Downloading and installing new desktop apps isn’t difficult, but it is time-consuming. If you’re working, clicking “Next” every few minutes interrupts your train of thought and messes with your productivity. Even if you’re just playing a game or surfing the web, it’s still annoying to have to constantly interrupt what you’re doing to move on to the next step of the installation process.
Ninite is a handy app that takes over this mind-numbing chore, allowing you to work or play while the software installs. All you have to do is choose the apps you want from their list, download the installer and then let Ninite do its thing. Obviously, you’re on your own if you want an app they don’t support, but they do have a pretty good selection and they are open to suggestions.
The other cool thing about Ninite is that it automatically says “No” to additional crapware bundles as it installs the software. That means no obnoxious web toolbars powered by search engines nobody uses any more. Yay for that!
Ninite’s UI is intuitive and functional, but not breathtaking. It would be nice if the install page had links to each of the apps, so that you could click through and see what each of them does without having to Google them.
Ninite would be most useful if you are setting up a new computer and need to install a lot of software at once. If you’re switching over to Windows 7 from an older version, I definitely recommend checking it out-it could be a real time saver!
The only (minor) problem I had with it was that when I used it to install the desktop version of Evernote, the Ninite at first said the installation had timed out-however, when I tried to reinstall, it turned out that the installation had been successful after all-Evernote was already on my computer. A second test run installing different apps went off without a hitch.
What do you think of Ninite?
Our Rating of Ninite
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