Here’s a list of my current software favorites:
Free software – internet:
- FileZilla – Mozilla FTP client
- FireFox – the best web browser (as for now at least)
- Miranda IM – instant messaging client
- ThunderBird – good email program
- uTorrent – supersmall bittorrent client
- PuTTY – ssh client
Free software – media:
- Audacity – very capable sound editor
- CDex – rip CD’s
- DVD Decrypter – rip/decrypt DVD movies
- DVD Shrink – shrink DVD movies for DVD-R’s
- Handbrake – video transcoding tool
- Inkscape – vector graphic software to edit SVG files
- VLC Media Player – the best media player
- WinAmp – reasonable mp3 player
Free software – tools:
- FoxIt Reader – a very lightweight alternative to Adobe PDF reader
- Instant EyeDropper – get HTML colors right off the screen
- Password Safe – open-source security tool for saving passwords
- SysInternals Process Explorer – extreme process viewer
- TrueCrypt – create encrypted disk volumes
- Wireshark – superior network sniffer, last-resort tool for debugging tricky network apps
- ZoneAlarm – ok personal firewall
Free software – development tools/servers:
- Apache – web server
- MySQL – database server
- NetBeans PHP – good IDE for developing PHP apps
- Notepad++ – great text editor, kind of like a freeware UltraEdit
- PHP – grrrreat script language
- Reflector – superb .NET assembly viewer
Firefox extensions:
- Aardvark – clean pages before printing
- AdBlock Plus – removes advertisments
- Firebug – absolutely, positively the very best debugging/inspection extension ever. Can no longer build websites without it.
- StumbleUpon – a little button that randomly whisks you away to an interesting page online. Huge time-waster, but, oh, so addictive.
Must-recommend payware:
- TrueLaunchBar – quick launch on steroids