Many web workers are involved with digital photography, graphics and image editing. I know I am. There are a number of excellent, free resources available online for staying abreast of the latest news on these topics, and improving your skills. In this post, I’ll round up … Read More »
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Samuel Dean
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Remember the dot-com boom, when countless web workers were able to take a business plan written on a scrap of paper to potential investors and get funding? The investment community doesn’t play quite as fast and loose with business plans as it did back then, but … Read More »
This blog has covered alternative word processors before, and both writers and readers tend to agree that Google Docs and Zoho Writer are good choices. I have a few other alternative word processors that I favor, though. In this post, I’ll cover four that are … Read More »
Lately I’ve been sprucing up my collection of software applications, and spending time with some good online tutorials on my favorites. Many of these tutorials are free, and in this post, I’ll round up several that I’ve found worth paying attention to. Are you a Photoshop user? … Read More »
In an earlier post, I made the point that web workers who rely on home Wi-Fi networks, and who haven’t yet upgraded to 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless technology should definitely do so. Even though the 802.11n Wi-Fi proposed standard is not quite ratified yet, and some … Read More »
While the majority of web workers are Windows- and Mac-based, there are a lot of good, free ways to open up to the rich world of Linux applications, too. Some people go to the trouble of using virtualization tools to run Linux locally on the … Read More »
More than 5 Free, Open Source Tools for Web Developers
By Samuel Dean
May. 7, 2008, 4:00pm PT
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If you’re involved with development, design or application delivery on the web, it makes increasing sense to look into free open source tools that can help you. Over on OStatic, the GigaOm blog on open source that I edit, we’ve recently covered many of … Read More »
More Must Reads
After reading Mike’s post on alternative search engine Addict-o-matic, I tried it out and liked the interface quite a bit. It’s a good way to get a blast of different kinds of search results on one scannable page. I’m adding it to my list of favorite … Read More »
Ever since I was a DOS user years ago, noodling around with file managers such as Lotus Magellan and Norton Commander, I’ve tried to keep my eye out for useful, unusual approaches to managing files. If you collect these tools, even the offbeat ones, you can … Read More »
Many web workers are nomadic with their work. I certainly am, and I try to constantly collect tools for making this working lifestyle a little easier. In this post, I’ll round up five good ways to go about this. Online Storage. I continue to be surprised by … Read More »
After recently accidentally stumbling across a good, though older, post here by Leo Babuta on boosting Gmail efficiency, it struck me that some readers may never have seen some of the tips on popular web worker applications that this blog has run. Some of these have … Read More »
Increasingly, from blogs to marketing materials to online video show production, web workers are working with video. The good things you can do with online video go far beyond YouTube, and there are a number of free applications and utilities–many of them open source–that you can … Read More »
By Samuel Dean
Apr. 29, 2008, 4:00pm PT
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In a similar vein to a post I put up recently titled The Time is Now to Go to 802.11n, several 802.11n-related initiatives are taking shape this week that should be of interest to web workers. Whether your home Wi-Fi network is already 802.11n-based or … Read More »
Recently, one of my favorite desktop search tools–Copernic Desktop Search–has had a couple of good upgrades. If you haven’t used this free desktop search tool before, and especially if you maintain a large inbox in products such as Microsoft Outlook, it can be a very … Read More »
I’ve posted before about good applications to put on a USB thumb drive, for both Windows and the Mac. If you work on a mobile basis frequently, this is a great way to have any application handy at any time. Recently, I’ve been loading … Read More »
Most of us web workers are familiar with the many free trials for various software applications and services that are available. However, these often require downloads, installation and action to be taken if you choose not to buy a given product. If you’re interested on trying … Read More »
In a post I did the other day titled The Time is Now to Go to 802.11n Wi-Fi, I made the point that many people who aren’t switching to Draft-N Wi-Fi because the standard isn’t ratified yet should go ahead and do so, because performance … Read More »
Recently, I became annoyed enough with constant prompts for software updates and pop-up messages from Adobe that I decided to try alternatives to Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader. (I swear, they must know how annoyed people get with the constant nagging for software updates.) It turns … Read More »
Are you using 802.11n wireless technology to power your home Wi-Fi network? If not, you really should. Recently, I upgraded my home Wi-Fi network and the devices I have attached to it. I bought a Linksys WRT105N router for under $100, and a few inexpensive … Read More »
While I use various word processors for various types of task, I spend a great deal of time each day in Microsoft Word. That’s primarily true because so many of my colleagues use it. As is true for any software application that you use all day … Read More »
Over on the OStatic blog, dedicated to open source, we’ve been having a lively discussion with readers about Firefox extensions. The readers have pointed out a number of excellent extensions that I had never heard of, and some that I had heard of but … Read More »
Gmail–many of us web workers could hardly get by without it. I happen to use both Outlook and Gmail, but Gmail is increasingly the e-mail engine I spend most of my time in. If you do too, a few tips on customizing your setup, optimizing searches, … Read More »
