My applications are pretty basic but vital.

1. Office or office-type software. Can't get any work without it.
2. Anti-virus. I tend to use symantec because I get it free from work. Can't get online without it.
3. Firefox. Can't enjoy online without it. Although lately I am slowly shifting to Chrome.
4. Trillian. This is my all-in-one for MSN, AIM, ICQ, and yahoo messengers. Can't chat online without it.
5. Winamp. Yes, it's an oldie but I love it. It consistently plays mp3s and videos. Can't enjoy videos without it.
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I just reformatted earlier this week, actually. The first five programs that I got up and running were:

* Mozilla Firefox. I can't stand IE, and wanted to use it only long enough to re-download the Firefox executable (because I forgot to save that to my backup drive...oops). I went ahead and grabbed the FEBE add-on, too, which backs up Firefox preferences, extensions, et cetera. Got my new copy of Firefox almost exactly like it had been before the reformat, so I'm happy.

* AVG Free Edition. There's no way that I'm going to surf the Internet without a good antivirus. AVG Free is an excellent program, and the price is just right for me. After I got this set up and ready to go, I was able to surf and goof around online while I waited for the rest of my programs to install.

* Microsoft Office. The 2007 version came with this PC, so that's what I installed, of course. Reinstalled, I should say. That way, I could get some writing done while I finished setting up my system.

* Alarm Clock of Justice. I love this legally-free alarm clock software. You can set a different alarm for each day of the week, just in case you have an odd schedule that doesn't require you to be awake at the same time every day. ACoJ will wake you with a YouTube video; a song file that's on your computer; a Windows Media Player playlist, et cetera. It also has a snooze feature as well as a backup alarm, just in case you don't heed the primary alarm.

* Songbird. I love this open-source music player because it's not bloated (i.e. doesn't chug along); can be customized with add-ons; and has a pretty-good user interface.

Oh, and I wasn't happy until I got Poker Stars downloaded and set up again - can't enjoy the fresh, newly-reformatted system without playing a few tournaments here and there!
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For a Mac machine:

1. Adium - amazing instant messaging client, best of any OS

http://adium.im/

http://www.freewareosx.com/screenshots/adium.jpg

2. VLC - open-source media player

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

http://www.surfers-guide.org/screenshots/vlc-mac.jpg

3. NeoOffice - open source Office suite includes spreadsheets and word documents, the Mac equivalent of OpenOffice

http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php

http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/images/sample.jpg

4. Firefox - Best browser period, Google Chrome is giving it a run though, Chrome isn't yet available for Mac

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html

http://mozillalinks.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/firefox3_tabswitch2.png

5. iTunes - Apple makes this essential for iPods and iPhones, thought well worth the trouble anyway

http://www.apple.com/itunes/

http://dailycontributor.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/itunes500.jpg

For Windows

1. Pidgin - my open-source multi-protocol IM client of choice

http://www.pidgin.im/

http://www.pandapassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/pidgin-msn-qq-im.gif

2. Firefox (see above) or Chrome - depending on your needs, I use both for different things

http://www.google.com/chrome

http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/images/dlpage_lg.jpg

3. Anti-virus program! - a must for a PC

http://www.symantec.com/index.jsp

http://dtso.com/catalog/images/Norton2009.jpg

4. OpenOffice - open-source Office suite

http://www.openoffice.org/

http://www.netsoc.tcd.ie/software/images/openoffice3.png

5. Gimp - open-source and free photo editing software, pretty much the equivalent of Photoshop

http://www.gimp.org/

http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/images/02gimp.png

Hope this helps!
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Firefox - web browser
VLC - media player
Lotus Symphony - free office package based on Open Office
Dropbox - file sychronization/online backup utility
Tweetdeck -Twitter client

These will work on both Windows and Mac OS X. Several of them will work on Linux as well.
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1. Connect360 - I download a lot of movies and I'd prefer to watch them on our big screen TV rather than my laptop. So I have this and I can stream my movies straight to my xbox. It also streams music and pictures.



http://www.nullriver.com/products/connect360

2. Adobe Photoshop CS4 - I take pictures like crazy and I love to edit them to make them look unique.



http://torrentz.com/search?q=adobe+photoshop+cs4 (find one suitable for your OS, but make sure you have a BitTorrent client so you can download one of these and also you might need a file expander)

3. iTunes - To manage my 12.38 GBs (and growing) of music and to sync my iPod with the latest updates.



http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

4. Transmission - To download torrents (music, movies, programs).



http://www.transmissionbt.com/download.php

5. Stuffit Expander (or any file expanding program) - A lot of torrents are in .rar and .zip files which need to be expanded. If you don't have a program like Stuffit, you can't open/view the files.



http://www.monova.org/details/1796078/STUFFIT%20EXPANDER%2013%20%28OR%202009%29%09.html
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I am a Linux user and most of the things I need are allready installed after I've installed the OS. If that wouldn't be the case, I'd install:

1. Firefox
Internet is the most important function a computer has for me.

2. Open Office
Just the best office program package out there. In my opinion even better than MS Office by now.

3. GIMP
So I can start creating stuff right away.

4. Rhytmbox
The best audio player out there, no ads, completly open-source and even has last.fm ability.

5. Pidgin
Yes, best chat client out there, anything from ICQ to facebook chat can be added or comes pre-installed.

Let's say they all are pre-installed (which they are on Ubuntu), which would I install than?

1. Gwenview
Managing a photo and artwork collection hasn't been easier

2. Skype
you all know what it is and does ^^

3. k3b
best burn software I know

4. vlc
Even though the standard linux media player is freakin' awesome, vlc is a little faster when it comes to playing DVDs and opening streamed videos.

5. wine
For the rare occasion that there isn't a linux based open source alternative and you have to use a .exe tool. In truth nowadays mostly for games.
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1. VLC Player
2. Firefox
3. openoffice
4. iTunes
5. any virtual machine
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Hi ! Mostly I like using freeware software on a fresh OS install because of it's features. Firstly freeware software is lightweighter than other commercial apps and secondly the user's integration environment is extremely friendly!!!

Apps that comply with the above standards are:

Mozilla Firefox http://getfirefox.com
Pidgin http://www.pidgin.im/
CDBurnerXP http://cdburnerxp.se/
Avast Antivirus http://www.avast.com/
Songbird http://getsongbird.com/

And a sixth: OpenOffice.org http://www.openoffice.org/

I think these are good to start using a computer!
Hope you like them :)
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This one's easy for me because I just did it last week:

1. Adobe Photoshop
2. Sony Vegas
3. Media Player Classic
4. Avira Antivirus
5. Firefox
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