New Website Wednesday – Ninite

Want to see your website featured on New Website Wednesday? Send it in here!

This weekend just gone, I decided to reinstall windows on an old PC of mine. For the past year or so, I have only ever used my laptop and never bothered to take my desktop computer out of storage. For one it saved a tonne on power. And two, it was easy to take my work where ever I needed it, without having to transfer data/code around.

But, it came to a point where I wanted a computer that was to be solely used for my Wachahost work. So it was to be void of all the crap that most computers collect over the years, and just have the bare essentials.

One thing that I always hate when it comes to reinstalling an OS on a computer, is getting back all the bare essentials. You wouldn’t think it, but each time I do a fresh install, I have to download atleast 20 applications/utilities that I feel I need for my day to day life. It may sound like alot, but when you think about all the plugins you need to make the web function nowadays, Flash, .Net Framework, Silverlight, Firefox/Chrome, MSN/Aim, Skype, and even Adobe reader. It all quickly adds up.

Add onto that things that you really need on your computer for it to actually feel like a computer, VLC, Codecs, Anti-virus, Anti-Spyware, Thunderbird/Outlook, Open Office/Microsoft Office. And you are quickly going to have a headache on your hands.

Usually I just download something like Firefox first, then as I run into situations when I need something, I simply download it. It is a bit easier then trying to remember everything at once. But using this strategy, you often run into situations when you need things NOW. Things as simple as Adobe reader can really bite you in the ass because it is something so simple, that you need for a huge range of things, and yet you always forget it.

Luckily, along comes Ninite.

I had heard about Ninite all over the web. Infact I have known about it for several months. The only problem is, There is really no use for it, other than if you reinstall a computer from scratch. Which in most cases, will not be any more than once per year. Which actually makes for a good talking point, is that there business model is built around something that you very very rarely do. But I digress.

Ninite allows you to select all your applications at once, and it bundles them into one big installer. It then installs them one after the other, with NO user interaction. Usually when you install something, you have to click next a bajillion times, and make sure you opt out of whatever toolbar they are trying to install. But Ninite takes care of all of that. It is actually interesting to note, that you never actually get a popup box about you agreeing to the individual applications terms and conditions. For example when you install Firefox, you usually get a popup to say “Yes I understand the terms blah blah”. But this never happens. Ninite has this in their own terms and conditions however :

Ninite installs third-party software. By using Ninite you certify that you have read and agree with the license agreements and restrictions of any software you install with Ninite.

But even so. It was a little surprising that this is all it takes to bypass all these install agreements.

Another awesome aspect to Ninite, is that while it is installing one application, it goes ahead and starts downloading the next one in the queue. Thus everything gets installed super speedy.

Overall, it isn’t just that Ninite installs applications for you automatically. It is the fact that you can go their page, and get an easy checklist of what you will need for your new PC. Even if they didn’t offer the install tool, I would still visit them for their super useful list of applications.

Want to see your website featured on New Website Wednesday? Send it in here!