10 really useful gadgets and programs that I can’t live without

  1. WordPress – For publishing all kinds of websites, from simple blogs and complex content management systems, to e-commerce websites. Has a huge development community and thousands of plugins that extend functionality.
  2. Firebug – Firebug lets you inspect and edit CSS and HTML in your web pages.
  3. Adobe Photoshop – Still the best image manipulation software available – and still very expensive!
  4. Picassa – A great lightweight photo editing tool – surprisingly good
  5. Google analytics – Google Analytics lets you measure and track visitors to your website – it can become an obsession!
  6. XAMPP –  is an easy to install Apache distribution containing MySQL, PHP. I use it to run WordPress on my local PC.
  7. Flip video camera – Small, fantastically easy to use and ‘good enough’ video quality
  8. Panasonic GF-1 digital camera – Small, high quality, incredibly quick lens, beautiful pictures. The GF-1 is a Micro Four Thirds camera – this means you get the quality of a DSLR at the size of a compact.
  9. HTC Desire HD – More of a computer than a phone. Runs on the android operating system. It’s very powerful – the only downside is the poor battery life (less than a day).
  10. Squeezebox Wireless Music Player – Music streaming receiver that lets you stream music from your PC or the Internet into any room. Combine it with Napster or Spotify and you never have to buy CD’s again.

Those are mine – what have I missed out?