In today’s world there’s pretty much no getting around using a computer for business. The sheer number of programs that are available today is staggering and it’s hard to know what to get, and more importantly, what to avoid.
Considering I have six computers at present I consider myself familiar with a variety of programs both on Mac and Windows.
So I thought I should share with you some software that I find valuable in organizing both my work and my private stuff.
Let’s start off with browsers, my three favorite are:
- Rockmelt (new – great for social networking)
- Firefox (extensions galore)
- Chrome
As for business applications:
- Soundforge – Windows, Garageband – Mac (audio recording)
- Vegas – Windows, Final Cut Pro – Mac (video editing)
- Microsoft Office – Windows, iWork – Mac (document stuff)
- iTunes (music)
- Adobe Creative Suite (photo alteration)
- Picasa (photo viewing)
- Camtasia – Windows, Screenflow – Mac (screen recording)
- Skype (video conferencing and telephone calls)
- GOM – Windows, VLC – Mac (video playback)
- Dropbox (sending files through the internet)
Some of these programs are free while others come with quite a hefty price tag but from my experience, and that of many of my friends, these are the programs that you’ll want to try and get your hands on.
In a future post I’ll talk about the latest hardware but hopefully these programs help you do whatever you’re doing more quickly and with less frustration.
Adrian Shepherd
I’m really surprised that you have six computers! I just have one PC, although I belong to IT section. Anyway I completely agree with you on the point that “it’s hard to know what to get, and more importantly, what to avoid.” There must be tens of thousands of software in the world, and many of them are useful for us, but some of them are terrible. We cannot distinguish good ones from the not so good ones, without using them. Poor programs cause us to use a lot of time in vain. Of your recommendations, I really love Firefox. It works smoothly compared to Internet Explorer. Recently I am trying to use Picasa because it’s free and really effective to fix pictures.
I look forward to hearing your suggestion on apps in the future, if you have a chance.