Dropbox. This is an awesome online service that sets up a shared “folder” on your computer that actually resides on their servers. Therefore, when you save a document in the Dropbox folder on your computer, it’s instantly and automatically synced with the Dropbox server. When you install Dropbox on your computers and mobile devices (I also have it running on the iPhone & Blackberry), you can have instant access to any files you’re working on. The one downside to this, over a flash drive, is that it’s over the internet, so unless you want to sit and wait for the upload/download process, it’s really best suited for small files. Word documents, a photo or two, and text documents (which I use for lists and emails I’m editing), are the majority of what I use it for, and for those things, it’s wonderful!
Filezilla. This is an FTP program that I’ve been using for several years. I used to use WS-FTP, and actually used to pay for the yearly updates. At one point, I had some trouble with WS_FTP crashing and so I decided to try Filezilla. Almost immediately I realized it was a much better program (and it was free)! On every machine I work on, I install Filezilla and then import an XML file that contains the sites I’m currently working with. Every so often I import a current XML file in all of the machines so that they’re all up-to-date with my project websites. Filezilla does not take up many system resources and does everything I need it to do, very easily, so I’m happy with it.
LogMeIn. This site is a real God-send. It makes logging into remote computers so much EASIER than trying to use Remote Desktop or any other service. I probably have over 10 computers that it’s installed on and any time I need a file, or make a change to the machine, or anything else, it takes literally <20 seconds to be on it. This service is also great for working over public wi-fi or a possibly insecure network without having to worry about your sensitive data. Let’s say you want to do some online banking from Starbucks. Normally, I’d be really hesitant to do that because you don’t know how secure the connection is, but with LogMeIn, you can securely log into another computer and do your work on that machine (maybe it’s one at home or an office with a secure connection). The data passed between your computer and LogMeIn is encrypted, so you don’t have to worry about credit card numbers, or any other potentially sensitive information being seen by anyone else.
Xmarks. Firefox is the only browser I use for several reasons. First of all, it’s fast and uncluttered, unlike IE. Second, because of a plugin called Adblock that blocks hundreds of thousands of advertisements from downloading and displaying on websites. Third, because of Xmarks. Xmarks is a little synchronization program that syncs all your bookmarks across any computers it’s installed on. I don’t have tons of bookmarks, but I have a set of ones I use a lot, and I’m really picky about organizing them. With Xmarks I can do that, and have them organized on any computer I work on simply by installing the program and logging in to my Xmarks account. I guarantee if you use more than one computer, you will love this program!
Evernote. I just started using this a couple weeks ago, but so far it’s really nice to use. I like the fact that instead of saving a document on the machine, your only option is to “sync” — so you never forget to sync later (which I might forget if I was typing in Word or Notepad). It does act a little flaky sometimes – have had trouble with certain keystrokes pulling it up when I didn’t want it, but assuming that works out, I will probably use it for blog and email drafts.
GIMP. I am a Photoshop user, but at something like $600 for a single copy of it, I only have one copy (and it’s ancient because I got it back in my second year of college). Therefore, I only have PS running on my main computer at church – the powerhouse I do for any hardcore editing or projects. On everything else, it’s challenging to edit images quickly, but of the available options, GIMP is my favorite. It’s slow, and it’s weird (compared to PS), but it does do a reasonable job of image editing/cropping/saving/whatever and you can’t argue with the price! A lot of people use and like Photoshop Elements, but personally, I find it to be too consumer-oriented, and it takes me longer to do things in it than in Photoshop.
Google Talk. As a longtime Gmail fanboy, Google Talk is the best way to use Google Chat as well as getting new mail notifications. When installed, Google Talk pops up a small (Outlook type) box in the corner of the screen whenever a new email comes in. For chat duties, Google Talk (although it doesn’t handle video) is the nicest way to communicate with the service — I don’t like being stuck in the browser.
So, there’s my list!
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