A beta for the long rumored Google Chrome browser is finally available. I would recommend that anyone interested in browsers (basically anyone who doesn’t use Internet Explorer) should check it out.
My initial impressions are quite good. I really enjoy using the browser. It is a dead-simple browser to use, and does not over-crowd the screen real-estate like other browsers (to be fair, I use plenty of extensions for Firefox, so that does take up a bit of room). It’s also pretty fast, using the WebKit framework for page rendering (the same framework used by the Safari web browser from Apple). There are some other useful features that I’ve seen that I would implemented directly into other browsers (especially Firefox) without any kind of extention.
The chief of these features is the customized “home page” that appears when you first open the browser or open up a new tab. I’ve posted a screenshot of this page below:
A screenshot of the customized home page in Google Chrome
Some other features include a “private browsing” feature, which doesn’t store anything on your computer while browsing (cookies, cache files, etc.), allowing for more secure browsing for banking and other secure transactions.
This browser certaintly beats out Internet Explorer in my book, but it will not replace Firefox for me. I need my extensions. The only beef I have with it right now, is the fact that it does not always render complex CSS properly, but I imagine that this will be fixed down the road.
kyle [at] kyleleboeuf.com
I saw an article on Lifehacker today discussing the hardware and software they use for their work.
The article inspired me to discuss my own gear that I use in my day-to-day work.
Basics:
- Firefox: I am hard pressed to find a tech enthusiast who does not use Firefox. It’s simply awesome. Extensions include: FireFTP, Greasemonkey (and a lot of scripts), Facebook Toolbar (favorite extension, seriously), and Adblock Plus
- Windows Live Writer: I use WLW for all of my blogging, because it’s simply an incredibly powerful, free, WYSIWYG blog publishing application. I can manage all of my blog accounts from one tool. It handles photo uploads, drafting, and tagging, all locally. Awesome.
- Microsoft Office: Yes, I am a purist. Most of you think I probably suck because I don’t use a whole bunch of open-source software, but I’m just not into it that much. I use Word for a lot of my writing and Outlook for email/organizing.
- iTunes: Again, most of you will laugh at me because I use mostly proprietary software solutions, but I think in the case of iTunes, I have a good reason to. A ton of people use iTunes for music organization and jukeboxing because it’s dead simple (the fact that it’s integrated with the best portable media player on the market doesn’t hurt either).
- Twhirl: One of the greatest Adobe AIR applications in existence, as well as one of the best Twitter clients in existence. Simple to use. Also works with a few other networks. While your checking it out, follow me.
- AIM: Now I don’t really have a good excuse for this. The only AIM client I really like is iChat. Unfortunately, I don’t own a Mac.
- MediaShout: MediaShout is a powerful, easy-to-use worship presentation software package used for churches to make flashy presentations with video backgrounds and smooth transitions. Comes with a song and bible database. Able to make changes to presentations on the fly.
- Photoshop: An indispensable application for any guy who runs web sites.
- Dreamweaver: Dreamweaver is good for more than just web design. I use it to edit PHP scripts and pages (such as wordpress files) live on the server, without having to use a text editor and reuploading.
OS:
For the most part, I just stick with Windows Vista Business. There’s some features of Vista that I really like, including the new search/indexing features, and Flip3D.
Hardware:
Under normal circumstances, I have three machines that I use on a regular basis. They are:
- Laptop: Dell Latitude D420 w/ 1.06 GHz single core processor and 1 GB of RAM. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. This is my most used computer. I am always on this thing. The greatest asset to any student or techie on-the-go
- Desktop 1: A Dell Inspiron desktop bought on the cheap at Wal-Mart. Works just fine, plus it came with a 22” monitor. A 2.6 GHz AMD processor with 2 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive. I’m all set
- Desktop 2: A gateway PC with XP media center and a sick 512 MB Radeon Graphics card. While not technically mine, as it resides at the BCM, I use it for most of my media-related work.
Webapps:
- Google Reader: I think this is one the greatest web applications ever made. It’s a powerful tool for aggregating RSS feeds and I can access it from anywhere and with anything with a web browser. I occasionally use ReadAir, a desktop RSS reader that syncs with Google Reader and uses an Aqua-like interface. Built for Adobe AIR.
- Gmail: I am slowly but surely using the gmail interface more and more rather than using the IMAP interface in Microsoft Outlook. Awesome webapp.
- Flickr: One of the first Web 2.0 applications and the best one for photo organization. I use the Flickr Uploadr application to upload and organize photos from my desktop. You can see my Flickr profile here. I also use an AIR app called DestroyFlickr to browse Flickr from the desktop.
- Facebook: Probably the most visited site by me personally, ever. I practically live on Facebook (I dig the new design by the way). You can add me here.
- Twitter: I’m a big user a fan of Twitter. What better way to quickly communicate with my friends? You can follow me here. As stated above, I usually use the Twhirl application on my laptop. I often use the new interface called Tweenky when I’m on another computer. Tweenky is a Twitter client that uses a Gmail-like interface.
- Last.fm: I use Last.fm to track of my listening habits, mainly with the “scrobbling” feature, which keeps track of the songs I play both in iTunes and on my iPod. Check my profile here.
Peripherals:
- iPod Classic: I’m not quite sure what I would do without this thing. Die? I have an iPod interface on my stereo deck in my car. Sweet. My iPod also doubles as an external hard drive. You know, so the space doesn’t go to waste.
- Shure SE110 Sound-Isolation in-ear phones (Black): Before I really started getting into audio and music stuff, I never really made a big deal about headphones. Ever since getting a hold of these, I will never go back to cheap headphones again. Ever.
- Microsoft Wireless Optical Notebook Mouse 3000: I’ve had this cheap mouse for three years and have only had to replace the batteries twice. An awesome mouse, and one of the best selling.
Self-Assessment
I love proprietary software. Why? When something breaks, you usually have a number to call, where you can get professional, helpful support. Money has it’s benefits. The problem with a lot of open source software, is that when it breaks, you usually have to fix it yourself or seek help from the community. This may not be that bad of a thing, but it bothers me, and I am entitled to my own opinions. For the record, I so like a few open source applications, like Wordpress…
by: Kyle [at] kyleleboeuf.com
