[xdude]

Shared prices are high and have a demand coz of share holders. They expect growth and profits. So basically nothing those commercial companies provide for free comes without a price. Like Google scan every mail sent by gmail. they say its because that way they can display personalized advertisements but that just a part of the story. Its not just them. its same for all big companies which providing free mail or any other thing like search functions etc. Easy way to avoid this is using Linux and then use your own mail servers. Because these are the 2 biggest data mines. Then using a search engine like duckduckgo for search instead of Google search. Then has to stay off Social Media, phone apps etc.

personally I don't mind it. they are going to collect my personal preferences and then sell it as a bulk to some other company. These data protection laws are quite decent so there can be very limit harm happen to individual person. So it's become a choice are you willing to give up all of these are go for options like I mentioned before or willing let them use data. Interesting topic but I think we are moving away from the OP.

[Vuluts]

Keep on sharing fellas, some of the suggestions are not really a MUST to install but needed instead.

The following list are added on the main topic, as I say that these are a MUST install:
- DirectX,
- Java JRE
- Java JDK
- Updated drivers

Added a list of NEEDED to install also:
- Browsers (Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and etc.)
- Microsoft Office / Open Office
- Extractor (7zip / Winzip and etc.)

I'll keep update the list for further suggestions..

[NomadicSingularityArray]

Drivers are the very first thing that should be installed after the OS installation has been successfully performed. Always use the newest and latest drivers but try to avoid testing or beta drivers to keep full performance on par with stability.

After drivers you should install all Windows redistribution software packages like Microsoft Visual C++ Redist, .Net Framework, DirectX and such. This guarantees that your software has all the prerequirements that it needs to work. Although a lot of applications and games thankfully include the redistribution installers to install them in case they're missing.

And now you need the basic software to get through the day:
- archive manager (I highly recommend the latest 7Zip)
- proper text editor (Notepad++ is great and light)
- a web browser of your choice (I love Firefox)
- system cleaner tool that really works (I use professional CCleaner and it is much better than Windows onboard tools in most cases)
- Antivirus software (Win 10 comes with Defender already onboard and is good enough)

Not going to add more as a lot has already been mention actually. No need for more redundant content.

[smlog52]

After (re)installing OS drivers for all hardware have to be installed. After that all other softfare:
-Web browsers(Chrome, Firefox)
-Archive manager (7-zip)
-Media player (VLC)
-Antivirus (Avast)
-Ofiice suite(Microsoft Office)
-FTP Client (Filezilla)
-VM software (VirtualBox and VmWare Player)
-and software not listed here as needed

[Honey]

Why is java part of the MUST list? as far as I know you don't really need java in most cases, tho correct me If I am wrong

[Littlemaster]

For me the must have application for basic computer functions in Windows we need Microsoft office package including PowerPoint, Excel, Microsoft word, WinZip or any other zip extracting tool, Adobe PDF viewer, Google chrome, VLC player, etc.
I don't think at this time we need any other web browsers such as Firefox in our computer as Google chrome is more better. Well for advanced users we can we can get some privacy using this software apart from Google chrome.

[Honey]

For me the must have application for basic computer functions in Windows we need Microsoft office package including PowerPoint, Excel, Microsoft word, WinZip or any other zip extracting tool, Adobe PDF viewer, Google chrome, VLC player, etc.
I don't think at this time we need any other web browsers such as Firefox in our computer as Google chrome is more better. Well for advanced users we can we can get some privacy using this software apart from Google chrome.

I'd say setting Google better than other browsers is highly opinion based. I personally have 3 browsers installed on my PC(Firefox, Chrome, Opera), and for me Chrome comes last in the list.(First being opera, and 2nd being Firefox). Though my daily driver is Firefox, I like how smooth Opera works and really like its extra features. On the other hand, chrome is quite laggy for me despite having 8 GB of ram, It still takes forever to load and run, which was one of the major reasons I switched from chrome to firefox.