Sometimes people show me their computers or I work on them and I am just amazed at the amount of clutter or crazy programs people deal with on a daily basis. There are easier, less stress-inducing ways of maintaining your machine, that are actually better for you, as well.

Here’s a few:

• Your web browser: Everyone in the world gets a new computer, and then jumps on the web with Internet Explorer because it’s there and it’s free. Well, you should use it at least once, and that is to go to GetFirefox.com to download a better browser, Firefox (for Windows and Mac, though safari is ok for Macs.) It’s cleaner, it free, it’s easier to use, and it’s open source which means it wasn’t made by a for-profit corporation.
• Email: Don’t bother messing around with your internet provider’s email they give you for free. You can get better, more accessible email for free elsewhere. I recommend Gmail. There’s no ads, there’s unlimited space, and it’s got a clean, easy to use interface. If you don’t like Google stuff, try the new Yahoo mail, which is just as good if not better. But it might be a little more cluttered.
• Maintenance: all you needto keep your computer running smoothly is an antivirus program, and adware program, and a spyware program. 3, that’s it. and look, the 3 best are bundled together by our friends at Google for free, in what is called Google Pack. Lets see what they give us:
  • Norton Security Scan - Free antivirus protection and updates.
  • Spyware Doctor - Detects and removes spyware and adware.
  • Picasa - Excellent photo organizer and editor for Windows (comparable to iPhoto on the Mac)
  • Google Earth - Just download it. You’ll play with it for hours.

  And there’s more like Firefox, Skype and Adobe Reader that you’ll also want to download. It all comes with the Google Updater that automatically updates your ‘Pack programs for you so you don’t have to, and so that you always have the latest versions.

• Google Browser Sync - Download this extension for Firefox, which puts your bookmarks on a server somewhere in space so that you can access them from any computer, and not have to worry about backing them up if you get a new computer.

What else do people do with their computers?

• Work: Can’t afford Microsoft Office? Then try OpenOffice. It’s a free group of software that works just as well as the big boys. Or try Google Apps, a group of online applications for communicating and organizing, document publication, and web publishing. All free. Also, 37signals offers a whole suite of online applications that help organize and keep track of to-do lists, customer info, discussions, and documents.

So this is all pretty nerdy and stuff, but the point is, things can be cleaned up and less cluttery than they most likely are. Those stupid Yahoo and Google and AOL toolbars in your web browser can be removed. All those ads on your Hotmail don’t have to take up your attention everyday. You don’t have to pay $500 for Microsoft office. You don’t need a Web Accelerator or SBC Spam Protection for your internet. They just take up space.

Maybe it’s all easy for me to say, I sort of know what’s ok to delete or remove and what isn’t. And I know how to get stuff back if it is removed on accident. But if you don’t know, you should ask me or someone who does and we’ll help. It will make life a wee bit easier.

Tags: annoyances, computers, google, rant