Few parts of a work-at-home web worker’s life are as essential to staying productive and comfortable as a home network. If you’ve put some thought into setting up and optimizing a Wi-Fi network, you’re probably getting a lot of out it, but you might be able … Read More »
Have you ever experimented with virtualization and virtual operating systems? In a post today over on OStatic (the open source blog that I edit), Lisa Hoover covers several options for running more than one operating system on one system, including virtualization and dual-boot solutions. In … Read More »
One of my favorite movies is Planes, Trains and Automobiles with Steve Martin, where he hilariously wrestles with most of the common annoyances that come up when traveling. If you’re a road warrior in addition to being a web worker, it’s good to collect the
In this post, I’ll detail the four most important steps you can take to keep your public Wi-Fi sessions secure, and make some recommendations for free tools you can use, as well as ways you can approach your commonly used applications for optimized security. Read More »
For many of us web workers, Firefox is the browser we live in for much of the day. We’ve done a lot of coverage on this site of Firefox extensions, tab management and more, but the more I use Firefox the more on-the-fly navigational tips … Read More »
If you’ve followed the utility software category for very long, you know that it’s very common for useful applications to get wrapped into operating systems. That’s happened with backup utilities, security utilities, and many others. Still, I keep a large collection of free, offbeat utilities around … Read More »
Yugma is one of my favorite free, web-hosted applications. I’ve written about it before here and now it’s out in a new version 3 that offers some useful enhancements. The rollout of version 3 included a few bug fixes, but it’s now stable. If you haven’t … Read More »
A while back, I did a post on free services that can make a web worker’s travels easier, cheaper and more convenient. I travel a fair amount, and I find it good to keep on top of what emerging online services can offer me. In … Read More »
The price of storage has been dropping dramatically for some time now, and along with that trend, web workers now have an ever-expanding set of options for backing up and sharing files online. In addition, the various services you can use offer many different kinds of … Read More »
Years ago, I was involved with writing a book about Microsoft Excel, but soon after I started the book, whaddyaknow, my publishing company went under. Nevertheless, in doing some of the early footwork for that book, I asked a lot of people how they use Excel, … Read More »
Many web workers are remote collaborators, and if you’re like me, e-mail and online storage sites are among your primary collaboration tools. If you share a lot of files, folders and screenshots with others, take a look at a freeware application called Clip2Net. It lets … Read More »
It’s very common for the work-at-home or primarily work-at-home web worker to lead a nomadic computing life. One of my favorite ways to make this style of working efficient is to keep a USB key with applications I like in my pocket at all times. I’ve … Read More »
By Samuel Dean
Mar. 27, 2008, 4:00pm PT
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Over on the OStatic blog–dedicated to open source technology–Reuven Lerner has a post on Hadoop that may be of interest to many web workers. If you’re unfamiliar with Hadoop, it’s an open source alternative to how Google’s all-important MapReduce technology works, which allows it … Read More »
Are you a Microsoft Outlook user? Many people are simply because IT departments require them to be. If you live in Outlook all day, you can greatly improve your efficiency and save time by reviewing some simple tips. In this post, I’ll round up some useful … Read More »
If you’re like me, you spend more time in Microsoft Word than any other software application. Those hours really add up, as I’ve mentioned before, and that’s why it’s good to constantly collect tips on how to be more efficient in Word. In this post, I’ll … Read More »
A lot of people who have successfully put in a Wi-Fi network neglect to optimize the way files are shared between computers in a home or workgroup. You can choose ways to organize shared files, and ensure that files are shared securely or not visible to … Read More »
In addition to posting on this blog, I edit another GigaOm blog dedicated to open source technology: OStatic. Web workers who are interested in running Linux but are also tied to Windows applicatons may be interested in a couple of recent Ostatic posts. In … Read More »
If you and your colleagues use the Microsoft Office suite of productivity applications, you’re probably very familiar with how much the suite costs and perhaps the high cost of licensing the applications. Of course, there are completely free alternatives to the Office suite, such as the … Read More »
Are you a user of the Google Docs suite? If you haven’t tried it, you should. It’s a good, free way to make use of productivity applications, whether you’re looking for word processing, spreadsheets, or more. Today, Google has announced that it’s added features … Read More »
Do you frequently work with graphics on the web? I’ve written before about my main tool for working with them: IrfanView. IrfanView is much faster to load than a full-featured product such as Photoshop, and is great in many other ways for on-the-fly graphics tasks … Read More »
Do you make use of the various file format conversion utilities that are available on the web? If you don’t, these can be huge time-savers, especially if you learn to use their batch processing features. For example, I frequently like to write in Microsoft Word, but … Read More »
Even if you’re very seasoned in in building and maintaing web sites–and especially if you’re not–it can be handy to have references right on your computer for everything from HTML tags to CSS styles. After all, staying up with what is current constitutes following a moving … Read More »
Whenever I think of some of the serial entepeneurs I’ve met–and I’ve met quite a few–I always decide that some people are simply better than others at generating new ideas. I’ve especially seen this in writing circles I’ve walked in, where some people can simply generate … Read More »
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