JSTNJNS

It took me a while to find a system, a method, that really worked well for me.  The tools and software available can be overwhelming, so wasting your time testing “this” and “that” is sometimes inevitable.  However, I have created this list of tools that I use (currently) that seem to do the job very well for me.  This isn’t a list that is going to work for everyone, but if you are just getting started and want a bit of a lead, you are in luck.

Some of this software is free, while others are not.  I’ve seen many lists for the best “free” software, and I love these lists.  But, this is not that list.  You might also see thing in this list other than full fledged applications (like Firefox plugins, etc).  In addition, some of the applications I’m going to list below are online, and thus platform independent.  Please, enjoy.

Base

Assuming you are somewhat technically savvy already, I don’t have to point out that you will be running Windows.  However, there are a few basic things I do need to go over.

Browsers

For testing purposes, you will need a wide range of browsers.  For every site developed you need to cross-browser test them, to check for inconsistencies.  However, one of these browsers will be your main workhorse:

Firefox – FREE

One can argue that Firefox is the most extensible and user-friendly browser currently available.  It’s strength lays in it’s ability to run add-ons (mini applications).

In addition to being fast, easy to use, and extensible.. it’s also one of the leading forces in standards compliant browser rendering.

The rest are:

Safari – FREE

Safari, originally written for Macs, is a part of the Webkit family.  It is a fast, lightweight browser that I actually enjoy using from time to time.  The user interface is continually evolving to be friendlier and easier to use. UPDATE: The recently updated Web Inspector has given Safari a lot of punch while designing / developing for the web (http://webkit.org/blog/1091/more-web-inspector-updates/).

Chrome – FREE

Also a part of the Webkit family, but not made for Macs UPDATE: and runs on Macs and PCs alike. Chrome was developed by Google for a faster, more intuitive online approach.  While most browsers have an address and a search bar, Chrome has an omnibar (which searches and accesses addresses intuitively. UPDATE: With the addition of extensions, Chrome is quickly becoming some developer’s choice as a solid testing browser (https://chrome.google.com/extensions).

Opera – FREE

While Opera has done an extremely good job in keeping up with being standards compliant (one of the best) it generally lacks in the ease of use department.  Although it only has just over 2% of the market, you probably want to make sure your sites are rendering correctly in Opera as well.

Internet Explorer – FREE

There are many versions of Internet Explorer, each bringing to the table their own share of problems.  Because you can only have one version installed on a machine at a time (without the use of VMware), I strongly recommend installing the latest version, accompanied by IETester.

Workflow

In this section, I’ll go over what applications make my life/workflow a bit easier.  From settings, to apps, I will be covering how and what I use to work.

RocketDock – FREE

Emulating the OSX Dock, RocketDock is a great application launcher that I use every day.  Fully customizable (down to the icons and skin), it is also extensible.  Plugins for laptop battery life, weather, and many more “widgets” have been created to make this a very functional and useful tool.

Windows Taskbar – WINDOWS

Because I feel that RocketDock is best on the bottom, I need to move the Windows Taskbar to the top.  To do this, simply make sure the Taskbar is not locked (right-click, and un-check “Lock the Taskbar”), choose an empty area on the taskbar, and drag it to the top of your screen.  You might notice that you can drag it to either left or right, but I haven’t found these to be really intuitive positions.

Taskbar Shuffle – FREE

While randomly surfing a free-ware list, I saw an app that caught my eye.  I’ve constantly struggled with having too many windows open, thus having tons of entries in the Taskbar.  “If only there was a way to sort this,” I thought to myself.  Taskbar Shuffle gives you many settings to choose from, but the base functionality is all I really want/need (and it helps me a lot).

Vista Switcher – FREE

I Alt+Tab like crazy, but sometimes it would be nice to see a screenshot of what I’m tabbing to as I might have three windows of the same app open, and don’t want to spend loads of time reading window titles.  Answered.  Nuff said.

Communication

With the thousands of tools and protocols there are to communicate, it’s hard to choose which best suits your needs.

Gmail / Google Apps – FREE

If you have email, and your own domain, don’t you dare bother with using something like Horde or SquirrelMail.  While Gmail is great for hosting personal email, it is equally (if not more) amazing for business emails.  There is a pretty easy to follow instructions on how to get your company/domain email hosted with Google (the best part is that they have free accounts, which I’ve been using for well over a year now).

More and more applications are moving to the browser – cloud concept.  This is awesome because it allows you to access your email anywhere, with all the same basic functionality.  In addition, Gmail makes it stupid simple to access your email by phone, and always stay up to date with IMAP.

TweetDeck – FREE

If you use Twitter, you’ll love the functionality of TweetDeck.  With a basic column layout, you can sort your followers into groups, search criteria, and mentions of your handle.  I have four columns: Personal, Design, Development, and Business.  Keep up with your friends AND colleagues.

All that, and it’s built on AIR, making it cross-platform!

Digsby / Pidgin – FREE & FREE

I’m still torn between the two.  They both support loads of protocols (AIM, MSN, ICQ, Facebook, Myspace, GoogleTalk, etc).  However, where I find both lacking is the file transfer arena (continually getting corrupt files, or won’t transfer at all).  Although, I’ll leave file transfer to FTP or email, and I don’t have a huge problem with that.

