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Whether you're doing a clean install of Windows 7, getting a new computer from a deep discount on Black Friday, or getting a full-priced present, you owe it to yourself to check out this revamped collection of the most essential freeware tools for Windows. The programs in the Windows Starter Kit 2010 will work on Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7. These basics will get you up and running without even glancing askance at your wallet. If you're specifically looking for security tools, we've rounded up the best freeware security options in the Security Starter Kit.

There was much less movement in the Windows Starter Kit this year than in the Security Starter Kit, but there were still some changes that are worth calling out. Among the three recommended browsers, we moved Chrome ahead of Opera, although Firefox still retains top-dog status. Likewise, Mozilla's Thunderbird remains the best free desktop e-mail client. Had the Thunderbird-based Postbox remained free as it was in beta, we would've added it to the list.

In productivity apps, image editors, music jukeboxes, and video jukeboxes there was no movement at all. The GIMP is still the best Photoshop alternative that doesn't skimp on features, while Paint.NET is excellent for quick and dirty edits. We still recommend MediaMonkey as the best non-iTunes alternative, and we still recommend iTunes--despite its bloat--because it's still the industry standard. We expect these categories to be contentious because there are so many options available, so please let us know in the comments if you disagree with our choices.

TweetDeck and Seesmic Desktop (not pictured) debuted in the new Social Networking category this year.

(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)

File compression and torrent management didn't change either, although we added the impressive Trillian redo and Skype to the chat category. Social networking debuted as a new category, with two options: Seesmic and TweetDeck. In Utilities, we added Revo Uninstaller, threw in a second Notepad replacement, and replaced Launchy with Find and Run Robot.

The hard part of coming up with a collection like this is keeping it concise, especially when it comes to Windows utilities. The fun part, though, is hearing your thoughts. So check out the kit, and let us know what you think in the comments below.

(Credit: Aether & Hemera)

With the IKEA aesthetic taking over so many homes, you might be yearning for furniture that reflects your mood. Literally. The interactive Mood Chair by U.K. designers Aether & Hemera "changes color in response to the colors that its sensors perceive from the environment and the users."

Is it accurate? We're not sure. But we give the artists props for reminding us of mood rings from our adolescent years.

Aether & Hemera play with LED lights, fiber optics, projections, and UV lamps, creating installations that explore light and its power to trigger a sense of identity or set a mood. Although the partially translucent Mood Chair may never make it into living rooms, the design would sit well in a commercial setting.

(Via Technabob)

Black Friday is almost upon us, and the steep hardware discounts mean new computers for many. To help you during these tough economic times, we've refreshed the Download.com Security Starter Kit for 2010. Although nothing can replace common-sense browsing, this collection of freeware security tools will help you protect new machines and old from pernicious threats, large and small. Longtime readers will notice that in addition to changing up our recommended antivirus program, we've fleshed out the Web browsing safety category, and made other changes as well. If you're looking for more than freeware security programs, check out the CNET Download.com Windows Starter Kit for 2010.

In this year's version, you can expect to see Avast chosen ahead of AntiVir as our most favored antivirus app. Despite its odd interface, Avast scored higher than any other freeware antivirus in a third-party test, and it doesn't skimp on protection, either, with e-mail, network, rootkit, and behavioral guards along with its top-rated virus protections.

We're still recommending Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for spyware removal, but we've also added PC Tools' standalone ThreatFire as an excellent way to strengthen behavioral detections and prevent spyware from infecting you in the first place. Recent improvements to the program have made it incredibly light on resources, and in our days of empirical testing we didn't notice it slowing down our computers at all.

New this year is the expanded in-browser security category. We've recommended five browsing tools that are available as add-ons, and we took care to make sure that they applied to as many of the major browsers as possible. However, Firefox's deep add-on toolbox makes it naturally the browser with the most diverse collection of security tools, so expect to see it heavily, although not exclusively, represented.

PC Tools' ThreatFire.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Firewalls used to be the forefront of security, but now they're just another tool you should have. Microsoft has made the native Windows 7 firewall impressively useful, but we realize that not everybody has Windows 7, and even those who do might want an alternative. This year, Online Armor joins Comodo on the list.

In Encryption, TrueCrypt remains the gold standard. The Thunderbird extension Enigmail joins it as a must-have tool for keeping your private e-mails as you intended them--away from prying eyes. In Parental Control, we've added OnlineFamily.Norton. It's not strictly desktop based, although to use it you must use its desktop hook, called Norton Safety Minder. Symantec has created what looks to be a unique and free approach that includes an emphasis on parental education and attempts to foster parent-child communication about how to use the Internet safely. We're of the opinion that anything that helps parents realize that browsing the Internet is far more than a TV with options is a good thing.

If you disagree with our security and safety choices for the Security Starter Kit, please let us know in the comments below.

If I show up for something on time, it's probably an accident. Some of us just weren't born with internal clocks that sync up with the rest of the world--the gifts in the gallery below are for people who're late for everything.

I was late turning this in, so surely, there's something I missed--toss your own ideas in the comments.

