I’m getting my work laptop upgrade to Windows 7 this Friday, so I’m taking a look at what I’m going to need to re-install after the deed is done (since it will be a reimage). This is the list I’ll work from.
The PC Techs will get Office, Visio, and Project installed, as well as the VPN client.
Applications
- Bounceback Express – simple backup program that came with the Seagate drive I use for backing up. Oh, need to remember to do a final backup of docs Thursday night.
- DropBox – Free Internet file locker I share on all my PCs, making it easy to transfer files back and forth between them. I use the free version, largely because I haven’t needed to go beyond the 2Gb they offer for free.
- Google Talk – Yes, I’m one of those Luddites who actually uses (and prefers) the Talk client vs. Talk/Chat in Gmail or Google+. If nothing else, it makes for a great “is my Internet connection working?” icon on the toolbar.
- LastPass – My favorite utility app, a password locker I can use on all machines (and browsers).
- Xmarks – Bookmark sync tool, again, cross-browser and cross-machine.
- Google Chrome – My current (for some months now) browser of choice. In fact, I will probably not reinstall Firefox for the time being.
- Flickr.Net screen saver – Pulls images from my Flickr account as a screen saver.
- FileZilla – My FTP client of choice.
- YWriter5 – A tool I’m using for novel writing and editing.
- Yahoo Messenger – Still use this with much of my team, largely because, unlike our company Office Communicator installation, I can use it to chat while not on the company network.
- CCleaner – Cleans old temp files, registry, etc. A decent utility, nothing too exciting.
- Foxit Reader – A free, light PDF reader. Anything’s better than the bloatware that’s the default Adobe Reader.
- Drivers for my home printer (Brother MFC-9840CDW).
- MessageExport for Outlook – Lets me export email (and attachments) to text, HTML, or PDF files.
I’ll also have to be sure I get the stuff for WebEx and GoToMeeting pre-downloaded before my first sessions with those.
Chrome Extensions
It’s not clear if the Google Account tie-in to Chrome will take care of all of this for me. If not, then:
- AdBlock – Yes, I’m one of those.
- Add to Amazon Wish List – Add a product page (e.g., a cool t-shirt somewhere) to my Amazon Wish List.
- Copy Without Formatting – Allows me to copy text from a web page without any of the formatting.
- Google +1 Button – Lets me +1 a page, even if it doesn’t have a +1 button on it.
- Google+ Notifications – Shows my my current notifications even when I’m not on a Google page.
- IE Tab Multi (Enhance) – Loads up a page within the Chrome framework but using IE’s engine.
- LastPass – Add-on to Chrome for LastPass (see above)
- New Tabs Always Last – Rather than opening a new tab adjacent to the existing one, opens it at the end. That’s the behavior (in FF) I’m used to.
- Retweet Old School – Add’s a “Quote” button to Twitter in Chrome.
- Universal Search & IE8 Accelerators – A search box I can target to different engines. Not quite what Google is trying to model, but that’s the way I like it.
- Weather Underground – My favorite weather site and temp outside icon.
- Xmarks Bookmark Sync – Add-on for Xmarks.
Any other thoughts on something obvious I “should” be using, esp. once I move into the Win7 realm? I’m already running Win7 at home, so it’s not terra incognita, but it’s always nice to get suggestions.
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