JAN's little computer corner
Well, as I have to keep explaining my friends all over the world like what software I recommend, how to secure computers, what to buy etc. - I decided to write everything up.
As I do not support illegal software of any kind, I try to provide as many freeware and open source solutions as possible. Bootlegs are illegal!
Operating System
Mac OS X No doubt - the coolest OS out there ... but you'll also need a quite expensive Mac computer, too ... plus one for me so I can learn more and fix yours ;-) The Mac Mini seems to be payable though.
MS Windows XP Well, for the normal computer user, this still is the OS to go with. Important to note is that if you plan to use your computer in a network, go with the Pro version!
Also, these days, you do not need to open infected email attachment or download corrupt files, being online is all you need to catch viruses, worms, and god only knows what else. Hence I strongly recommend that you turn on auto update, and install any new updates ASAP! Ask your school if they are part in the MSDNAA program - you often can get the latest MS products, except for Office, for free(!) this way.For the geek: Linux If you just want to take a peek at what the whole hype is abut, I recommend to get Knoppix. You don't have to install anything, just burn the live-CD. It's a little bit slow this way, but the easiest and safest way.
Once convinced, I recommend a Knoppix installation from the live-CD for the beginner geek, Fedora for the medium geek respective try to get an old Redhat 9 if you plan to use an USB webcam, and the higly scalable and cutomizable gentoo for the pro geek.As it is quite easy to screw up the whole system when installing Windows and Linux onto a single computer, I recommend to install seperated hard drives for the two operating systems. You may want to print out the Grub docu, too - just in case ...
Microsoft Windows CE If you plan on building an embedded system, you can either customize the Linux flavor of your choice, go with something like Contiki, hack your own Kernel, or chose Win CE!
It's hard to belive for anyone who ever run Win 98 or even ME, but Microsoft really does have a pretty good hard real-time capable embedded OS, check out Mike Hall's blog for details and latest updates!
Now just add TMO and you are ready to rock'n'roll.
Internet & security
Browser: Mozilla Firefox Besides ISS, Internet Explorer probably is the biggest security whole MS ever programmed. Besides that, the "lean, mean browsing machine" Firefox (free) offers superior usability and capabilities - I e.g. never ever want to surf without multi-tabs any longer. Recommended plug-ins, among others: AdBlock, Down Them All, Sage for RSS feeds, ForecastFox, Mouse Gestures, and any Extensions or Themes you might like.
Email: Mozilla Thunderbird Well, if the email-provider of your choice only provides webmail, go on to the next point. But if you have pop or imap access, "Reclaim your Inbox" (free)! The SPAM filter, search fnctionality and organizing means made my life so much easier!
Anti-Virus: AntiVir An antivirus program, free for personal use. Once downloaded, it's important to keep it up-to-date via the build-in "Internet Update", ideally once per week.
Personal Firewall: ZoneAlarm While you are online, hackers can randomly scan computers all over the world for known security problems and attack any weak computer found. Equally important as an up-to-date Windows and Anti virus program is a decent Personal Firewall, securing your ports. As the one built-in into Windows is a joke, I recommend ZoneAlarm for the avarage PC user. It is free for personal use, too. Downloading and installing the free version is tricky though, you do not really need the "Security Suite" or "Pro" Version they try to sell.
Webdesign For the beginner, go with NetObjects Fusion. The resulting sites won't look that pro, but it is really easy to learn the basics. For the advanced web designer or programmer, Dreamweaver is the only choice.
For the pro, vi or ConTEXT (both free) is all you need though. Add Apache, PHP and Mysql for advanced web programming capabilities. 1&1 is the provider of my choice.SSH, SCP et. al: Putty If you work on Windows but want to securly work on remote UNIX/ Linux machines such as a hosted webserver, there is no alternative to the Putty collection (free). If you need an ftp client with a GUI, try SmartFTP (free).
Digital Photos
Organizing: Picassa Since google bought Picasa, it's now free. It not only offers stupid-proof usability, but also amazing speed, many neat features to e.g. scan or send photos via email, and simple editing features.
Editing: Well, if you need more than Picassa can do, you may want to try Gimp. (free). If you need to e.g. scale, enhance and add a copyright sign to 1001 photos, try Paint Shop Pro. Beyond great other features, it comes with an editable batch scripting engine. By recording or writing phyton-style scripts, one can simplify many commom tasks a lot!
Office
OpenOffice The MSDNAA program normally excludes MS Office, but there is really no reason to be sad about it: Open Office is not only free, bu also better I think! I stores the files in zipped XML documents, and with only one klick, one can create neat pdf documents, which one should prefer over e.g. .docs anyway when sending documents via email.
One can also open and edit MS Office documents if necessary, too!Calendar: Mozilla Sunbird Sunbird may only be in its infant stages of development, but it already offers the basic calnder functionality one really needs.
Programming
ConTEXT I already mentioned it before, ConTEXT is a neat code editor with code templates for most programming and scripting languages. My favorite feature is the "Match Braces" function. Anybody who ever programmed Tcl/Tk will love it!
Eclipse For Java programming, there is nothing better than Eclipse. It brings along anything one needs! And for C/C++, it's pretty cool, too!
Other
High Speed Internet: Well, there is a big wrong assumption on high speed internet out there: it will not speed up your computer, it only enables you to surf faster the web and to download stuff! Believe me!
Re-install In case your computer is completly screwed up, you may want to re-install it. Important to note is: Don't forget to backup all your data - emails and addresses are easy to forget! Also, burn a recent AntiVirus, Firewall and latest ServicePack to a CD, and once your Windows is re-installed, install those, before you go online for the first time with the clean system! The first thing to do once online should be to update the system, before doing anything else. Turn on auto-update and reboot your system after all new patches are installed!
