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- 14 May, 2009 -
- Me, Technology -
- Tags : Me, Technology
- 2 Comments
I keep switching computers around at work and at home– just jumping from one computer to another to try something different out- and I have come up with a list of tools that I always install first thing when I take a new windows computer to use. I’ve done this so much lately, that I’ve put all of these tools on my usb drive that I keep on my key ring (isn’t that a geeky thing to have?).
- Firefox - an extensible browser that renders appropriately
- Filezilla – easy to use ftp client
- Notepad ++ – small text file editor
- VLC - media player that will play almost any video or audio file
When I take on a new Mac or Linux machine I still use Firefox and Filezilla, but have a different text editor.
I also have a set of extensions that I always install in Firefox the first time I use it.
- Xmarks (was foxmarks) – a bookmarks synchronizer (I don’t use the password sync feature)
- Firebug – a quick html/css inspector
- Screengrab! – take a quick screenshot and save it or paste it.
- Measureit – answers how long or deep is that image?
I have a lot of others that I eventually end up installing when I need them, but these are normally the first four.
So what tools do you always use?
The first thing you should install on any Windose box is Linux, and forget the rest! And there is only one editor you need on a Linux box, and that’s vi.
I’ve got unbuntu on a netbook that I use at home most of the time and it works great for me. I also had it running on an old desktop at home and it was great because it kept the kids from downloading and installing games, but I had to switch it back to XP because Jennifer needed to run some program for the kids school.