links and recommendations
15Feb 2009
Having built a number of systems for myself and my clients, I naturally have my preferences in both hardware and software. Here they are:
hardware
We use Windows PCs primary because they are faster and cheaper than the Apple Macintosh; plus, there is a much greater choice in software and hardware. The popular myth goes: "the Mac is better at graphics". OK, that might have been true in 1984 in the DOS days, but not anymore.
If you don't really need to carry your computer around with you, I would recommend a Windows-based desktop computer over a laptop because it will be faster, easier to upgrade, and more durable. You can buy a "name" brand, or build one from parts. My favorite online vendor is Newegg.com.
software
Whenever I build a new computer or reinstall an operating system, the first thing I install (after motherboard drivers) is antivirus software. I like Avast, it's free, effective, and doesn't bog your system like the Norton and McAffee products which often come pre-installed on new systems.
Be sure that you are connected to the Internet through Network Address Translation, e.g. through a router or modem/router. Also, verify that your Windows Firewall is ON.
After antivirus, I go online to Windows Update to make sure I have the latest fixes, then I install my main programs, starting with Mozilla Firefox. Besides being a standards-compliant browser, it isn't woven into the Windows operating system like Internet Explorer, so it's generally more secure.
Some of my other favorite programs:
utilities
- CCleaner: a great system cleaner that removes temp files, etc., and can tune your Windows Registry. This program has yet to break my system which I really can't say for all the other similar products out there.
- XnView: a graphics viewer similar to ACDSee or the Photoshop Bridge browser. Offers a very fast thumbnail view of your pictures, as well as a very efficient and tweak-able web page builder. See the results here.
- NexusFont: if you have a lot of fonts, this is a great program for viewing and installing (even temporarily) or uninstalling fonts.
- 7-zip: this is a program that compresses a bunch files into a single archive, or extracts files from an archive, like Winzip, only opensource and free. Windows XP has this functionality built in, but 7-zip is much faster and offers more options.
networking applications
- Filezilla: a free FTP client. If you have a web site, this is the program you use to upload your files.
- Grabit: this is a program that lets you download and decode binary files from the Usenet: an "newsreader".
- uTorrent: an open source Bittorrent client.
audio and video editing
- CDex: a "ripper" for extracting audio from a music CD (that you own) into MP3 files to play on your computer, MP3 player, or overpriced iPod.
- VLC Media Player: my default media player. It's cool because it will play virtually any video file — including Apple Quicktime and RealPlayer movies — without installing extra codecs (compression-decompression software). You can even stream video over your network.
- VirtualDub: a free video editor.
- Audacity: a free audio editor.
spyware removers
I never install them on a new system because you don't get any of that junk if you are behind a router, use your Windows or third-party firewall, browse with Firefox, and use antivirus. The antivirus might even be optional. If you're system is already infected, try AdAware and Spybot, then do a full system scan with Avast. A clean install of Windows is often the quickest and best solution for a badly infected system. A fresh system runs great, and we can do it for a flat fee. Our PDF Price List can be downloaded here.
backup
For a backup I use external hard drives. My most important files are backed up daily using a program called SyncBack SE, far-and-away the best backup/synching program I've tried. The freeware SyncBack works just fine, too.
Another valuable software for archiving is WhereIsIt. This program will catalog all your burned disks to your hard drive so that you can quickly see thumbnails of your images without digging for a CD and waiting for it to spin up. WhereIsIt is shareware, $40 to buy.
learn to work Windows
Learn to work Windows! The biggest hindrance I see with my clients is that they are unclear how their computer works, where their files are (what a "file" is, and it's not the yellow folder thingie), and how to organize their stuff. If you are a photographer, you will accumulate lots of image files: you need an efficient workflow and an archiving and backup system in place. Bear in mind that a hard drive can stop working at anytime, so always have at least one backup copy of all your important files.
