I’ve survived multiple Windows reinstalls, and I’ve tried to get away from these apps, but apparently I always come back to them after some time living without. Here are the top 12 applications I keep coming back to after reinstalling Windows multiple times throughout my lifetime:
Voicemeeter
Voicemeeter is.. a digital audio panel. As simple as that. You can assign applications to two separate virtual inputs, and then you can output them in 1 hardware. Streamers use this in conjunction with OBS, to adjust their Discord and game volume separately. OBS also has native integration with Voicemeeter now, even though it’s still quite buggy.
If the Banana version is too intimidating, you can use the regular version first. A Potato version is also available (even more advanced, but is paid)
Download links:
Voicemeeter Regular / Banana / Potato
Note that the Banana download also includes the regular version (I use the Banana as the regular is too limiting)
TaskbarX
I’m stuck on Windows 10. What can I say, this 4th gen i7 isn’t supported by Windows 11. That said, having to use the regular taskbar with the icons docked to the left is a pain. You have to look at the bottom corner again and again, adding to eye strain.
TaskbarX centers your icons, and allows you to make the taskbar transparent, adding to that glassy, modern look of Windows.
Download TaskbarX Here
Powertoys
Microsoft Powertoys is a collection of tools. The tools include:
| PowerToys Awake | Color Picker | FancyZones |
| File Explorer Add-ons | Image Resizer | Keyboard Manager |
| Mouse utilities | PowerRename | PowerToys Run |
| Shortcut Guide | Video Conference Mute |
I mostly use FancyZones (allows you to make custom window snap zones) and PowerRename (allows you to batch-rename files and using regex). But File Explorer Add-Ons is also useful (displays .svg and .pdf thumbnails). Most people use PowerToys Run as well, as it adds a OSX spotlight-like feature to Windows.
Powertoys download
Aria2c
Aria2c is a CLI (Command Line Interface) downloader. It’s pretty much like IDM, but its simplicity is what draws me. Measuring just over 2.3 megabytes, it’s lightweight enough to run on just any computer.
If you need to know the explanations for the command, check this link. Otherwise, just follow the picture above.
You can download aria2 here
Cyberduck
From the website : Cyberduck is a libre server and cloud storage browser for Mac and Windows with support for FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, OpenStack Swift, Backblaze B2, Microsoft Azure & OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox
But I just use Cyberduck to explore files in my phone, in conjunction with an FTP Server application.
I will publish my list of Apps I Always Install (Android Version) for FTP Server Applications later this month, stay tuned!
Download Cyberduck here
F.Lux
Even though Windows 10 already has a night light feature built in, I find it a little bit buggy, with it flickering on and off when reaching the switch-on time. I just use F.Lux for this function. Plus, it has integrations with Yeelight and Hue bulbs (which I don’t use anyway because I don’t have them, but it’s a nice feature to have nevertheless)
If you want to enable night light without third-party software, check…
How to Enable Night Light In Windows 10 (Click, go there in this tab)
How to Enable Night Light In Windows 10 (New tab)
But if you still want to try F.Lux to see the difference, click here
Pip-Tool
Picture-in-picture tool. Very useful when playing Elite Dangerous and doing other stuff, as it allows you to monitor the ship’s health.
Pip-Tool download
Playnite
Playnite integrates your game launchers and marketplaces into a single, big, launcher. A picture speaks a thousand words.
See how the library is from multiple sources?
Playnite website
Notepad++
Oh I LOVE Notepadd++! The formatting, the color coding, and the right-click “edit in notepad++” is very useful. Plus, the lizard logo is cute.
Also the fact that it has a tabbed workspace and it opens the last file for you, is what takes me in.
Download Notepad++ Here
Visual Studio Code
VS Code is my go-to IDE. It’s a simple text editor with multiple integrations with many languages, including C++ – C# – CSS – Dart – Dockerfile – F# – Go – HTML – Java – JavaScript – JSON – Julia – Less – Markdown – PHP – PowerShell – Python – SCSS – T-SQL, and TypeScript.
But I just use it for Python.
Having a built-in terminal to run codes is a gift, really. Especially when at times the terminal outside of VS Code won’t even work.
Download VS Code Here
What’s the difference with VS Community? In my opinion, VS Code is just much more lightweight and simple, especially when you’re developing Python.
EarTrumpet
Eartrumpet is a much modern volume controller than the built in Windows shipped with. You can also change sources easily in there, as well as changing each app’s volume. It’s just pure decoration, the old one still works flawlessly, but feels out of place.
Download Eartrumpet here
Sagethumbs
Sagethumbs adds a lot of thumbnail support for a lot of file extensions. These include over 180 file formats, and you can add your own!
Sagethumbs download
Yes, there isn’t a high-res version of the logo.
Honorable mentions
These honorable mentions were not mentioned in the first list because they’re a no-brainer to install and is not that specific. These include:
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Game launchers (Steam, Epic, etc.)
Apps I don’t really need
These apps fall into these category because I don’t need to install them, doesn’t mean I don’t use them.
Whatsapp Desktop
As of now, Whatsapp Desktop is just a wrapper around Whatsapp Web, so I just use Whatsapp Web on browsers. but I’ve heard reports that Whatsapp Desktop is evolving into a UWP app, so that it caches user data. We’ll see later.
Telegram (actually I do need this one installed)
I thought the featureset in the web version is the same as the desktop version, just like Whatsapp, but apparently the app is more robust, unlike the current version of Whatsapp. So I had to walk back on this one, I need to install the Telegram Desktop app.
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