figure out which parts you can upgrade.
Games
In my past life, I collected free games on a regular basis. A gaming freeloader, if you will. You can find hundreds upon thousands of great games that won't cost you a dime--you just need to know where to look. We've encountered a few terrific new games here at PC World, too.
Several of my recent favorites:
And while I'm at it, how about a collection of fantastic, award-winning indie games that we gathered up earlier this year?
Multimedia
This is probably the one area where your mileage will vary. Some people need to convert audio files. Others want to transform video files into different formats. Heck, maybe you want to edit audio or video files. Or just paint a purty picture.
Not every photo editor needs to be 2.5GB and choke computers to a standstill. And you don't have to pay for a good one, either. While I prefer to bring out GIMP, I know that a number of people here in the office stick with Paint.Net. But I draw stick figures, at best--what do I know?
Dedicated videophiles, check out Avidemux. Audiophiles, I didn't forget you either: Audacity is a fantastic tool. It's a bit on the hard-core side, but you can't argue with a free sound studio.
Audiograil Free is a quick and easy way to edit file tags on your whole music collection. The only drawback, I hear, is that it stumbles on WMA files. Speaking of which, one thing that I constantly monkey with is converting audio files. The solution: dBpowerAMP Music Converter. Check it out, and thank me later.
Tip: Now, if you're a really good friend, you can hook up your buddy with legitimate free music. In the past, Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have offered up entire albums for which you can pay what you think is appropriate (or, if you're so inclined, nothing). Me? I'm downloading the DJ mashup disc from Girl Talk, Feed the Animals; to me, that album is worth $50! Of course, you could just buy some DRM-free music on behalf of your friend and pop it directly onto the USB drive. (I prefer to use Amazon.com's MP3 service at the moment.)
Web Tools
Yes, the Internet is a wonderful and scary place. (Of course, your scary might be my wonderful, but I digress.) You need Web-savvy software to get the most out of your time online.
One key tool that I rely on is a good FTP program. You have plenty of choices, from Filezilla to the Firefox plug-in FireFTP. I'm fine with CuteFTP's clean and simple interface.
Which browser should you use? That depends on whom you ask. Opera and Chrome each have their strong points, but I always find my way back to Firefox, coupled with some key plug-ins. Among my essential Firefox add-ons are Noscript for secure Web browsing and CoolIris for a tasty graphical experience when I'm looking for photos and videos.
When trying to corral all my instant messaging, I usually go with Meebo.com while on the road, but deskbound I'm using VoxOx or Digsby. Try both out and pick the one that works better for you.
MorphVOX Junior--something admittedly dorky--allows you to monkey with your audio settings to change your voice.
Into RSS feeds? Most folks swear by the Web-based Google Reader. Offline, I use FeedDemon. It's easily customizable and simple to tweak.
Twitterholics on your shopping list will get a lot of mileage out of installing Twhirl on their desktops. Just go with me on this one.
Tip: Hey, Don't forget about sharing your bookmarks! Obviously it's not a problem if you use sites like Delicious to manage your bookmarks, but if you're old-school and have a bunch saved on your browser, export the file and include it on your USB gift.
For productivity, I have only one recommendation for you: OpenOffice. Forget dropping hundreds of bucks on the big, bloated office suite from Microsoft. OpenOffice is completely usable and compatible with Office documents.
The best part of all the suggestions I've made here: The most your PC mixtape gift will cost you is the price of the flash drive!
