Comments on: the software i use to simplify my life

By: michaelnhart

michaelnhart — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 05:04:45 +0000

DiskMax the best all in one clean up and reg defrag program out there, easy fast and thorough, and no it is not mine, just love it and it is FREE! http://www.koshyjohn.com/software/diskmax.html

By: Sam Spurlin

Sam Spurlin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:53:16 +0000

That program sounds a lot like something called “Pandora” that tons of people use over here in the states. I don't think it is available in many other countries (I know it wasn't available when I was in Ireland). It sounds like Spotify is the international Pandora

Thanks for reading my blog and I'm glad it's adding value to your life.

By: anni2

anni2 — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:16:23 +0000

Hi!

Thanks for the text, I will definetly try to simplyfy my life with some of those programs! Me myself I am Scandinavian and currently in an exhange in France. I was surprised how students from North-America don't seem to know application called Spotify since everybody in my home country is using it. To sum up, it allowes you to listen an awsomly wide range of music, with only few commercials at times. You cannot download the music, but they pay fees to the artists so it's perfectly leagal to just listen the music you like like you had an own radiochannel. I hope you found this hint worth reading! And thanks for the blog, it's changing my life

By: minimalist101

minimalist101 — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 09:20:36 +0000

@Sam: Thanks for this article. I really enjoy your blog.

Due to the lack of a mac computer on my desk, i am trying to get the best out of my windows software. I put together a personal favourite list of tiny, quiet minimal apps that i’m using nearly daily. Perhaps you want to take a look.

By: Sam

Sam — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:25:23 +0000

@Shannon

I can see how Mozy wouldn’t be very helpful in that situation. I’ve also tried Dropbox but I found that I didn’t like how it always seemed to be syncing and thus, slowing down my internet and computer. I seemed to be working on fairly large files most of the time so whenever I changed one it would take Dropbox awhile to get synced back up. I decided I’d rather just have my computer save up all those changes and transmit them once, via Mozy, while I was sleeping or away from my computer. I also very rarely use other computers other than my laptop so the ability to have files synced on other computers wasn’t as vital to me.

The bottom line is, find some sort of backup that works for you and stick with it. The worst feeling in the world is having something happen to your data and not being able to do anything to retrieve it.

Thanks for the input!

By: Sam

Sam — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:22:48 +0000

Thanks for the additions! I too used Picasa but have been slowly using Flickr more and more. I’ve found that they have a more robust community and better search features.

By: Sam

Sam — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:20:29 +0000

I grew up thinking that Microsoft Word was the only way to write on a computer. I’m glad I finally realized that the more “features” a program has the more time I think about formatting and less about writing.

By: becoming minimalist

becoming minimalist — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:06:08 +0000

using a clutter-free word processor like writeroom is genius. removing all the bells and whistles certainly makes for a less distracting writing experience. and who wants distractions while writing?

my only regret is that i hadn’t switched earlier. i used to think all the bells an whistles would help me write better. boy was i wrong.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:41:45 +0000

CCleaner: Keeps everything running smooth. Used daily.
Defraggler: Defrags my system. Used biweekly.
Excel: Used to maintain all of my finances in one spreadsheet. Used daily.
Firefox: The fastest and most minimal browser. Used daily.
Foobar: The best music program out there. Used often.
Notepad: Basic text editor to keep track of my to-do list. Used daily.
Picasa: Great photo software with a lot of easy-to-use features. Used weekly.
Roboform: Keeps track of all my logins, and I never have to type a single key! Used daily.

All free software, with one exception: Roboform, which I bought years ago and am glad I did. It has saved me much time, frustration, and worry.

(Excel came with the computer, though you could argue I technically bought it, but you could replace it with OpenOffice’s adequate spreadsheet program)

By: Shannon Wagner

Shannon Wagner — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:28:49 +0000

I used Mozy for a while, but found it did not work well at all for my wife, who is a laptop user who immediately closes her laptop when she is done using it. Mozy will only run your backup when the computer is idle, so her backups were never running. The restore process is pretty clunky too. Eventually I switched us to Dropbox. It’s a different sort of backup – not only do you get backed up to a remote server but you also get synced copies on all your computers. If one computer dies you can just work on your synced copy on another computer. Backups are done immediately, as soon as files are modified. It has been flawless – amazing, I would say. The web site also has a great interface. It is more expensive ($9.95 per month for 50GB vs. Mozy’s $4.95 for unlimited). But the price/space is fine for us, and the features suit our needs much better.