More Essential Tools
The following is a list of over 160 essential tools as recommended by the individuals who have been featured in my weekly Essential Tools feature from Dec. 2006 until June 2007. I’d like to give a special thanks to Dawud Miracle for taking the time to compile the whole list for me.
Antivirus
Audio/Video
Blog Editors
- BlogDesk – Dr. Hsien-Hsien LeiEye on DNA)
- Qumana – Gayla McCord (MomGadget)
- ScribeFire – Phil Gerbyshak (Make It Great!), Randa Clay (RandaClay)
Blog Platforms
- Blogger – Ingo (Stixster)
- TypePad – Mike Sansone (Converstations)
- WordPress (plugins below)- Jason Kaneshiro (Webomatica), Jason Alba (JibberJobber), Ben Yoskovitz (Instigator Blog), Jason Kaneshiro (Webomatica), Randa Clay (RandaClay), Sarah Lewis (Blogging Expertise), Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now), Lisa Sabin Wilson (Just a Girl in the World), Leah Maclean (Working Solo)
Browsers
- Camino – Adam Kayce (Monk at Work)
- Firefox (extensions below) – Gayla McCord (MomGadget), Tony Clark (Success From The Nest), Jason Alba (JibberJobber), Phil Gerbyshak (Make It Great!), Jason Kaneshiro (Webomatica), Ingo (Stixster), Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei (Eye on DNA)
- Opera – Mike Markie (TyperTappers)
- Safari – Jason Kaneshiro (Webomatica)
Browser Screenshots
Color
- Adobe Kuler – Lisa Sabin Wilson (Just a Girl in the World)
- Colorcop – Lisa Sabin Wilson (Just a Girl in the World)
- ColorZilla – Rory Sullivan (Hamelife)
- Color Schemer – Lisa Sabin Wilson (Just a Girl in the World)
Communications
- Gaim – Tony Clark (Success From The Nest)
- GoToMeeting – Liz Strauss (Successful Blog)
- Lingo (VOIP) – Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
- Skype – Liz Strauss (Successful Blog), Tony Clark (Success From The Nest), Jason Alba (JibberJobber), Ben Yoskovitz (Instigator Blog), Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei (Eye on DNA)
- SlideShare – Liz Strauss (Successful Blog)
- Virtual Conference Room – Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
Conference Calling
- Free Conference Call – Kelly King Anderson (Start Up Princess)
- Live Office Free Conferencing – Adam Kayce (Monk at Work)
- GMail – Jason Alba (JibberJobber), Phil Gerbyshak (Make It Great!), Ben Yoskovitz (Instigator Blog), Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
- Microsoft Outlook – Jason Alba (JibberJobber), Ingo (Stixster)
- Thunderbird – Gayla McCord (MomGadget), Tony Clark (Success From The Nest), Ingo (Stixster), Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei (Eye on DNA)
Feeds & Feed Readers
- Feedburner – Jennifer Hadorn (Bloggortunity)
- Google Reader – Robyn Tippins (Sleepy Blogger), Gayla McCord (MomGadget), Tony Clark (Success From The Nest), Sarah Lewis (Blogging Expertise)
- MyYahoo – skarld (WordPress Theme Gallery)
- NetNewsWire Lite – Jason Kaneshiro (Webomatica)
- Netvibes – Paul Enderson (Paul Enderson)
- Pageflakes – Paul Enderson (Paul Enderson)
Firefox Extensions
- Adsense Notifier for Firefox – Robyn Tippins (Sleepy Blogger)
- ColorZilla – Rory Sullivan (Hamelife)
- FireFTP – Robyn Tippins (Sleepy Blogger), Wendy Piersall (eMoms at Home), Rory Sullivan (Hamelife)
- ScribeFire – Phil Gerbyshak (Make It Great!), Randa Clay (RandaClay)
- Web Developer Extension – Rory Sullivan (Hamelife)
FTP Clients
- CuteFTP – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- CyberDuck – Jason Kaneshiro (Webomatica)
- Filezilla – Tony Clark (Success From The Nest)
- FireFTP – Robyn Tippins (Sleepy Blogger), Wendy Piersall (eMoms at Home)
- WS FTP Pro – Gayla McCord (MomGadget)
Graphics
- Any Graphics Program – Liz Strauss (Successful Blog)
- Adobe Creative Suite – David Airey (David Airey), Leah Maclean (Working Solo)
- Adobe Fireworks – Tony Clark (Success From The Nest), Adam Kayce (Monk at Work)
- Adobe Illustrator – Randa Clay (RandaClay), Lisa Sabin Wilson (Just a Girl in the World)
- Adobe Photoshop – Mike Markie (TyperTappers), Gayla McCord (MomGadget), Jason Kaneshiro (Webomatica), Lisa Sabin Wilson (Just a Girl in the World)
- AxiomX Picsizer – Phil Gerbyshak (Make It Great!)
- CorelDraw – Lisa Sabin Wilson (Just a Girl in the World)
- Corel Paint Shop Pro X – Lisa Sabin Wilson (Just a Girl in the World)
- GIMP – Tony Clark (Success From The Nest), David Airey (David Airey)
- Paint.net – Easton Ellsworth (Business Blog Wire)
- PaintShop Pro – Jennifer Hadorn (Bloggortunity)
- zengobi Curio – Adam Kayce (Monk at Work)
Hardware
- Cell Phone – Jason Alba (JibberJobber)
- Dymo Printer – Kelly King Anderson (Start Up Princess)
- External Hard Drive – Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
- Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard – Leah Maclean (Working Solo)
- Portable USB Drive – Phil Gerbyshak (Make It Great!)
- Sony VAIO Laptop – Mike Sansone (Converstations)
- Sprint EVDO Card – Mike Sansone (Converstations)
- Toshiba Satellite Laptop – Jason Alba (JibberJobber)
- Wacom Intuos3 Pen Tablet – Leah Maclean (Working Solo)
- Wireless Keyboard – Phil Gerbyshak (Make It Great!), Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
- Wireless Mouse – Liz Strauss (Successful Blog), Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
- Wireless Router – Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
Hosting
HTML/CSS
- 1st Page by Evrsoft - Jennifer Hadorn (Bloggortunity)
- Adobe Dreamweaver – Char (Essential Keystrokes), Jason Kaneshiro (Webomatica)
- Adobe Homesite – Tony Clark (Success From The Nest)
- Apple TextEdit – Jason Kaneshiro (Webomatica)
- BareBones TextWrangler – Jason Kaneshiro (Webomatica)
- CSSEdit – Adam Kayce (Monk at Work)
- HTML-Kit – Tony Clark (Success From The Nest)
- Microsoft Notepad – Jason Alba (JibberJobber)
- Notepad++ – Mike Markie (TyperTappers)
- Textmate – Sarah Lewis (Blogging Expertise)
- Ultraedit – Lisa Sabin Wilson (Just a Girl in the World)
Instant Messenging
- MSN IM – Jason Alba (JibberJobber)
- Skype – Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
- Yahoo IM – Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
IT Testing
- Most of the students go for 156-215 or 1Y0-456 right after their 1z0-042. Those who don’t opt for this try their luck in 642-892 instead.
Job Seeking
Miscellaneous
- Google Alerts – Kelly King Anderson (Start Up Princess)
- Google Desktop – Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei (Eye on DNA)
- Help Desk Solutions – Lisa Sabin Wilson (Just a Girl in the World)
- iTunes – Leah Maclean (Working Solo)
- NETaccounts – