Windows 10 / 11 Applications - best and worst features
Windows 10 (or 11) brings with it some great applications: the new "Edge" browser, Mail, Calendar, etc. The focus has been on developing apps with a clean uncluttered interface, and for many of the apps that has worked well. However it also means there are limitations on the functionality they provide. In many cases there are better alternatives - and they are free. Here are some examples. To install them refer to the links on my freeware apps page.
A better browser - and a better search engine
Lets be clear about this:
the BROWSER is the application that displays information from the web.
Common browsers include Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Opera. Google is NOT a browser.
the SEARCH ENGINE is software on the internet that uses the search terms you enter to find information.
Common search engines include Google, Bing, AOL, Yahoo.
Your browser will usually use one search engine that is set as a default. So unles you change the settings Chrome will use Google and Edge will use Bing.
What is wrong with Chrome and Google - or Edge and Bing?
Browsers: Chrome and Edge give little protection against pop-ups and adverts. This can be a source of malware on your system.
Search engines: Google and Bing are both very good search engines. They track your use of the web to target you with material; and also prioritise the results you get. This means you usually get useful results - albeit with "sponsored" (i.e. paid for) results first. However with criminals able to spend lots of money on advertising the top results arent always the best - or even safe.
Ask (powered by Google) and AOL, Yahoo (powered by Bing) are no better. DuckDuckGo is my favoured option.
Alternatives
I like the "Brave" browser; it does a good job of cutting down on adverts and pop-ups, and has a "private" window that prevents tracking.
You can also use their own "Brave" search engine, or select from Google, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, and others.
The new "Vivaldi" browser also has a lot to like, with a built in mail client, calendar, etc. The "Ecosia" search engine works well with it and uses income to plant trees.
Image (photo) viewer application
Photos:
The new photos app is in many ways more powerful than the "photo viewer" it replaces. However there are many even better programs - all free.
Altenative - Irfan View
One of my favorites is Irfan View. A great image viewer that can not only display images in almost any format, but can also crop, resize and save them in other formats. It has lots of other useful features including handling your scanner.
Image creation and editing apps
photos
Recent versions of windows include a "photos" app which now includes some quite powerful AI features such as editing out unwanted features. Quite powerful (I especially like the AI powered adjustments such as removing a background or editing out an unwanted feature) but limited to changing the "look" of images.
Paint.net
One of the first apps I install on my own PC's the FREE app paint.net makes it easy to improve your photos - remove ugly items from the background, crop or resize, or just brighten up a photo taken on a dull day. You can also create images using the brush, pen, shapes and paint bucket tools.
as an alternative, GIMP has it all. Its a very powerful app for creating or changing images. Use it to enhance your photos, or create your own artwork.
At first its not quite as straightforward to use as paint.net (more like Photoshop); but if you use images in your work its well worth the effort learning to use it.
Media player for music, videos etc
Media Player Legacy
The legacy media player isnt installed on Win10 or 11 but go to settings - system - optional features - view features - see added features and you can enable it. Its basic but works well.
Altenative - VLC
VLC is a long established open source freeware application. It allows users to play a huge assortment of audio and video formats including DVD, Audio CD’s, and stored files. The user interface is simple, with buttons at the bottom of the screen to control playback. Best download it from the developer's website http://www.videolan.org/
- DONT get it from the windows store, that version will not play DVD's.
Email client
Mail:
The new "Mail" application is intended to collect all of your mail accounts, be they Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or any other. Mail lacks flexibility and features. It looks nice, but it isn't the most powerful email client. In my view the main limitation is the way new emails are displayed. Only a few can be seen on the page without scrolling - sorry Microsoft, it's minimalistic but of minimal utility.
Thunderbird:
Compare that with the display you get from my preferred email app, Thunderbird. Here you can see a lot more messages. The folders you see on the left side allow mail about specific subjects, or from specific senders, to be filtered into different locations.
Office applications
Again none come free with Windows - they want you to buy some version of Microsoft Office. However there are two FREE Office suites that suit most peoples needs.
Libre Office:
This is very similar in use to earlier versions of Microsoft Office Pro.
It can open, edit and save documents in Microsoft Office formats, as well as the "Open Document Foundation" standard ODF formats.
Includes word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, clculation and drawing functions; The spreadsheet isnt entirely compatible with Microsoft Office however.
WPS Office:
A useful if simple Office suite, the big advantage is that its also available for Android.
Get WPS Office here but choose the free version!
Calculator
"Metro" calculator
This is the new style calculator, targeted at touch screen applications. For use with a keyboard many people prefer the calculator that came with earlier versions of windows.
Classic calculator
The classic calculator has been removed from windows 11 but you can get it from https://win7games.com/#calc. All you need to do to install it is double click on the downloaded .zip file, and run the "OldClassicCalc-2.0-setup.exe" file then accept the defaults.