links and recommendations
January 21, 2008
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 "PC" computers running Windows XP and Vista, but the newer Macintosh computers with Intel processors will run OSX and Windows, so they are worth considering -- expect to pay more though. You can dual-boot OSX and Windows using the Apple Bootcamp software, or run Windows in a "virtual machine" using Parallels or VMWare.
A word about "Vista": a new PC is likely to come with the new Microsoft Vista operating system installed. I am personally using the 64-bit version of Vista and have had none of the compatibility problems you may have read about. The interface is more intuitive than XP, and performance is better IF you disable some of the running services, such as WSearch. Don't be afraid of Vista! It's fine :-)
If you are buying a new PC, its hard to fault Dell, they always feature the latest hardware and the best prices. A drawback to a Dell — and this applies to HP/Compaq, Sony, eMachine, Gateway, etc. as well — is that your computer will arrive frontloaded with a TON of useless software, which slows performance and is time-consuming to remove.
Another approach is to build from scratch, which isn't particularly difficult: the worst part is choosing from the vast array of components available. For processors, Intel seems to have an advantage over AMD on high-end systems. I like Seagate hard drives and Epson for printers and scanners.
The best online merchant I've found is NewEgg: prices are always as low or lower than anywhere else, items are in stock, and shipping is reasonable and timely.
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, very effective, and doesn't bog your system like the Norton and McAffee products which often come pre-installed on new systems. Never connect your computer directly to a broadband modem! Be sure you have your computer behind a NAT router, and verify that your Windows (or third-party) software 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. Next, I install Adobe Reader if I'm not installing the full Adobe Acrobat program. Incidentally, the older, smaller Version 5 is still available from Adobe here.
Some of my other favorite:
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.
- nLite: this is a little program that lets you strip out all the crap (like games and server applications) from Windows XP and burn a new install disk.
- 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.
- AMP Font Viewer: if you have a lot of fonts, this is a great program for viewing and installing (even temporarily) or uninstalling fonts.
- FolderSize: this is a neat software that installs in Windows as a Service and adds a "Folder Size" column in Windows Explorer details view. Then you can see the size of a folder, just like on a Mac. Unlike a Mac, this is free.
- WinRAR: this is a program that compresses a bunch files into a single archive, or extracts files from an archive, like Winzip, only better. Windows XP has this functionality built in, but WinRAR is much faster and offers more options. It's actually Shareware (not free), but it will work forever if you can stand to see the nagscreen after 30 days.
- CDBurnerXP: CD burning software. By far the nicest freeware burning software, nearly as nice as Nero.
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 player for video. 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 anti-virus. The anti-virus 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.
some free advice: learn to work Windows
Lastly, some free advice (besides the best advice I ever got: "...if in doubt, right-click"): 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 pictures and end up burning them to CDs and DVDs. 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 copy of all your important files.
backup
For a backup system I use a combination of external hard drives and CD-R/DVD+R. My most important files are backed up daily onto an external hard drive. For this operation I use a program called SyncBack SE, far-and-away the best backup/synching program I've tried. Forget the Windows backup program, it saves your backup in a proprietary format that requires that you use the same program to restore it. SyncBack simply copies the files based upon the Date Modified.
Periodically, I burn backup DVDs. Use good qualitiy blank disks! My favorite manufacturer is Taiyo Yudan, sometimes available at retail stores as FujiFilm. Look for Made in Japan on the label. They are easy to find online.
My most valuable software for archiving is a little program called 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. Support is phenomenal: an email question will get an answer in hours—if not minutes—from the developer himself.
