Ok, Ive got WinXP Home, which came with my laptop.
Ive been delaying the reformat + Win2k Pro for a while, but after hitting up some questionable sites I have downloads attempting to start randomly, IE popups (even though I use FireFox) and then dozens of shareware programs that didnt do what they promised and half dont uninstall properly.
On top of that, Im clearing my plate and want to get down n dirty with some ASP.Net and XP Home doesnt have the IIS (well, I found a hack for it, but I dont trust it with professional software development)
Im preparing my external hard drive (and of course backup CD - Just In Case) with copies of everything Ill Need. My (updated) Dell Drivers, anything windows related, Frequently Used Apps, etc.
I guess what Im looking for is advice. On what I currently use, what I might find helpful, what else might help fill the gaps, what people like/dislike, etc.
I think this might be a good thread to air out some "Must-Haves" and things I hadnt heard of.
Here is what Ive been using:
Internet
Development Tools
Multimedia
Office/Productivity
I think thats about all that I standardly put on my computer.
Here is what I plan to do:
What Im actively looking for:
Thank you very much for any advice
Ive been delaying the reformat + Win2k Pro for a while, but after hitting up some questionable sites I have downloads attempting to start randomly, IE popups (even though I use FireFox) and then dozens of shareware programs that didnt do what they promised and half dont uninstall properly.
On top of that, Im clearing my plate and want to get down n dirty with some ASP.Net and XP Home doesnt have the IIS (well, I found a hack for it, but I dont trust it with professional software development)
Im preparing my external hard drive (and of course backup CD - Just In Case) with copies of everything Ill Need. My (updated) Dell Drivers, anything windows related, Frequently Used Apps, etc.
I guess what Im looking for is advice. On what I currently use, what I might find helpful, what else might help fill the gaps, what people like/dislike, etc.
I think this might be a good thread to air out some "Must-Haves" and things I hadnt heard of.
Here is what Ive been using:
Internet
- Mozilla Firefox (primarily)
- IE 6.0 Seconarily
- Download Accelerator w/IE (doesnt seem to work with FireFox)
Development Tools
- Microsoft Visual Studio 2003
- Macromedia Studio 2004
- VB.Net Resource Kit (Mostly for Component One Suite)
- VB Power Pack
Multimedia
- Media Player Classic v6.4 (like the old skool media player, but codecs permitting, can also play RM, Mov and has no problems with wmv/avi files, quick, fast and has a playlist)
- Cyberlink PowerDVD
- Gordon Knots DVD Ripping/Encoding tools
- WinAmp
- WinISO (converts .Bin to .ISO format and treats both like an archive and lets you extract files without burning)
- Roxio Easy CD Creator 5
Office/Productivity
- MS Office 2000 or XP (I think I have xp loaded right now)
I think thats about all that I standardly put on my computer.
Here is what I plan to do:
- VB.net software development
- Learn C# software development
- Make static websites (normally use Dreamweaver)
- Learn ASP.Net
- Learn how to use SQL Server with ASP.Net, VB.Net & C#.Net
What Im actively looking for:
- Freeware/Shareware Games - You know, the basic stuff... not Diablo or Doom, just solitare and puzzle games.
- Productivity Tools - Anything to make software development and life easier. I know I"m looking for a scheduler...
- Utilities - Anything that might help out on the computer in various ways.
- Software Development - Anything that might make software development easier... must haves, tools, etc.
Thank you very much for any advice
