Free Software
From notebook
Start Menu X makes Windows 7 look like XP ClassicShell makes Windows 8 look like XP
PDFBinder concatenates PDF files into one long pdf file
TurnedOnTimesView wells you when you turned off and on your computer in the past (since purchase?). We have to report when we come to and leave work. ClipX a clipboard extender that lets you save lots of clipboard copies instead of one and go back and select one from yesterday or earlier that day. A must. there are also plugins to save to disk and for stickies for those phrases you use lots - you can also use autohotkey. ClipX for the less frequent, perhaps.
KeyWtweak and RandyRants Sharpkeys Lets you remap keyboard keys. I find that I never use Katakana and Hiragana only input methods such as provided by the key to the right of the one to the right of space bar on Japanese keyboards, so I map these two keys together, and the Insert key to nothing or a mute button. RandyRants Sharpkeys does not allow the mapping of all keys on a Japanese keyboard. Key Tweak allows for a teaching mode so I think it is superior.
CamStudio and wink are okay screen video capture applications.
Google Desktop still in 2017 I am using Google Desktop on Win7 and Win8. CLTRL twice to make it pop up.
Autohotkey for shortcut keys to do cool things such as instantly add a html link to the url in the clipboard by pressing alt 1 and other HTML shortcuts for when I am writing html in flickr descriptions. Autohotkey Scripts
Zip Genius Compression tool
PDF Xchange Free PDF EDITOR
Sakura Editor Japanese friendly text editor with more functions than notebook
Not free but the poor mans Photoshop Photoimpact
Free photoshopalikes include Gimp Kirata Pinta and Paint.net
Pure Text lets you paste as text using (by default) Windows Key plus V.
ClipX so that you need never loose copied text again - multi clipboard software.
