What Programs I Use
As a geek I am constantly interested in other peoples choices in software, I like to know what they are using and why. In the interests of this noble (albeit pointless) pursuit, I have listed what software I use regularly and why I am using it.
I am talking about software I personally use, not what we use at work.
Browser
Firefox 2 + Extensions
Get Firefox, extensions I use…
Email Client
Microsoft Outlook 2007 + Xobni
I currently use Outlook 07 because I get a copy from work with our developers license (hurrah!) and I also use a neat plug-in called Xobni (It’s Inbox Backwards).
I find Xobni really useful, it adds a sidebar into Outlook that keeps track of all the emails I am sending/receiving and who they are going to/coming from.
It’s really handy for a quick view at the last couple of emails you exchanged with a person if they email you out of the blue, it’s also cool because it has some analytics functionality built in so I can see how long it takes me on average to respond to people.
You can read a little more about Xobni //here//
Instant Messaging
Digsby
Digsby will replace all your other instant messaging programs… literally. It lets you sign into multiple messaging programs at once, multiple email accounts & multiple social networks.
I find it really handy being able to log in once, and know I am logged into all the different services, Work & Personal MSN/Google Chat/Aim/Facebook Chat etc.
I also have a gadget on my Facebook page and here on the blog so people can talk to me through Digsby, so I don’t have to give out my personal contact information if I don’t want to.
You can read more about Digsby //here//
Tracking Internet Activity
RescueTime
To keep track of what I generally split my day/week into online I use RescueTime. It’s incredibly simple, basically all you have to do is install it and from that point it tracks what you do on the computer and uploads it to the RescueTime website.
When you log into the website you are greeted with some graphs of your latest Internet activity and the ability to categorize certain sites and rate how productive they are.
You can then set up goals if you wish, or otherwise just view your activity by category over a time-period.
More info //here//
Microblogging
Twitter + Twhirl
I use Twitter because I like its simplicity.
I have changed Twitter clients a lot to try and find one I really like, Twhirl has caught my fancy and kept it… that is until something better comes along.
Twitter //here//
Twhirl //here//
Feed Reader
Google Reader
Originally when I started using a feed reader I just couldn’t get into it, I think it’s because I went a bit overboard and subscribed to every website under the sun.
It was disheartening to get a break and have hundreds of items to read.
When I came back to it I decided to use something web based so that my reading from home was synched to what I was reading at work, and Google Reader seemed a good fit.
It works and it’s easy to use, the perfect combination.
More info //here//
Website Analytics
Google Analytics + Analytics Reporting Suite
On the blog here as well as on the ProWorkflow.com website we use Google Analytics, I like the fact I can access it anywhere and its not dependant on server access (as the ProWorkflow server is secured).
I also use the “Analytics Reporting Suite” which is an adobe air application that lets you access your account on your desktop.
Google Analytics //here//
Adobe Air //here//
Google Analytics Reporting Suite //here//
Podcasts/Blogcasts
Podnova + Juice
I listen to a lot of podcasts throughout the work day, it’s a great way to pass the day when you’re doing something monotonous or you simply want to listen to something more interesting than the radio or music.
Mine consist almost exclusively of gaming related podcasts, I use a website called Podnova to keep my subscriptions up to date and then use a program called Juice to actually download the podcasts.
With Podnova, my subscriptions are independent of any computer, so I can listen to the latest podcasts directly off the website if I can’t get to my computer and if anything goes wrong with my computer I won’t have to re-subscribe to all the different feeds because they weren’t stored on it. It also means I can add new subscriptions on the go (for example at work) and it is updated into the program for me.
Juice is simply the receiver, it displays the latest downloads in a logical order and pre-sets up playlists for use in windows media player that are kept up to date.
Podnova //here//
Juice //here//
Project Management
Microsoft Word, ProWorkflow
I have a simple tasks list that I keep up to date using Microsoft word, for anything other than day to day tasks I have a personal ProWorkflow account where I keep my goals on track.
ProWorkflow information //here//
Music
Windows Media Player, Last.fm, Picard + Cover Art Downloader Plug-in
I am extremely anal when it comes to keeping my music organized, I use MusicBrainz Picard to lookup proper track information/embed album art in the tracks/rename & move the file/embed id3 information. What it means in plain English is all my tracks have perfect album information on them.
I listen to everything with Windows Media Player because then I can control it with my keyboard’s buttons, it displays track information in my keyboard’s little screen, my ratings are embedded in the file and you can make complex auto-playlists.
A gripe I have with iTunes is that it stores all your track ratings in one central file which can be lost rather easily when moving music around and isn’t displayed on external devices (because it’s not stored in the file). If you are rating items and you are using a windows PC I would recommend using Windows Media Player.
Last.fm keeps track of every song I listen to so it can suggest songs to me based on past listening history and I can also see my music tastes change over time.
Picard //here//
Cover Art Downloader Plug-in //here//
Last.fm //here//
Blogging
WordPress + Windows Live Writer
I use WordPress because there are plenty of easily editable templates and there are lots of available plug-ins.
I use Windows Live Writer to actually write and edit all the blogposts, it’s great to use if you’re on a WordPress blog because it downloads your template files so you can see a preview of what your post will look like when it’s finally posted and you can write/edit posts locally.
WordPress can be found //here//
Get Windows Live Writer //here//
PDF Creation
CutePDF
Regularly I have a document exactly how I want it to display and I want to turn it into a PDF without having to re-format the whole thing.
Instead of paying Adobe, there is a perfectly good program called CutePDF that installs itself as a printer so you simply click print and select CutePDF as the printer and you’re done.
More information //here//
Printscreen Replacement
Gadwin Printscreen
Gadwin Printscreen replaces the standard print-screen behavior (where it copies the whole page) and instead freezes all screens when you click printscreen. You can then leisurely drag out a rectangular area of what you want to copy and double click.
You can set it up to do fancy things like save to disk automatically or print automatically but I spend the majority of my time just copying my selection directly into a new mail message or blog post.
Information //here//
Exercise
HyperStrike
I enjoy exercise but I hate gyms because they lock you into restrictive contracts and charge you money to use equipment that you don’t really need.
I find I want to do exercise but I have no idea what to specifically do, how long I should do it or how often. Even if I went to a gym, without a trainer I doubt I would really know what exactly to do with the equipment or how long to use it.
This is where HyperStrike comes in, you tell it your weigh & height, what equipment you have (in my case none), and what you want (training for something, strength, lean etc).
Tell it when you can work out and it will create a workout on each of those days, you tell it when you’ve done the exercise and if you did more/less than it recommended and it takes it into account next time so that you are always improving.
You can read more //here//
Comment below and let us know what you use!
Filed under: Programs