Software Recommendations

Notepad Replacement.
One of the first things I do with a fresh Windows install is replace the Notepad program with a more advanced version of my choice. Recently it is always Notepad++, a worthy programmers editor due to its syntax highlighting and multiple file tabs.
There are a whole host of reasons why this free editor is in such wide use today, but for me Notepad++ has first spot in my toolbox because I like it as a lightweight viewer/editor for one-off situations where I really don't feel like loading up my favourite editor just to take a quick peek at a file. I just find the file in Windows Explorer, right-click on it, and select "Edit with Notepad++" (which is a context menu addition the Notepad++ installer makes that you'll actually find handy rather than annoying). No long load time, no fuss.
Programming Environments.
One of the most versatile GUI environments around is the Eclipse offering, if becoming somewhat bloated of late.

A worthy alternative, I am told, is the NetBeans.

PDF Reader.
The most popular PDF reader is Adobe's Acrobat Reader, which is available free of charge from their site. There is, however, growing opposition to the sheer amount of "bloat" included in the offering - current versions being many megabytes of bumpf. Although there is no guarantee it will still help with the latest versions, if you are using Adobe, check out this old speed-up utility which disables most of the unnecessary plugins and dramatically improves document load times.
A brilliant, free alternative is the tiny PDF reader from FoxIT . . . do yourself a favour and check it out.
By far my favourite, however, is another free alternative that includes decent markup and editing ... Get PDFXChange Viewer now ...
PDF Printer.
Install a new printer - that outputs your docs as PDF. Easy, handy, free !
Look for Primo PDF from ActivePDF . . . "Totally Free PDF because it's Everybody's PDF"