What it comes down to is interface, and functionality.  Digsby has great functionality with social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace.. while Pidgin has a very small footprint, and allows my CPU to focus on what’s important at hand (although one can argue that a conversation about cheese-puffs with a cross-country friend is important).

Either way, they are both winners in my book.

Skype – FREE

While it offers the same functionality of Digsby and Pidgin without the integration of other protocols or social networks, the video and audio conferencing is second to none for a free service.  In addition, the file transferring is relatively easy and reliable.  I use this to conference with clients and friends that I can’t meet with in person.

I should also note that you can make actual phone calls using Skype, but I have not ventured into this arena, as my cell plan is unlimited.

Design

Photoshop – $642.49 / $699 Standard – $908 / $999 Extended

Your going to be seeing a lot more Adobe products later in the list, but this is by far the must-have of this entire entry.  You might say, “What about GIMP?”  To that I respond, “Screw GIMP”.  It’s not that I don’t like GIMP.  GIMP and I never got into a fight about whose tie looked better at a black-and-white party a few years ago, thus causing a quarrel turned bad causing the punch bowl to be overturned and the party then became black-and-red..  No, nothing like that.  I just simply love Photoshop and it’s integration with the other CS tools (latest version is CS4, recommended).

As the industry standard for graphic creation and photo manipulation, this is hands down must.

As far as what edition to get, it’s really up to you.  You won’t be missing out on a lot of tools needed for web design if you run with the standard edition, but it’s always nice to have all the bells and whistles in case something does come up.

Kuler – FREE

It’s actually more of a community than an application.  Kuler allows you to browse hundreds of color combinations to find the perfect fit for your design project.  You can even submit your own combination to the community.  A great tool when the color wheel just looks like a blur..

Picasa – FREE

Another application developed by Google, Picasa is a great program for managing your photos.  Some of my favorite features are facial recognition and geo-tagging.  Picasa 3 also works hand-in-hand with the Picasa online service, so you can share your photos with friends/family/colleagues.

Illustrator – $575.94 / $599

Similar to Photoshop in that it is mainly used to create graphics, Illustrator differs in that it’s a vector-based application (as opposed to bitmap/raster).  For things that need to be scaled up without losing any quality, I use Illustrator (generally logos, banners, etc).  Using CS4, there is a considerable amount of integration between Photoshop and Illustrator by utilizing Smart Objects.

Flash – $597.99 / $699

Covering the gamut of online animation and video, Flash is a beast of a program.  Currently running ActionScript 3, you can essentially write entire websites in Flash (although not recommended).

Development

Dreamweaver – $377.99 / $399

Originally written by Macromedia, Dreamweaver is now part of the Adobe Creative Suite.  There are a couple reason I use Dreamweaver over other IDE’s.  The main reason is it’s integration with other CS applications.

FileZilla – FREE

FTP isn’t really a complicated task, but it shouldn’t be made any harder with poor interface.  FileZilla is easy to use, extremely fast and responsive, and doesn’t fluff up their interface with unnecessary icons and graphics.  In addition to their FTP Client software, they make it stupid easy to set up an FTP server out of your own machine.

Notepad++ – FREE

Notepad is a great tool for developers across the world.  However, there are just some basic functions that would be really nice in a text editor.  Tabbed interface, syntax highlighting, automatic file history..  These are a few of the many features that Notepad++ has to offer.  My general use for Notepad++ is editing a few of my Apache config files (I hate searching for them everytime I want to make a simple edit).  Scenario: you have three config files open, and close the application.. the next time you open Notepad++, those files will be readily available automatically.  Saves on a lot of time digging for files.

TortoiseSVN – FREE

SVN has become one of my favorite tools for development, especially when a team is involved.  In fact, I find it a necessity now, and will not work on a team project without it.  However, interfaces for SVN applications can sometimes be a drag.  Who wants to open an application just to make sure their files are up to date?  TortoiseSVN is built right into Windows Shell, making it a right-click away from updating your repository or local build.

Business

Basecamp – FREE / MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION ($24, $49, $99, $149)

Project management is one of those necessary evils.  With email getting way to cluttered, and Google Wave still in “invitation only” testing, Basecamp is a great tool to keep a team on track and on task.  Milestones (deadlines) and a to-do list, as well as file uploads and messaging and writeboards..  Basecamp was written by 37Signals, whose method is to keep things simple (and it’s shown in the ease of use of Basecamp).

FreshBooks – MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION ($19, $29, $39, $89, $149)

If you are, or have been a freelancer, you know that invoicing clients is not the most glamorous part of the job.  However, it is manageable with some tools, one of which being FreshBooks.  Easy to log, easy to send, easy to brand.  Not much else to say here but: “that was easy.”

Quicken – $59.99 / $99 (HOME & BUSINESS)

Freelancing?  Need to manage your business money, and prepare for taxes correctly?  Quicken, although it’s not that quick..

Microsoft Office – $319.99 / $499.95

I think it goes without saying that Microsoft has dominated the Wordprocessing, Spreadsheet and Presentation market.  These tools are vital to communicate with others via documents.