The software listed here are only the basic software needed to run your computer. Commonly, what software you need depends on the purpose of your computer.
1.) Operating System
You need operating system to run your computer. Without operating system, there is no need of computer at all. Common operating available today are : Windows 2000/XP/Vista from Microsoft, Linux, Mac OS X and BSD or Berkeley Unix.
2.) For Web Browsing
You need Web browser such as Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Opera.
3.) For emailing
The most common is Microsoft Outlook.
4.) For Word Processing
You need Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or OpenOffice.
5.) For Spreadsheet
You need Microsoft Excel.
6.) For Reports And Presentation
You need Microsoft Access and PowerPoint.
7.) For Viewing Movies and editing movies
Media Player comes already with the operating system.
But there are many available for market today such as Quicktime,
iPods, Winamp, RealPlayer, PowerDVD, WinDVD, RealPlayer, ULead, and etc.
8.) For Publishing
The Most common is Microsoft Publisher which is used to create, customize, publish materials such as newsletters, brochures, flyers, catalogs, and web sites.
9.) For Security
You need Anti-Virus software such as Norton AntiVirus and McAfee.
All these software are needed in any computer system but you can add any software you want, for example if you want games, you can install many software for games. For electronic design, you can install Inventor software. For graphic design you can install Adobe Photoshop or Corel Draw, for civil design you can install AutoCAD.