A while ago I wrote a post on my favourite Windows tools. Those tools are still my favourites, although I've found a much more efficient way of installing them.
Using Ninite.com makes it all so much easier.
You get a set of applications in different categories, just tick those ones you want, download an installer and then Ninite does the rest. Couldn't be easier!
No more manual installation of a lot of different applications!
I recently bought myself a brand new Solid State Drive and re-installed Windows 7 plus all necessary programs. Here's my compiled list of the tools I can't live without.
Developer tools first
After a clean Windows 7 installation, I download Microsoft's Web Platform Installer, which is really useful for developers. It'll install all the tools necessary for .NET web developmentweb server as well as the latest .NET framework, SQL Server, plus much more if you want it to. Try it out, it'll save you a whole lot of time! Here's a blog post on how to install the .NET development tools you need.
No .NET environment is complete without Visual Studio though. I'm of course sticking with Visual Studio 2010.
Tools that improve my everyday computer usage
- 7-zip
- For file archives.
- xplorer2
- Great file explorer with dual panes. My explorer of choice since 2007 something.
- Foxit Reader
- Fastest pdf reader ever.
- TeraCopy
- Copy files faster. Improves speed a lot.
- J.River Media Center
- Music player totally worth the minor cost. Best ever.
- Paint.NET
- Free and fast Photoshop alternative.
- Picasa
- Watching photo albums.
- Ultramon
- For window and multi screen management. I use it solely for the shortcut commands.
- Daemon Tools Lite
- File mounting.
- FileZilla
- Ftp client.
- Damn NFO Viewer
- View NFO files.
- Notepad++
- Smooth text editor.
- uTorrent
- Download torrents.
- VLC Media Player
- Media player of choice.
Tools for collaboration
- Skype
- Great client for obvious reasons. Calls made simple.
- Windows Live Messenger
- The IM client.
- Google Talk
- Keep track of your mail and Gmail contacts.
- TweetDeck
- Twitter desktop style.
The browsers
- Google Chrome
- The one and only. Fast and reliable.
- Firefox
- The best browser for web developers.
Tools from the largest of them all
No comments needed.
Do you have any favourite Windows tools?
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The Android Market is absolutely full of great applications and tools to customize your Android OS. The market has grown a lot lately, particularly with the popularity of HTC Hero. Here are 10 great applications I can recommend for Android - all available through Market in your HTC!
This is the most useful Twitter client available for Android systems. Post tweets, upload photos, send direct messages, use search plus more. If the free version isn't enough you also have the full version with even more advanced functionality.
This is definitely the Twitter app for Android that stands out above all other Twitter apps.
Astrid is a great to do manager that boosts productivity - you can create new tasks, fill in a number of options and let Astrid alert you when you need it. Great interface and customization options.
A simple note tool - write anything, save it, setup reminders and send notes via sms or e-mail.
Augmented reality is hot. Really hot. Layar uses the phone's GPS and compass to show you what's in your surroundings. Just point your Android phone at a location and Layar will show you layers of information - such as train stations, restaurants or even your friends. This is a really cool app and it's got a lot of potential.
A Google Reader client, great to catch up with your unread feeds on the fly.
Mabilo ringtones
This is where you want to go and catch your ringtones. A full set of categories where you'll definitely find something that suits you.
ePhoneBook
This is a better and more useful phone book than the standard one. Particularly the different tab modes are great for sorting your contacts - plus it's easier to maintain your phone book with this app.
Quick Uninstaller
If you try out a lot of Android apps, this is the tool for you - an uninstaller which does the work.
If you ever feel your phone slows down, it might be an idea to use Advanced Task Killer to close apps you're not really using.
Spare Parts
Fine tune your phone settings. Customize appearance such as font size and animations plus a number of other settings.
More resources
These apps are just some of my true favourites. There are a number of other apps available. Here's more resources on Android apps:
Have you got any favourite Android apps? Please feel free to add a comment!
If you've been looking for an ASP.NET Twitter module, look no further. I've coded a C# module in order to consume a given Twitter feed. Download the Twitter module for easy use in your own project.
How to use
You can either show the latest Twitter message or any given number of Twitter messages with this module - all you have to do is to point out a Twitter username and the number of messages to show.
Here's a code example on how you can show 5 Twitter messages in a Repeater.
Code-behind:
string userName = "dileno";
List<TwitterFeed> messages = TwitterFeed.Fetch(userName, 5);
if (messages.Count>0)
{
rptTwitterMessages.DataSource = messages;
rptTwitterMessages.DataBind();
}
Repeater in code-front (aspx/ascx):
<asp:Repeater ID="rptTwitterMessages" runat="server">
<HeaderTemplate><ul></HeaderTemplate>
<FooterTemplate></ul></FooterTemplate>
<ItemTemplate><li><%#((TwitterFeed)Container.DataItem).Message %> (<a href="<%#((TwitterFeed)Container.DataItem).Link %>"><%#((TwitterFeed)Container.DataItem).PubDate %></a>)</li></ItemTemplate>
</asp:Repeater>
Download the Twitter module
You can download the C# module with complete source code and code examples:
(zip, 16 kB)
Short instructions for implementation
- Drop the TwitterFeed.cs file into your project.
- Use the code in Default.aspx.cs to customize the Twitter messages.
- Update your appSettings.Config with the key TwitterFeedUrl, which you find in this project's appSettings.Config file.