Right about now there are lots of people shopping for
computers in anticipation of a new school year, a new job, or a new graduate. A
computer is easily the most powerful tool of our age, and with all the ways to
customize a machine, it is arguably one of the most versatile as well. However,
there is one very annoying and very mandatory thing that everyone, from young
owner to old, is subjected to. That is, of course, installing software on the
computer.
There are many things to install when you first use your new
computer, and many of them are easy to forget because they work automatically,
such as Java, Flash, and Adobe Reader. We installed them so long ago on our old
machine that the only time we ever think of them is when a pop-up announces we
need an update. So it's easy to see why installing every app we've never
thought of takes a large amount of time, and frustration if we discover we've
forgotten one.
Happily, Patrick Swieskowski and Sascha Kuzins fixed this
problem for us when they built their site, Ninite. Ninite is a free service
that anyone can use without registering for anything or entering an email of
any kind into any box, which is honestly very refreshing. It's a very simple
interface for anyone to use: simply click on the programs that you want to
install and hit the "Install" button at the bottom of the page. You
may also have to get the Installer for Ninite, but it's a very quite download.
Hit the run button on the executable file tab and you're ready to go. It takes
a while to install everything, depending on how many you chose, so be patient
and wait for it to do its job. Ninite knows instinctively which version of the
software it needs to install (32 or 64 bit?), and it does it efficiently.
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| All these apps can be yours for free and all at once from Ninite! |
Once the installation
is complete, you'll be able to use any program it just installed. The icons for
successfully installed programs will also appear on your desktop. If you want,
Ninite also offers an updater tool which allows you to update all of the free
software at once instead of waiting for the pop-up window to tell you it's
time. This system allows for streamlined work and is a great help for a busy
college student or professional alike.
While it doesn't install professional software you'd
otherwise have to pay for (Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, etc.), it
does provide an easy way to make sure you've gotten all of the free stuff available,
and maybe even show you some you didn't know existed! Remember, if you're a
Hopkins student or an alum, you can get a free copy of the Microsoft Office
Suite from the Hopkins Technology Store. We did a blog article about that
service here.
Ninite is a service that works on Windows and Linux systems,
so Mac users are a bit out of luck (sorry guys). There are some alternatives
for the Mac system though, so don't lose hope! Some good alternatives with
decent interfaces are Get Mac Apps and Bodega, but I'd be shocked if Ninite
wasn't working on a way to become the app installing center of the interwebs
for both PC and Mac. Bodega seems to be a permanent feature to a Mac, with its
own space in Launchpad and a Mac interface that is accessible at any time, but
this is based on limited interactions with it.
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| Bodega is a Mac alternative to Ninite. |
This tool is hugely useful but surprisingly not well known,
so the next time you get a new computer, make sure you use Ninite or one of the
Mac assistants to get the most out of your computer's lifetime. Ninite rules!