Ten things that make my tech life easier.

1. Adium – This program on the mac should be one of the first things a new user to the mac puts on their machine.  It has a great simple interface yet a deep feature list.  It can connect to practically every instant messaging service  and social sites out there.  It has a great community that constantly strive to make it better.  With hundreds of plugins and themes, if for what ever reasons you need something that is not officially offers, you will probably find it in the ‘extras’ download.  The final and best feature of this program is it’s free.  That’s right folks!  Why pay for the milk when you can get the duck for free?   (inside adium joke) If you’re a windows or linux user, Digsby and Pidgin are its’ nearest cousins.

2. Google Reader – This is my first and foremost destination when I open my browser.  At my fingertip is information tailored for my interest.  It saves me time and lets me skim my news at lighting speed.  I was once a blogline user but google has won me over with a far superior product that is both functional and pleasing to the eye. Imagine driving to every newspaper in the country to read their headlines or to every department store to see their specials and ads.  Now image all of the newspapers and stores coming to your house to show you what they have to offer.  That is the power of RSS and an online RSS reader.

3. Firefox – I was using this program when it was known as phoenix.  This program is open source and completely free, yet it is worth more than money can buy.  With it, you can securely browse the web without worrying about active-x exploits, phishing sites, and other malicious things that can harm your computer.  I have a PC and a MAC and this program is on both.  While I’ve used Internet Explorer and Safari, Firefox is the bridge to my various computers by the add-ons it offers.  I can sync my bookmarks between different computers with xmark.  I can change the way an ugly site looks with Stylish.  If I had a spout at the end of my USB ports I bet I can find an add-on that will brew me a cup of coffee with this browser.

4. – 10.  So I lied, I only have a few right now.  I’m going to add more as soon as I poll my brain for things I can’t do without.  I only hope I don’t have any Floridian voting brain cells.