New computer...I have one! (software suggestions?)

Recommend Stuff For Me!

Got a new computer the other day. My old one was nice, but couldn't handle the newer versions of AutoCAD, Photoshop, and etc. This one is smaller, screenwise (15" from a 17"), but I got a 23" monitor to compensate. Toshiba with an i7 processor, 8MB RAM, etc, etc. Pretty close to the same specs as the department will be ordering this summer for their new computers.

I have to say, I'm happy to be back on a Toshiba. I was not happy with HP.

OK, all that aside, I'm looking for suggestions & recommendations. I've downloaded & installed Picasa and Sketchup; I will download Fences (I love me a clean desktop, particularly because my wallpaper is an awesome picture of Amara Aquilla/Magma, from the New Mutants) and Spybot.

What other free software should I look at?

Cheers,
Nell.

PS - I got a free 4MB XBox with it too. I know NOTHING about XBoxes, except that they are for the playing of the games. So....what do I do with it?!? What games? Is 4MB an antique? I haven't even cracked the cardboard case on the thing yet...not sure where it's going to go.

PPS - Add Dropbox to the list of stuff downloaded and installed. And for what it's worth, I'm switching to Chrome for a browser from Firefox.

If you liek art you should try Vue Infinite
That's what I use to build my scenes
I use Rhino3D ot build "rigid" objects
Poser or DazStudio have vast library of content, fair % of that's free, so whether folk like it or not, they are superb ways to create people/creatures (problem isn't Poser, it's how you use it, there's some amazing Poser art, in fact. I import Poser people,critters and buildings into Vue for rendering/scene building)

you cna try Zbrush, but I much preffer 3DCoat
Zbrush's ZSpheres are awesome way to build initial creature, but 3DCoat is miles easier to use and can take initial object from Zbrush and work on it in 3Dcoat

PLE (extended demo) version of Vue, here:
https://secure.e-onsoftware.com/try/vue_10_ple/

On the xbox:

you have the "Arcade" version, it was sold at a cheaper price (or given away in your case) because it has a tiny amount of storage (4GB). It is capable of playing most games, as the hardware itself is the same as other xboxes.

The difference is, you have a 4GB USB storage built-in, instead of a hard drive. MS uses this trick to get you to buy a hard drive later for about $99. You cannot just buy an off the shelf SATA drive as MS marks the internals of the approved drives in a way they can detect. If you were to plug a non Xbox approved drive in, MS would detect it and ban your xbox from xbox live.

As a free xbox, though, 4GB is mostly fine. You can use an external USB drive for more space (up to 16GB). I stuck my old 20GB drive from my first xbox into an Arcade unit. 20GB is fine if you're not downloading and storing videos or music. game saves aren't that big.

You can also use your Xbox to access Mp3 or Videos on your computer over the network. There's articles on how to set that up.

I favor playing games on consoles because the hardware stays consistent for a 5-6 year run. The stuff that released last week will run on a LaunchDay Xbox 360 (assuming it hasn't died of Red Ring). That seldom happens with a PC.

One handy thing about Xboxes (or PS3) is they can access Netflix or Hulu. Which means you can watch that stuff over the internet on the biggest screen in the house, your TV. You will need an Xbox Live Gold account to enable that. That costs $60 a year and lets you do the Netflix thing, Voice chat, online gaming, Xbox Live Party (which helps you launch a game to play with your friends online or just have an 8-way voice chat).

You get an xbox Live Silver account for free. it lets you download updates, buy games/add-ons, send messages to friends.

My wife has a Silver account, I have a Gold account. She doesn't do online gaming, I do. I have 2 xboxes, and we can login to either one of them seemlessly.

Back to your PC:
If you haven't chosen an AntiVirus program, get MicroSoft Security Essentials for free.. It works surprisingly well. Download it directly from Microsoft, nowhere else.

I'd recommend...

• GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program, essentially a freeware version of Photoshop. It's a little clunkier than PS, as I remember, but I've been using this so long that I know it much better now.)
• The Steam client
• Microsoft Security Essentials, a nice, free, light-weight antivirus solution from Microsoft and whatever games you want to play on the new PC
• Dropbox, which you already got
• Evernote, a note organization program. I use this to organize just about everything I need to do - game stuff, shopping lists, recipes, writing I'm doing, all kinds of things.
• FireFox with AdBlock, Mouse Gestures, and StumbleUpon addons.
• MagicISO, a utility for mounting .iso files (DVD/CD images) Freeware MagicISO Virtual CD/DVD-ROM(MagicDisc) Overview

Thanks for the suggestions, and particularly the XBox info!
- I had GIMP and Inkscape awhile ago, but for compatibility reasons I've had to switch to Adobe (easier workflow with classmates & the school computers). I do get the student version, so that's a little bit of relief.
- I've got the student license of AutoCAD as well, although I've been exploring Draftsight as a free alternative.
- MSE - D'oh! Thanks!
- Dropbox/Evernote - great stuff! Have Onenote on the older computer, but trying out Evernote.
- I will put the Firefox addons on this (older) computer, and try them out!
- MagicISO - Like it. Will try it.
- I will look into Vue Infinite. I'm not naturally an "art" person, but landscape architecture rather demands it.

- Again, thanks for the Xbox info. We already have a Wii on the main tv for netflix, plus the computers, so I might put the Xbox on the bedroom tv. I have spare USB drives, so that's useful. I've honestly never used one, so I'm feeling my way through it.

Nellisir said:

- Again, thanks for the Xbox info. We already have a Wii on the main tv for netflix, plus the computers, so I might put the Xbox on the bedroom tv. I have spare USB drives, so that's useful. I've honestly never used one, so I'm feeling my way through it.

Click to expand...

Glad to help. I have both PS3 and Xbox 360, and am very technical. So I pay attention to the details of those platforms. What i find is that newcomers tend to get the "wrong" product and then fumble around to get what they really need.

With the Arcade units, the pattern tended to be parents would buy the "cheaper" xbox, the actual user of the device has to go get a hard drive at a higher price than if they'd bought the next level up model and MS pockets the difference.

For a free 360, that's less of an issue. At $99, the hard drive upgrade is not that big a cost impact. A hard drive will let you download more game add-ons, download full games (normally CD based and more arcade games (lighter weight than a full game). My 20GB drive with my original 360 had enough space for me until I started downloading RockBand songs. That filled it up. The hard drive will also run faster than USB drives.

For Netflix/video watching, I would recommend putting the X-Box on the nicest TV in the house. The 360 has better video hardware than the Wii. The Wii can only do standard-def (which is why it was MUCH cheaper than the 360 at launch).

As for gaming with the 360 vs. PC, that can be a mixed bag. obviously, you CAN play games with an Xbox. And the interfaces for them are usually quite nice. There's some FPS snobs who claim a PC with mouse and keyboard are better, but I think the millions of Halo and Call of Duty fans would disprove that.

Where the console shines is that there is virtually no problem with playing any game on it. Conversely, PC games seem to require frequent upgrades and an advanced certification in tech support in order to resolve driver and configuration issues.

My wife got into DragonAge on the console, and switched to PC because she could run custom mods from other players. Generally, you can't do that with a console (Unreal 3 does have a mod feature on PS3). She also likes the controls better as you can pause to change commands to characters more readily on the PC version.

However, I have had to massage registry keys, install and enable Services for three different users for the same game because the installer failed to setup correctly. I'm appalled that PC gaming hasn't advanced in user setup experience since I switched to consoles in 1998.

I hope you get some use out of your X-Box. X-Boxes get more use doing non-gaming than gaming these days. It's a fairly handy device.

A few more things to mention:
It uses the same sign-in technology as hotmail, MSN and other MS products. Things work smoother if you use the SAME email address as your hotmail to login (which also, Facebook also uses the same technology, so if you used a hotmail address for facebook, it will recognize you when you switch between sites on a PC as well). The upshot of this is that you can IM, video or voice chat other MSN Messenger users. This means your x-box can talk to PC users.

Translate that to Christmas time. If you have a Kinect, it has a wider angle lens. Your family can sit on the couch and be seen by folks on the other end. This makes if VERY nice for doing family video visits, such as at the holidays. it beats everybody trying to crowd in around the laptop's webcam to say high to Gramma on Skype.*

*MS bought Skype, so expect that to get integrated into Xbox Live as well and be able to talk to ANYBODY with Skype, that means any device that can run Skype like Android and iPhone.

Since no one else had brought it up I use Ninite [http://ninite.com/] whenever I need to load up a new PC. It packages and one-click installs from a list of open-source and free software. You run Ninite and it does the rest for you.

Good luck!