Software

* I have worked with computers for far too long , so I tend to do much more with my machine than the average user.  I have recently upgraded form Windows Vista to Windows 7, and all these programs work on both.

Two programs I only use when I have to are Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer, and I never use Firefox (no particular reason for the latter).

Internet Explorer:
I mainly use Opera and Slim Browser from Slimbrowser.net because they provide more facilities and the interface is easier to use.  As a website designer I like to try out my sites on different browsers to make sure they are compatible, so I also use Safari from Apple.com.  All these browser are free and have not given me problems.  Some websites are written superficially in MicroSoft’s version of HTML and Opera occasionally has a problem with those, so I then use Slim Browser.

Windows Explorer:
I use both Free Commander from Freecommander.com and QDir from q-dir.en.softonic.com.  Both these programs provide more than one pane, making the moving of files around between partitions and disk drives, as well as within one partition, much easier.

Website building:
There are a lot of software programs available for building web sites.  Some of them are very good, some or just so so, so I will not try and give advice on which to use.  My preferences are WordPress, which is free, and Front Page from Microsoft.com (both suitable for inexperienced users), and Namo, which I use for more fancy work and because I like it:-)
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I have included some pages (see menu) which have a list of some software that I have tried, and in many cases, used.  It is divided into two main categories – free and retail.  The free programs are genuinely free and have no problems that I am aware of.  The retail programs are those that must be paid for, and can usually be bought online or in shops like Staples.  I will add to these lists as I think of new entries.

An excellent weekly newsletter I have been getting is from CloudEight, it is a source of tips and advice that is up to date – they also recommend free software and some interesting websites.

(tip: the free software is worth looking at, some very good stuff there)