I just had to replace my computer and as I reinstall everything.  In some cases I’ve found better ways of doing stuff.  All these programs are free.

 

ClearType

Microsoft should have just included this with XP rather than making you go to their site to download it.   It’s a quick improvement to how text is displayed.  It makes a huge difference.

 

TweakUI

Here’s another feature I don’t know why Microsoft just doesn’t include in their control panel.  You can customize tons of stuff that XP does – from how Windows explorer displays stuff, taskbar settings and tons more. 

 

Thunderbird

No more Outlook Express for me.  Mozilla’s email program is really nice.  It’s spam filter seems to be working okay.  The biggest thing is that I don’t have to use Norton for my spam filter anymore.  It was great, but Norton is a resource hog.

 

Firefox 2

I hope you already use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer for most of your browsing, but in case you didn’t know, it’s been updated. 

 

Core FTP

I’ve only used it for a couple hours, but I love this FTP program.  

 

Zelda Update: I'm currently in the Goron Temple.  And - I just bought a Zelda Sweatshirt that is super awesome.  Julia said, "It's too geeky."