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Thread: Desert Island Software Tools

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  1. #1
    Junior Member mogwai's Avatar
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    Desert Island Software Tools

    Hey Guys,

    What I.T tools (software) would you say you use almost daily? Or what software on your tool belt could you not live without? I am curious to see what common tools we all tend to use.

    Thank you in advance.

  2. #2
    0_o Mastermind keezel's Avatar
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    1) Linux
    2) The interwebz

  3. #3
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Tools to do what? It is very much dependent on what you do for a living so I think you need to be more specific as to what exactly you mean by "tools" and in what job function or purpose.

    Common items would be:

    Web browser
    Search engine
    Word processor
    Spreadsheet
    Database manager
    Defragmenter
    Media player
    Picture viewer/editor
    Drawing/Diagram tool
    Presentation tool
    Firewall
    Anti-malware tools

    To name but a few. The rest will depend on what you are trying to achieve.

  4. #4
    AO's Filibustier Cheap Scotch Ron's Avatar
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    bash
    In God We Trust....Everything else we backup.

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    AO's Filibustier Cheap Scotch Ron's Avatar
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    ispf, sdsf, tso/e, jcl, jes2/3, hasp, smp/e, racf, bdam, isam, vsam, idcams, btam, vtam, acp, tpf, ims, idms, adf, bts, dl/1, apl, bal
    In God We Trust....Everything else we backup.

  6. #6
    Junior Member mogwai's Avatar
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    Forgive the generalization , My goal was to keep the topic non specific so the users could post what that use and for what. With that being said , my focus was on I.T tools , network , hardware troubleshooting ,coding utills that you use daily.I have also found a fantastic 20 must have free development tools I would recommend anyone to look at.
    http://www.switchonthecode.com/neat-...are-developers

    Thank you for your replies.
    Last edited by mogwai; February 13th, 2009 at 06:49 PM.

  7. #7
    0_o Mastermind keezel's Avatar
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    Forgive the generalization
    Nothing to forgive. You were just attempting to spark interesting discussion, which was misinterpreted by others. Youd' think moderators would thank you for doing their job for them.

    I would have to say my favorite applications are remote assistance apps. Like remote desktop, VNC, or web clients like logmein.com. They do wonders to solve "user error" issues where someone is just doing something retarded and there's no real issue to solve, other than education.

  8. #8
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    SQL Server Management Studio (by far my favorite tool in this entire list, and also probably the one I use most).

    IIS.

    I also love Notepad++ from that list Mogwai posted.
    Visual Studio 2003 and 2008.

    Outlook/Word/Excel/Project 2007 (I believe Office 2007 is a huge improvement over previous versions, and lightyears ahead of any alternative - maybe that statement will spark some interesting discussion, keezel ).

    Internet Explorer (8 RC1 - don't care for FF anymore since version 3).

    iTunes (I never buy songs from iTunes because of their DRM crap - I buy the songs from Napster - but iTunes is a great music player).

    GIMP.

    Live Messenger (and I also love the Live blogs - can't stand Windows Mail, though).

    Yahoo Messenger (have to use it for work - don't like it).

    Mstsc.

    Logmein.

    H&R Block Taxcut and DeductionPro .

    PowerShell 2 (CTP3 is sweet).

    Roboform (love it!!).

    Irfanview.

    Providesupport (great live chat software).

    Trend Micro AV.

    And if I were stuck on an island and could only take one piece of software, I'd take Rockband 2

    Any suggestions on an FTP client? I'm currently using FileZilla, but I don't like it at all (that it doesn't refresh properly is only one of my dislikes) - I tried WinSCP from that list Mogwai posted, but Vista doesn't seem to like it too much.

  9. #9
    0_o Mastermind keezel's Avatar
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    I believe Office 2007 is a huge improvement over previous versions
    I agree! Office 2k7 is incredible. Word alone has a ton of features...so many that it's hard to learn well, and thus poorly judged. It's ironic that some Linux fanboys (not all, perhaps not even the majority) will look at Office 2007 and say that it's too complicated, and then castigate people for saying the same about Linux.

    Yahoo Messenger (have to use it for work - don't like it).
    I'm kindof partial to Pidgin. It's simple and supports a variety of different IM protocols...which is good for me when I want to see people on AIM and Gmail at the same time.

    Irfanview.
    GIMP.
    Yes!! Because of Irfanview I have not yet had to pay for Photoshop...or even download it illegally! Irfanview has kept me legal for YEARS!!

    Internet Explorer (8 RC1 - don't care for FF anymore since version 3).
    I enjoy Chrome. Firefox is good IMO so long as you install at least a few plugins, like ad block.

    IIS.
    *cough*Apache*cough*

    H&R Block Taxcut and DeductionPro
    Is this free? Can you track your finances throughout the year using it? Does it expire if it's not free? My wife and I are looking for some good financial management software...Gnucash is confusing.


    I'd also like to add Google Docs and Google Reader. It's quite handy to be able to access important documents if you forget your thumb drive, or if you only have access to a computer you don't want to plug your thumb drive into. I've had to print out my Resume on the fly before. Quite handy. Reader makes it less complicated to scroll through the day's highlights, like Dilbert...failblog....lolcats....news. Just whatever.

    Does an iPod Touch + all available apps count?

    Linux + internet is still king tho, if I'm allowed to pick that.

    I'd also like to add VirtualBox from Sun. GNU license virtual desktop...wonderful.

    And irssi - allows you to connect to IRC from within your terminal. Very low memory consumption and you can customize your terminal window more than you can most IRC clients.

  10. #10
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    iTunes (I never buy songs from iTunes because of their DRM crap - I buy the songs from Napster - but iTunes is a great music player).
    Sometimes I use audacity to listen to music and toy with sounds. It's good for recording streamed audio too. I mostly use windows media player though.

    For a browser everything is subpar to IE and opera.

    Really, if I have to use something I'll use whatever isn't hip to Generation Y internet users.
    It's simple and supports a variety of different IM protocols...which is good for me when I want to see people on AIM and Gmail at the same time.
    Im very strange and set in my ways. I've always been taken to being a recluse. I wouldn't be to keen on instant messaging applications anyway. They're very annoying and I don't understand the appeal, frankly. I don't bother with IRC to much either. Nope... webforms are enought for me.
    Last edited by The-Spec; February 15th, 2009 at 08:15 PM. Reason: a few letters off

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