Since I just did ANOTHER reinstall of windows 7 I thought I should take a minute and jot down some of the essential programs and services you might consider using...

Gmail - Google email - use it when you need to sign up for something that requires an email address and keep spam down to a minimum!

Norton 360 - Keeps you safe and your pc running smoothly

Firefox - Browse the web properly - MUCH better than IE

Thunderbird - Email Client supports your personal email and gmail!

Moz Backup - Backs up your email and browser because nothing is worse than losing all your bookmarks, mail or logins!

Notepad++ A better text editor

Open Office MS Office replacement

Print Screen Captures your screen for sharing

WinSCP A program that transfers files to and from your website