I just put together a new page that lists all of the things that I use! I was inspired by checking out Uses.Tech, where developers and techies list the tools they use to get work done. I’d love for you to check it out and let me know what tools you find valuable!
software
Updated: New Computer Install List
My new work laptop arrived at work today, so now I’m in the midst of getting everything set up and running. I’ve posted in the past about the applications I install by default. But I wanted to offer an updated listed, as things are always changing.
Personal Productivity Apps (covered by work)
- Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise (Students can get Ultimate for Cheap at MS’s TheUltimateSteal.com)
- Microsoft Visio 2007
- Microsoft Project 2007
- Microsoft Expression 2 Suite
- Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 (Students can get both Expression and VS from MS DreamSpark)
I’ve included the list from last time, and updated what I’ve stopped/started using:
Internet:
- Mozilla FireFox and the following extensions:
- Del.icio.us Bookmarks
- AdBlock Plus
- ForecastFox
- Web Developer
- FasterFox
- Mozilla Thunderbird (for personal email)
Pidgin(for IM)- Digsby – Awesome client, new test version uses 1/2 the memory Filezilla FTP client
- Office Communicator
- Feed Demon an outstanding desktop RSS reader which recently became free (I was paying for it prior)
Apps & Utilities:
- MS Office 2007
- FoxIt Reader a PDF alternative to the bloated Adobe Reader
PDF Creator- UltraVNC – The viewer on my work desktop, VNC installed on my home desktop
Burnaware- Launchy – Perfect application launcher for keyboard junkies
- ObjectDock – “Sidebar” application launching
- Windows Live Writer – What I use for blogging
- MRemote – To manage multiple MS Remote Desktops/Terminal Servies, I haven’t had great results with VNC though
- MS LiveMesh
- Evernote
Scripting:
- NotePad++ – Best general purpose editor hands-down
Photos & Multimedia:
- MediaMonkey – Incredible media manager, especially if you have a large library (I paid for this one, but there is a free version).
- Last.fm – Scrobble and track what I listen to (my profile)
- TagScanner – For updating ID3 Tags
- SharePod – Managing my iPod without iTunes
- VLC Media Player – For videos, DVD’s and single-file playing
- Windows Live Photo Gallery – Easy way to manage, edit, tag and share photos (there is Flickr integration as well)
FastStone Image Viewer– On-the-fly image preview & browsing- Paint.NET – More in-depth photo editing
System Utilities:
- Defraggler – Disk Defragmenting
- AutoRuns – eliminate annoying startup programs
- CCleaner – Get rid of crap, cookies and temp files
- Unlocker – Gets you out of those “access denied” binds during deletions
- Process Explorer – Task manager on steroids
- Java Runtime Environment
- Tugzip – Great alternative to Winzip, not quite WinRar, but free and open-source
- Synctoy – to synchronize files between my work desktop and laptop, works great if you’re on the same network
Security:
- Windows Vista Firewall works pretty well, but at home I use Comodo
- AVG Anti-Virus (for the home computer, we use a separate solution at work)