Installing an operating system takes long enough, but  the tedious process of installing applications later on often takes longer. Thankfully, a new application for Windows called Ninite promises to speed the process up.

Ninite is a system admin’s dream come true. Dozens of free widely-used applications can be installed in just a few mouse clicks, including Firefox, Google Chrome, Audacity, iTunes, FileZilla, 7-Zip, uTorrent, Adobe Reader, Flash, VLC, and Open Office.

Best of all, it’s free for personal use. Features such as local and network caching are also available, but will soon be removed from the free version when a paid premium version is launched. No word on pricing is available yet, but considering how many man-hours it could save in an IT department, it looks like it will be a worthwhile investment.

I am pleased to announce that I have been accepted as writer at Blog Critics, an online magazine boasting “a sinister cabal of superior writers” that reaches more than 100,000 visitors every day. PC Fastlane readers are invited to check out my first piece, “Could Windows 7 Bail Out the Tech Industry?”

Regular readers here need not be afraid, however. Writing for Blog Critics will not affect my work here at PC Fastlane.