Allternatives to the big bulky applications.
It seems to me that as technology progresses, the size of it increases quite considerably. Therefore the footprint of the application is far bigger. Fortunately there are usually smaller alternatives available that is designed to function in the same way.
Time and time again I suggest AVG as an alternative to some of the bloated anti-virus checkers out there but thought today I would touch on some other applications which haven't been given enough coverage.
Quicktime Alternative - Unless you configure it correctly, Quicktime has a habit of becoming both intrusive and resource hungry. Whilst some of the less used features of its bloated relative will be absent, this alternative is almost half the size and doesn't suffer any reduced functionality as a Quicktime file player. You may not think it but the MOV format is actually surprisingly common both on the Internet and on many digital cameras so sooner or later you will need a suitable player.
Realplayer Alternative - You may find that you are required to have Realplayer installed when you come across a website which has embedded RealMedia content. Your browser will of course point you in the direction of the larger and more resource hungry official player however, as you would expect, this alternative does exactly the same job.
Foxit Reader - I have to say if I were to compile a list of applications I dislike the most, I'd say that Adobe Acrobat would be at the top - I'm not sure if it's just bad luck but I've found it incredibly slow and unstable on every computer I've ever installed it on. Having a PDF reader on your computer is absolutely necessary; these files which are designed for transmitting documents complete with layout and images have a habit of cropping up everywhere. The Foxit reader runs like greased lighting and is would appear to be a great deal more stable than the official Adobe release.
Firefox - We've covered this one a dozen times before. This alternative to the massively bloated Internet Explorer is free, much faster, more functional and more secure. It really is a must.
Media Player Classic - Whilst this application looks like it is almost two decades old, it's possibly one of the most comprehensive media players and is designed as an alternative to Windows Media Player which ships with Windows. Consisting of a 2mb download, Media Player Classic doesn't even need installing - it consists of one file that you run whenever you want to use the application. It is best used when in conjunction with the Realplayer and Quicktime alternatives previously mentioned as with these three installed on your machine you will be able to play practically any format using the one player.
Rather than giving URL's for each individual application, you're probably best using a site such as www.freewarefiles.com to select and download them. All of the above are available free of charge and don't include any suspicious Adware or Spyware.
About the Author
Chris Holgate writes a weekly article of all things tech related. He is a copyrighter of the online Ink and Toner website Refresh Cartridges http://www.refreshcartridges.co.uk . These articles can be found in an archive at http://www.computerarticles.co.uk
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