One of the most time consuming parts of purchasing a new computer is installing all your programs. It’s not always easy to remember what programs you had installed, but one trick I’ve used on Windows is to open Control Panel, click on Uninstall or Change a Program, maximize the windows and take a screenshot that shows a list of all installed programs.
Once I have that list I can decide which programs I want to install on new computer. Some you may decide that you no longer need.
But one way to speed up the process is to use a small but nifty utility called Ninite.
Head on over to the Ninite website, select the apps you want to install, and click on the Get Installer button. This will install the Ninite installer and then retrieve and install the programs you selected. It’s smart in that it installs the most stable version of each program. It even knows if you’re running a 64-bit version of Windows and will install 64-bit apps if available.
Ninite goes about its business in the background installing the programs to their default locations. Ninite doesn’t push any extra trial software or toolbars on your either.
One feature I like is that Ninite can also be used to update your apps. Run it a few weeks later and it will check to see if you’re running the latest stable versions. If not, it will update those apps for you.
I love simple, time-saving utilities that do exactly what they say they will, and Ninite is one of the best. Give it a try and see what you think. Ninite is one of the first couple of programs I install when building a new computer.
Ninite runs on both Windows and Linux.