What do you use your computer for?
 

First off is the poll. Are you a computer perfectionist? do you need the latest, the greatest, the best software? a sexy interface, services.msc and regedit hacked for perfection? Or do you really just not care.

Second, what do you use your computer for? Work? School? and if so, what kind of work? Do you mostly use it for things like facebook, AIM, and downloading mp3s to your ipod? or things like coding XHTML, CSS, digital photo editing, or creating music with Sibelius?

Third, what are your top programs on your computer? the ones you absolutely cannot live without?

I am indeed curious to see what you guys do with your machines.

Additional Information:
For me...I am computer obsessed. I have like 9 utility programs, including Ad aware, Spybot, Diskeeper, partition magic, tunexp,tuneup utilities 2007, CCleaner, activesmart, and AVG. When I install windows I automatically run regedit and services.msc to disable useless crap, and also mess around a lot with windows settings. I disable messenger and security center as well. I defragment quite often and run my utilities at least once a week. All my folders are very organized, my hard drive include System, Temp, Music, and Data. Temp is where everything is downloaded, data is where i store all my project info and other stuff, music and system are self explanitory.

I use my computer for...web browsing, facebook, AIM, ipod, Music, Movies, Photoshop, Reading/eBooks, Games, HTML coding, Making Music with my guitar/Sibelius/cakewalk, ripping dvds and cd's, learning french, posting here, calandar, and writing papers for my webpage(which im still working on) and school. Also burning...anything, editing my photos that I take with my camera, and storing all my data.

Programs I can't live without:

Firefox
Trillian
foobar2000
Nero 8
Word/Open office
Photoshop/GIMP
uTorrent
Limewire
Flashfxp
notepad

Well, it would be nice to have a fast computer to run next-gen games, but I don't really need one.

I use my computer either for video games, schoolwork, forum browsing, and on some occasions, MSN.

The programs I wouldn't be able to live without are emulators (To me anyway), kind of the only thing I ever really use on my computer nowadays (Can barely run Counter-Strike Source on this PC, but I can at least play Seiken Densetsu 3 and Terranigma with no worries. =D). You could also add Flash MX and GIMP, as I use those sometimes, but definitely not as often as emulators.

The last computer game I remember installing was uh, probably Quake 3 back in 1965. I don't know or care what the specs are in this current shitbox, it's got some microchips, gigaflops of them, and some things. It runs THE INTERNET and its various spin-off series and also MS Paint, so it must be a super computer.

Programs I can't live without

- MS Paint
- .. Word is also pretty handy I guess

Obviously, my computer is designed for creating high-quality music --

Outside of the basic security utilities (Ad-Aware, Spybot, etc.) and other basic programs (Firefox, Diskeeper, Tune-Up Utilities, etc.) my computer is loaded up with audio content creation programs:

Nuendo 3
Reason 4
FL Studio 7
Adobe Audition 1.5
T-Racks 24 Mastering Suite
Waves Diamond Bundle 5.2

Couple this with a M-Audio 49-key MIDI Controller, $500 8-inch studio reference monitors, and a Firepod audio interface and I have a pretty mean machine as far as audio's concerned.

Oh, that's sick. My friend had a nice pair of M-Audio Studio Monitors...they fuckin' bumped. Hey, do they make midi controllers for usb/firewire/esata or anything like that? or is it specifically for midi inputs/outputs? (as the name implies, lol) I'd like to get one to play some piano on:p

The only thing I'm obsessive about with my computer is the organization within it. My music has to be organized, the desktop needs to be clear of all extraneous icons (actually, I just use ObjectDock now instead of icons) and my pictures are pretty rigidly categorized. Other people's computers drive me nuts because they're so sloppy and everything is everywhere. I couldn't deal with that.

But I just use my computer for a few things, really.

- Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator
- DC++/ Bittorrent
- MS Office
- Firefox/Thunderbird
- Foobar

Of course, I also use it as a metronome, jukebox, CD burner, DVD player and other random things. I'm not a total computer junkie, though. Compared to most people I know, I am, but that's not saying much.

I mostly use mine to browse the internet and do my homework when needed. I stopped using my desktop after I realized that my laptop has enough RAM to run through what was stopping my desktop when it was on a wireless connection...

