A New PC: 10 Free Webwares to Install First.

In the previous post, I introduced DustinWax's opinions about Panda Cloud Free Antivirus. His comments were part of a post on Lifehack blog about the 10 free apps you should promptly install on a new PC.

Here are the next nine:

1. Firefox
2. OpenOffice.org suite
3. Thunderbird
4. Picasa
5. Skype
6. VLC Media Player
7. Handbrake
8. Digsby or Pidgin
9. CDBurnerXP

For more details, go to Wax's post here.

Avira AntiVir Personal Free Antivirus.

On my laptop, I have Norton Antivirus 2009. Symantec is supposed to let me install this program on three more computers for free. I tried different times to install it on my desktop and I failed. Don't know why. So I lost patience and I didn't want to lose more time waiting for a support answer.

I checked the Web for a good free antivirus and stumbled on Avira's AntiVir Personal Free Antivirus. You can check a review here on CNET.

From Avira :

Avira AntiVir Personal Free Antivirus is a comprehensive, easy to use antivirus program, designed to offer reliable free of charge virus protection to home-users only. Avira offers: Extensive Malware Recognition of viruses, Trojans, backdoor programs, worms; Automatic incremental updates of antivirus signatures, engine and entire software; Permanent virus protection, with Virus Guard real time monitoring; Install and configuration in just a couple of steps, setup to protect your PC in minutes; Virus protection \against known and unknown threats, using an advanced heuristic system; Scheduler where you can set the scanner to make automatic virus scans or updates on your system; Forum and phone support; Knowledge Base with virus descriptions available on web site; Rootkit Detection and Removal; A modularized AV-search engine for improved scan performance.

Version 9 introduces a quick-removal button for eliminating viruses with a single click, enhanced anti-spyware and anti-adware engines, and support for low resolution netbook screens.

The only criticism I would make, my desktop seems to take more time to be ready. But, I really need to buy more RAM. It is usually a torture, Avira or not.

Dustin Wax, project manager at Stepcase Lifehack, used to use the free AVG Antivirus, but he's found that at some point – in every version of AVG he's used – it stopped updating automatically. So a few months ago, he decided to try Panda’s free Cloud Antivirus, and has been very happy: updates happen in the background, files and problems are quietly taken care of.

So, now you have three possibilities to choose from.

Convert PDF to Word.

I've been looking for a webware like this for three years now. I needed to convert to upload some files to my PalmDrive. DAH! Couldn't make the PDF app work... but the Word app, no problem.

Now, my problem is solved. Here is a link to a page that will allow you to convert PDF to Word with no effort.

There is even a link to convert PDF to excel as well.

Twitcam: Livesteam Video through Twitter.

The Livestream team has a new tool for livestreaming video. It is called Twitcam and it turns Twitter into a live streaming hub.

Twitcam posts your video description and link to Twitter for all your followers to see. While broadcasting, chat with your viewers via Twitter right from your broadcast page. Once you’re done going live, we archive your video and display it on the same page.

You can also post a link to your Facebook page.

SavorChat: On the Spot Chat with your Facebook and Twitter Followers.

In a previous post, I wrote about Chatzy, a chat service, which allows you to create a "on-the-spot" backcommunication channel for your lectures, conferences or meetings.

But, if your listeners are Facebook's friends or Twitter's followers, you could also use SavorChat.

SavorChat, created by Marc Stedman (co-founder of Savor the Success), is a new chat service that allows you to connect with your Facebook contacts and your Twitter followers within a chat group.

Once logged in, all your conversations will be shared via Facebook Connect or Twitter OAuth. All your chats will also display the profile pictures and an icon indicating if the chatters come through Twitter or Facebook. By clicking on their photo/icon, you arrive on the participant profile.

TwitR: Another Twitter Directory

As the title of the review puts it, TwitR is a Twitter directory which is organized by tags, and that will let you see who the top users are at any given time.

OneRiot: Realtime Search Engine

OneRiot, a realtime search engine, launched in November of 2009.

Actually, OneRiot prioritizes its search results according to PulseRank, a realtime ranking algorithm that delivers search results as they emerge, ordered to reflect current social relevance.

OneRiot is a privately held company headquartered in Boulder, Colo. with offices in San Francisco. (via Crunchbase)

Chatzy: The On The Spot Chat Service.

You prepared a meeting, lecture or a conference. You need a backroom communication service to allow your listeners to post comments or questions in realtime . Try Chatzy.

Chatzy is a good alternative to traditional chat sites as well as ICQ, Yahoo, MSN and AOL Messenger:

* Chatzy has no registration steps - your friends or listeners can join instantly.

* Chatzy is free and has no popup ads.

* Chatzy does not require any installation on your computer (= no spyware).

* Chatzy works on any PC, with any language and through corporate firewalls.

* Chatzy is simple and easy to use.


You only need an access to a WiFi service.