My Software Tools
Posted November 11th, 2008 by David FairGrand Marais temperatures dropped into the teens last night, and we had our first real snow last weekend! Lovely.
I thought I would share with you some of the software tools that I use everyday to make my life more productive and exciting. Some are free. Some are not.
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a computer operating system. Most of you are probably using Windows XP (according to W3Schools), which is a very stable operating system released by Microsoft in 2002.
I recently started using Windows Vista (released in 2007). There have been lots of complaints against it. You have probably seen some of the popular “Windows PC vs. Apple Mac commercials“. I was skeptical of the change, but Vista came with my new computer. I was pleasantly surprised. I rather like it.
If you have a modern video card, Windows Vista is visually stunning. I also like the Sidebar on the desktop, where you can add and remove widgets. I’m currently using a calendar, “sticky” notes, calculator, and dictionary. These little applications are always open and available right on my desktop. There are thousands to choose from. There are lots of features and security enhancements (some would say too many).
Still, there’s no need to spend the money for an upgrade if you’re using reliable Windows XP. Just wait till you purchase a new computer to upgrade.
Microsoft Office 2007
The latest release of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc) is incredible! It’s as visually stunning as the new operating system, Windows Vista (above), and has lots of new features. If you spend a lot of time working in Office applications, the upgrade is worth the cost. Otherwise, Office 2003 is an excellent version, and I see no need to upgrade (rather expensive).
If you’re interested, there is a free alternative to Microsoft Office that is gaining in popularity. (In fact, free alternatives to all the expensive software you use is gaining in popularity. Chances are, you can probably find a free version of anything and everything you need.) It is called OpenOffice. Although it is free, you will need to invest time to learn the new interfaces of the OpenOffice applications. (http://Lynda.com is a great resource for learning OpenOffice and other applications … $25 per month, no contract. I blogged about Lynda.com here.)
Skype
Skype is a free phone / video service for your computer. Call anyone in the world and even see each other in real time – for free! Of course, you need a microphone and speakers for your computer — and a webcam if you want to see each other. Many new computers come with these built-in. You can find very inexpensive microphones ( ~ $10) online or at your local electronics store. I had my first free video call with my sister (1500 miles away) last week. Very cool!
Picnik.com
I blogged about this recently. Picnik.com is a free, online tool for editing your photos. It is totally fun and easy to use. There is so much you can do with your photos to enhance them or dress them up.
Adobe ConnectNow
I love this application! Adobe ConnectNow is a free, personal, online meeting space that includes video conferencing, audio, chat, and whiteboard features for collaboration. The most important aspect of online meeting spaces is the ability to share content, such as PowerPoint presentations, applications, or even your entire desktop. This allows everyone in the meeting to see the same thing at the same time while it is happening in real time. You can even take control of another participant’s computer (provided they give you permission, of course). This is very useful for troubleshooting a computer problem and also for collaborating together on a document or other project.
I recently blogged about Adobe ConnectNow on my professional blog.
Note that Adobe ConnectNow limits you to three participants at a time. There is a paid version (Adobe Connect) if you need to include more participants on a regular basis, but it is very expensive.
Flock
I’m sure everyone has heard of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. In fact, Market Share indicates that the overwhelming majority of people still use Internet Explorer. I did, too, until recently. I started experimenting with other browsers such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Flock. They are all free, and they all have different features that make them appealing.
After much testing, I have settled on Flock as my numero uno tool of choice. As a learning professional, I have delved into many of the social opportunities that the Internet now offers, such as social networking (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Pownce), social bookmarking (Delicious, Diigo), RSS feeds (for staying up-to-date with blogs), photo sharing (Flickr, Picasa), video sharing (YouTube, Truveo), and email (Yahoo, Gmail, AOL Mail). Flock is a unique browser that enables me to follow all these social tools (and others) in one place.
Social networking (a.k.a. Web 2.0) is another topic for another time, but it is noteworthy that all the social networking tools I listed above (and many, many more) are all free.
If you do not use social networking tools, you probably will not find Flock to be all that different from other browsers. In that case, I would recommend Firefox. Flock and Firefox are built on the same technology. Firefox (and Flock) offer scores of plugins that can add new functionality to your browser.
I know this was a lengthy post, but I hope you find some benefit in any or all of the applications listed here. There are many others I could have added to my list. It’s your turn. What applications do you rely on?
Tags: applications, resources, software, tools
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