As far as stuff I can't live without on my computer:

- AIM (Social interation with my friends is highly important to me)
- Adobe Photoshop (I need to edit and create stuff)
- WavePad (I need my ringtones)
- Firefox (It's more visually appealing than Internet Explorer)
- Microsoft Word (For assignments, duh)
- Notepad (For everything else)

There isn't much I DON'T do with my computer. Coding [C++, Python], Web Design [PHP, MySQL, XHTML, CSS], Graphics Editing [GIMP, sometimes Photoshop], Gaming [Steam, CoD2, UT2004], Running Servers [I run LAMP on my laptop and Subversion on my desktop], Media viewing, Media Serving, file storage (I've got a terabyte of RAID5 in my desktop).....I do essentially everything.

My laptop's not too bad (Dell Inspiron 8600, 1.5Ghz Pentium M, 512MB RAM, Beautiful 1920x1200 screen), so I do most of my coding and document writing on it. I primarily use my desktop for its audio-visual chain (Chaintech AV-710 -> Entech 203.2 -> PIMETA Amplifier -> Grado RS-1 for sound, 512MB GeForce 7950GT -> Dell 2001FP for Video) and otherwise let it sit passively there storing my files.

Programs I absolutely need to survive:

• gcc toolchain (gcc, make, gdb)
• vim/gVIM
• OpenOffice.org 2.3
• Apache/PHP/MySQL
• Mozilla Firefox
• Mozilla Thunderbird
• Foobar2000 (Windows) / Amarok (Linux)

I use my computer mostly for internets and music, but it's also my primary video editing system. I like to upgrade every 2 or so years to keep up with current software and hardware. Apps I can't live without:

- Final Cut Studio (FCP, DVD Studio Pro, LiveType, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, Color, Compressor)
- Photoshop CS3
- Final Draft
- Particle Illusion
- Azureus
- Adium
- VLC

I use my computer for anything and everything I can. It is a very fancy clock, a super fancy dvd player. And the biggest mp3 player on the market. It also acts as a phone, and a text message machine. I code on it, edit pictures and make music as well. Games are a must


Programs/Games I can't live without(basically things I always install)
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Photoshop
Acid Studio Pro
Anvil Studio(midi program)
VLC
Winamp
Microsoft Office
Unreal Tournament 99
ZDaemon(doom 2 multiplayer client)
xChat
MSN Messenger and AIM
FireFox

I fucking love my computer =V It's the sexiest little laptop in th'woooorrrrld~ I couldn't live without this thing. It fits in my nice padded backpack, fitting it like a tailor-made glove. It cost quite a nice amount of cash but it was worth every penny. Every small error or crash I've seen has only happened ONCE each time. As if by voodoo magic, the computer bounces back after the restart like nothing happened, and the same thing has never arisen.

It comes with me when I'm offshore for gaming in my off-time and browsing when I'm on the clock. It comes with me when I visit my folks or leave the homestead for an extended number of days. If I couldn't use or bring this on to the boat, that would be a fucking painful job to tolerate. This helps me get through the extreme boredom and long shifts with ease.

What do I need on this to survive? Weeeell...:

- Firefox and the basic browser tools (INTERNET~, Java, Flash, etc) in addition to NoScript, easily the best pop-up and script-blocker AROUND. It stops flash ads for Christ's sake!
- Trillian. I use it for AIM, ICQ, MSN, etc. It checks my e-mail for me, in addition to serving as a kickass outlet to mIRC. It has connectivity issues which REALLY piss me off (it won't connect to IRC at times for some stupid reason), but whenever that arises, I use mIRC itself.
- Winamp and my MP3 collection. I've got WEEKS of music on this machine, I'm sure. Years ago, in my MP3 collection infancy, I had about six days' worth of MP3s at some point, and I'm certain I've toppled that record.
- uTorrent. God bless you, little Micro. This is my outlet to every torrent for everything my heart desires.

On the boat, my internet speed is SEVERELY crippled (maximum speed I can get is about 25k/sec. That's PEAK. Not average) in addition to the firewall cockblocking everything so they can "conserve bandwidth". Given how many folks use laptops out there and the monstrous bandwidth available, I think their degree of firewalling and access circumcision is overkill. My dint on bandwidth would be a drop in the bucket.

Anyhow. I couldn't run IRC, Trillian, or any of that for a while (until I found special web browser clients that could work around that), and torrents were a no-no. With all that shit going on, it bummed me out until I could get around them. Even then, I never got used to the slooowwwww internet.

