gogogadgetearl . software
firefox extensions
- adblock plus: basically, it blocks ads - meaning it doesn't display them on the page, and it doesn't download them [so pages download faster!] -- that's right, no more "shoot the duck and win a free ipod" flashing ads! -- specifically, it allows the user to specify filters which remove unwanted content based on the source-address - so every time a web page loads, adblock will intercept and disable the elements matching your filters
- filterset.g updater: updates your adblock list to include the latest version of filterset.g [a list of the most common advertisement url patterns]
- tab mix plus: gives you very detailed options for your tabs, tab bar, and tab functions
- google toolbar: brings a more advanced google search to firefox -- includes a spell checker, form filler [automatically fills in your info for first/last name, e-mail, address...etc.], word translator, and an address linker [automatically links street addresses to maps] -- 99% of my use of it is for the up-a-directory button [ala windows explorer] and 1% is for the form filler :-P
- web developer: a toolbar full of tools that web developers can use to do things like outline elements, display element ids & classes, and validate your [x]html/css
- firebug: another developer toolbar that lets you edit, debug, and monitor css, [x]html, and javascript live in any web page
- download manager tweak: gives you more options to manipulate the display & function of the download manager
- download statusbar: drops a progress bar for each download at the bottom of the browser window
- downthemall: a download manager - separate from firefox's default download manager - that allows you to download all items [of a specific type] on a page at once [eg, all images, all videos, all zip files,...etc] -- plus, it can make multiple concurrent connections for each file [read: makes downloads faster than the default download manager]
- ie view: gives you the ability to open a page or a link in internet explorer
windows
- microsoft windows xp professional: the best version of windows to date [yes, it's better than vista]
- microsoft windows vista ultimate: currently i'm using [a legit copy of] vista ultimate on my main pc at home and on my media center pc...xp is still superior in performance and functionality on the desktop, but for a media center pc, vista is leaps and bounds better than xp mce 2005 [both in performance and functionality] -- i'm still interested in mythtv, but i haven't had the time to sit down and get it working yet
- mozilla firefox: an excellent internet explorer replacement...this is typically the very first thing i install on any of my computers -- to be honest, though, i like the speed, features, and feel of opera better, but when it comes to customizing the interface and features, opera becomes a terrible exercise in frustration...so i have no problem sticking with firefox for now :-)
- microsoft office: admittedly, a good office suite [except for the butchering of html by word]...i've been using office 2007 for a while now and i really like the ribbon system [that replaced the menu & toolbar system] -- everyone raves about open office, and it's great for a free office suite, but microsoft office is a far superior in nearly every aspect [except price :-)]
- adobe cs3:
- dreamweaver: i used to do all my [x]html, css, and php coding with this -- i don't use it much any more, but i'm still keeping it in my arsenal for the time being
- fireworks: i do all my web design graphics with this, as well as all my photo touch-ups -- for me, it's easier, and therefore better, than photoshop
- microsoft visual studio: i use this to do all of my asp.net development at work
- scite: lately, this is what i've been using instead of dreamweaver -- it uses a fraction of the memory, and it's uber-configurable -- the only thing i miss about dreamweaver is the intellisense-like code autocompletion -- but scite will scan your current document and autosuggest unique words as you type [even though it's not context-sensitive], and that's enough for me
- nero: to burn cds and dvds
- winamp: a strong, community-supported media player -- i use this to listen to music instead of windows media player because i can configure this more...although it doesn't maintain its file associations and shell extensions very well in vista
- vlc: an excellent open-source media player that plays DVDs and most media formats out-of-the-box [without hijacking your file associations or system resources]
- quicktime: for quicktime/macintosh media
- realone player [free version]: for real media
- divx: very popular video codec
- xvid: another very popular video codec
- cdex: an excellent open-source cd ripper that can extract files to 10+ different codecs [including: mp3, wma, ogg, wav,...etc] -- this is an old peice of software, though, and for whatever reason it now only rips at 1x speed on my home machine...::shrug::...so i've been using winamp pro's ripping features [not quite as good, but good enough]
- id3-tagit: makes cleaning up filenames and id3 tags a breeze -- it can convert filenames into id3 tags, id3 tags into filenames, v1 tags to v2 tags or vice-versa, upper case to lower case to title case, mass tag editor [edit the tags of multiple files all at once]...all kinds of cool stuff
- µtorrent: an excellent bittorrent client with a microscopic memory footprint [read: doesn't hog system resources]
- winzip: utility for most compressed archives
- leechftp: ftp transfer utility -- another old utility...but it's simple, functional, and everything i need
- kdiff3: a free diff utility -- if you don't know what a "diff utility" is, then you probably don't need one :-P
- serials 2000: a site with a massive database of serial numbers and cd keys for almost any software you can think of
linux
- ubuntu: a debian-based distro that uses gnome -- ubuntu has quickly become the most popular linux distro, and for very good reason...it's become a very viable windows replacement
- kubuntu: a debian-based distro that uses kde [essentially, ubuntu using kde instead of gnome] -- i haven't used kubuntu in a very long time, so i can't speak for it's current inception...but i have come to prefer kde over gnome, so i imagine if i finally replace windows for good, it will be with kubuntu
- suse [soo-suh]: i've had a decent bit of experience has been with suse, and i really like it, especially for the ease of use right out of the box -- but i've decided [for now] to go with kubuntu - i think the concept of [k]ubuntu is beautiful, the apt system is too good to not use [yes, i know they've ported the apt system to non-debian distros, but i'd rather use it on a system that it was built for], and there is definitely less overhead
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