Passive-aggressive gifts for tardy geeks (photos)

This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.

Nissan's all electric Leaf goes into mass production next year.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Automakers tend to agree that the electrification of the car is inevitable, but Nissan is leading the way by readying a mass-market, affordable electric car for production. The Leaf is a midsize hatchback with a range of a little more than 100 miles, according to Nissan. Although Nissan didn't let us drive it, the company brought the Leaf to CNET's headquarters so we could get a close look at what might be the future of driving.

2011 Nissan Leaf photos

When Nissan first released pictures of the car, commenters found it ugly, with its bulbous headlights giving it a frog-like appearance. But in person, the length of the car mitigates that criticism. And looking over those headlights, we could see that they are longer, and more fin-shape than bulbous. The lights are LEDs, used because of their low power draw. The shape of the headlight casings has an aerodynamic purpose, splitting airflow around the side mirrors.

A hatch in front of the car conceals two plug-in points, one a standardized socket for electric vehicles and the other a proprietary Nissan design that can charge the batteries to 80 percent in 30 minutes. The Nissan plug, which would only work with very specific charging stations, uses DC power so that the onboard inverter doesn't have to convert external AC power for the DC batteries. The standardized plug will work with more sources, taking AC power from the grid and running it through the inverter, lengthening the time it takes to charge the batteries.

Nissan developed the lithium ion batteries for the Leaf in conjunction with NEC. The batteries are flat slabs that fit in the chassis of the car. Weighing about 500 pounds, the battery placement and distribution helps to lower the Leaf's center of gravity. Beyond charging from a plug, the Leaf also incorporates regenerative braking. Similar to the Tesla, as soon as you lift off the accelerator, regenerative braking kicks in, sending juice to the batteries and slowing the car.

The Nissan Leaf goes on sale in December of 2010 as a 2011 model. Nissan is counting on 20,000 preorders for the car, and will initially build them in Japan. By the third model year, the company expects to start producing them from its plant in Smyrna, Tennessee.

The new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 already up to its first firmware update.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Updatable firmware is a mixed blessing. On one hand, it can help keep your hardware from obsolescing as new accessories ship; fix bugs; and expand feature sets on older models. But it's also beginning to feel like camera manufacturers have jumped on the (annoying) ship now/patch later software bandwagon.

More and more, companies seem to announce firmware updates within weeks of a camera's widespread availability: the Canon EOS 7D, Pentax K-7, Olympus E-P1 are all among the cameras that had firmware updates available within the first few months after shipping. The latest to add to that list is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1, which is barely out the door.

The camera update theoretically delivers improved autofocus performance during movie capture, better high-ISO quality, and enhanced auto white balance, among a few other things. Along with the camera, however, are a host of firmware upgrades for all of Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds-compatible lenses as well (you can find all of Panasonic's updates here.) Depending upon the lens, the update enables and/or improves autofocus performance while shooting movies.

With four Android phones in its stable, T-Mobile remains the Google Android leader. Its latest model is the Samsung Behold II, which offers a brilliant display and one of the best media players we've seen on an Android phone so far.

But just a week earlier, and the same day it introduced its Motorola Droid, Verizon Wireless unveiled the HTC Droid Eris. Also a touch-screen phone without a physical keyboard, the Droid Eris offers all the features you'd expect from an Android phone, while adding full multitouch and deeper levels of customization with the HTC Sense interface.

The two devices are similar, but they're distinct in their own way. So how will they fare in the CNET Prizefight ring? Read our Samsung Behold II vs. HTC Droid Eris Prizefight find out.

(Credit: The Container Store)

Chances are at least one of your friends or family members owns an iPod. Or maybe you're planning on giving one as a gift this holiday season. Perhaps you have one yourself and think even inanimate objects deserve presents.

Whatever the reason, it's the perfect time to pick up some accessories for this ubiquitous MP3 player. Rest assured, there is no shortage of add-ons for the iPod; in fact, wading through the sea of cases, speakers, chargers, and car mounts for this device can be a bit of a daunting task.

This is precisely why we've packaged a slew of neat little extras right here in this handy one-stop-shopping post. Heck, there's even some iPhone-worthy stuff scattered about, so make sure you give 'em all a look.

iPod Shuffle accessories

iPod Nano accessories

iPod Classic accessories

iPod Touch accessories

Headphones with iPod controls

Car docks for the iPod

Best iPod speakers

Best headphones

Seriously, a plant pot in your monitor. I bet you'll never question the "greeness" of this monitor now!

(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)

LED monitors were the new hotness at CES last January, but it wasn't until the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 debuted that we really started to believe in them.

That was the first monitor that really seemed to live up to what has been promised by LED monitor manufacturers'.

That monitor was followed by several more that, while not as impressive as the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370, were still good, solid monitors--like the LG W2486L and AOC V22.

The new BenQ V2400 Eco gets a few things right--very low power consumption and a thin design. Not to mention a small pot built into the footstand, just in case you wanted start a small garden in your monitor. Seriously.

Check out the full review to see what else it gets right (and wrong).