But I'm a social person. The boat is a very unfriendly environment, particularly toward Americans (seriously), much less a bumpkin from Texas. Most of the Europeans on there have their heads too far up their asses around me to tolerate a conversation at times. If I couldn't talk to folks somehow (internet being an awesome way of doing so), I dunno HOW crazy I would go =\

Mainly school-related business. I have to be updated with everything for my nursing school since there's always a lot of announcements and assignments to keep up with, and things change daily. I also use my computer to keep in touch with friends and colleagues using various services, and to do my actual homework and research. Aside from all that, I burn DVDs occasionally and transfer music to my media player. That's about it.

I also have a Pocket PC that I use to access the internet, check email, and use for my medical software (drug guides, medical dictionary, nursing references). Using a laptop in school these days isn't really that helpful for me anymore since I'm never in one place anyway.

Web-browsing, instant messaging programs (I love you, GAIM), music player and occasional gaming rig.

Nothing too taxing, which makes me wonder if I should consider a laptop the next time around for some added portability.

I use my computer for almost everything. I couldn't live without one. :(

I usually change my computer every 2 years but I doubt it'll be happening anytime soon. It would be cheaper to by a next-gen console rather than buying a state of the art PC for gaming. I'd just keep that rig of mine for everything else.

Aside from Firefox, I usually have these programs:

- ImgBurn / DVD Decrypter: To burn ISOs and video DVDs
- Nero: For backuping anime and other shit.
- MSN Live Messenger
- Photoshop
- Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005, Office 2003: For school.
- AdMuncher: Adblock for IE, when I use it.
- CCCP: For animus and other video watching sessions.
- foobar2000/Winamp: Not sure why I still use Winamp sometimes. :(
- DAEMON-TOOLS
- uTorrent
- Unlocker: For those pesty locked files.
- Spybot

I installed BitDefender this time too. Its meh.

I used to use my computer primarily to play MMORPGs and making anime music videos. But I washed my hands of MMORPGs a few months ago and the last time I made an AMV was back in 2006. The closest thing to an MMORPG I may play is if I start playing PSU again. I'm pretty much retired from making AMVs though, too much trouble with all this DVD ripping and my capture device that I used before on my old computer isn't XP compliant.

Right now I mainly use my PC to browse forums, download episodes of shows that it seems like we're getting screwed on DVD releases for (Gargoyles, Xiaolin Showdown, etc.), and other random internet stuff.

Well I mainly use my computer for ..well..everything! :)

Usenet - latest scene releases in iso format (just got 3:10 to Yuma and Pirates: At Worlds End)

emule - everything here is 95% illegal in the states (since I'm in Canada atm I dont have to worry)..mp3s, isos, and "rare" files.

my dual core cpu/2gigsram and x1900 radeon - UT3, jericho, Gears of war, and old school rpgs like Baldurs Gate, Ultima, Fallout, etc.

Facebook sucks. Myspace sucks even harder.

Emulation - Dreamcast, SNES, Genesis, N64, PSx and soon..ps2 if the epsx2 authors can ever optimize their damn code for dual cores!:D

I use my computer for school work mostly. And, myspace and to keep in touch with my cousins that are far far away.

A nice watch I selected.

I tend to use my computer for music and watching DVD's. I do my work on it also, but other than that I just like to fill it up with tunes and most recently tv programmes. It's like my own little entertainment centre than anything.

Internet/Gaming mostly. A small hint of MySpace as of late, I'm nowhere near active on it anymore (can be a good thing depending on how you take it).

Programs I mainly use on the computer:

Photoshop CS3
Illustrator
Firefox
Winamp
MirandaIM
NOD32 (Antivir)
Daemon Tools
Ultramon (for my dual monitor setup)
uTorrent
GrabIt (for random Usenetting)
QuickPAR (filechecker used in association with GrabIt)
WinRAR

Browsing, schoolwork and instant messengers. I can just about get Photoshop running on this if I wait ten minutes for it to launch and then wait another ten when it freezes the instant I open a file.

Using this thing for games is out of the question. What's up, 8MB graphics chipset?

Doom, apparently.

I'm definitely not a computer perfectionist.. my computer isn't very good to begin with and I've never really gotten into trying to spiffy my desktop up all trendy like a lot of people do. I am really picky about themes, icons, and wallpapers. That's about it as far as looks go. I usually use it to play simple games (emulation, low end type games, etc), listen to music, chat, and browse the net.

As for programs I can't live without:
winamp, firefox, msn/aim, utorrent, notepad sx (Thank GOD for bg color change option and tabs), and irc (I'm really not a big irc nerd, but it's so convenient to dl stuff)

I use my computer for Uni work mainly, then browsing the web and chatting to friends.

I couldn't live without MSN, Microsoft office, winamp, and firefox