Windows has more great programs than we can count, but it is a quite a bit difficult task to select them according to your needs. Don't worry, I have done the hard work for you. From productivity to entertainment I have rounded up a selection of apps that definitely deserves a place in your Windows PC. Consult this list for ideas and discover apps you didn't know existed.
1. Preme
If you liked the corner gestures of Windows 8 but cannot use it on your Windows 10 PC, Preme is a tool which could be useful for you. The software lets you set up hot corners so that you can assign useful commands for each screen corner. It also has a bunch of cool shortcuts to manage and switch between program windows with ease. Then, there is also the ability to use the mouse wheel to minimize a window, close it or make sure it's always on top. Preme also packs some really cool features like the ability to press Esc button twice to close a window, hover over a window to scroll and more.
Also, the free software lets you remap the keyboard shortcuts too, which is pretty cool. Overall Preme is a must have tool if you want to make window switching faster.
2. Ninite
If you are setting up your new PC and you don't want the hassle of installing all your favorite apps one by one, Ninite is a tool which could come in handy. Ninite is an amazing software that consolidates various applications into a single installer for you to download. You just need to is simply head over to Ninite's webpage, select the apps you want and download the installer package.
After downloading the package, just run the installer and all the apps you chose will be installed to your computer without the hassle of installing all of them one by one. The tool can also be used to update the apps on your PC to their latest version.
3. MusicBee
MusiBee is an amazing music player for Windows. The free music player lets you play your music the way you want to hear it, and makes managing a large collection of files easy. MusicBee packs in some amazing features like CD- ripping, auto-tagging, gapless playback, support for Winamp plugins, 10-band or 15-band equalizer, Groove music, last.fm support and more. It has an attractive and clean interface which can also be customized by applying various skins. MusicBee performs great and has some advanced audio tools and amazing features to make sure you would never need any other music player software.
4. PopcornTime
If you have to watch a movie or a TV show, you first have to download it from torrent and then watch it later. But with PopcornTime you can directly stream the torrent while it's being downloaded in the background. So, in short, you don't have to wait for your torrents to complete downloading and you can enjoy watching your favorite movies and TV shows while they are being downloaded. PopcornTime is an open source program available for all windows, mac and linux. It includes an integrated media player and provides a free alternative to subscription-based video streaming services such as Netflix.
5. Fences
The windows desktop can easily get very cluttered with lots of shortcuts, icons, etc and that can surely make your experience unproductive. This is where Fences comes in handy. Fences is a very useful tool which organizes your desktop in the most effective way by grouping similar icons and shortcuts into various categories(fences) like programs, folders, files and documents, etc. While it does this automatically, you can create custom fences too.
It also has features like Roll-up Fence, hiding the fences on double clicking anywhere on the desktop screen and various customization options to make the fences look as you want them to. Fences is a must have app if you want to make your Windows desktop to look more productive and streamlined.
6. WhatsApp
If there was ever a debate on which smartphone app you use the most, the winner would definitely be WhatsApp. The Facebook-owned instant messaging app is undoubtedly the most used messaging app on the planet. WhatsApp wants you to stay in touch anytime and anywhere - whether on your phone or computer at home or work. The new desktop app lets you message your friends and family from your PC while your phone remains in your pocket.
The desktop app is available both for Windows and MacOS. After opening the app, you just need to scan a QR code from WhatsApp on your phone to start messaging. You need to do this only once. Since the app runs natively on your desktop you'll have support for desktop notifications and better keyboard shortcuts.
7. Greenshot
While you can use the Snipping Tool or the keyboard shortcuts in Windows to take a screenshot, they do not offer a lot of options. If you tend to take a lot of screenshots and you want a simple and feature-packed screenshot tool, Greenshot is for you. It helps you capture a region, window or the fullscreen. After taking a screenshot you can either save it to your computer, print it, or export to various apps. It also comes with an image editor which is the best feature according to me. You can edit and annotate the screenshots before you save them. Its simple interface and various features makes Greenshot a must have app for every Windows PC.
8. Pot Player
You might be using the VLC Media Player or the Windows Media Player on your Windows computer but if I told you that there's an even better video player with a great looking, minimalistic user interface and lots of functionality. It is the Pot Player. Pot Player supports almost all types of video formats, subtitles and tags. It has some really cool features like the ability to take snapshots of the video being viewed, DIVX support, 3D glasses support and much more. Pot Player brings enhanced hardware acceleration, which makes video playback smooth even on moderately powered systems. It can also be configured to be used with various devices such as TV and HDTV.
Overall, Pot Player is the video player to get if you are looking for a fresh looking lightweight media player with a substantial amount of preferences to choose from.
9. ClipX
We all use copy paste options all the time but when we copy a new text the previous one is removed from the clipboard. So what ClipX does is that it stores all your copied item's whether it's text, image or screenshot in a separate clipboard so that you can easily copy them for later use. It sits in your system tray and stores everything that you copy which can be received with just a few hotkeys, all of which are customizable. ClipX makes clipboard management a whole lot easier.
10. Classic Shell
If you like the look and feel of the old school windows experience, then Classic Shell is for you. The free tool lets you choose from various classic start menu styles similar to Windows 7, XP or even 95. It also lets you change the start button, taskbar and modify the behavior of the mouse clicks and Windows key. Along with the Start menu, Classic Shell also brings a classic style explorer and a classic Internet Explorer. So for a great windows environment, that is very customizable and easy to apply, look no further than Classic Shell.
Well, this was my list of some essential Windows software which deserves a place in your Windows PC. If you know any other useful Windows software which I missed out on, do let me know by dropping a comment down below.