What Plug-Ins Should I Have?
Wednesday August 13, 2008
If nobody has formally explained Quicktime, Real Audio, Winzip, Flash Player, and Java Virtual Machine to you, then you might find this article very helpful. Written for both beginners and intermediate Internet users, this is a quick and helpful explanation of browser "plug-in" software, the top 11 choices, and how to find and install these tools.
"Yes, I would like plug-in guidance, please..."
Instead of trying winzip, use a program called 7zip. It will uncompress zip AND rar files. And many other formats.
The biggest bonus is that it’s about 10x quicker than winzip. Especially on a zip file that has lots of large files.
Your list of needed plugins is entire focused on PC users. I suggest adding some words for Mac users, since they need not worry about many of them – Safari ships with them preinstalled. And Firefox is an excellent alternative browswer (as it is on the PC).
Mac users should get the Flip4Mac Windows Media Plugin because MicroSofts’s version for the Mac is obsolete.
The Mac Preview program can read PDF files, so Acrobat isn’t needed. Java is in the OS, so that’s not needed.
To protect from rogue web sites, the best plugin is NoScript but that runs on Firefox only. (Its also available for Firefox PC users, and highly recommended.)
Several of the other items mentioned (WinZip and WinAmp come to mind) are specifically for the PC. Most Mac downloads these days are in .dmg format, which is automatically handled by the Mac.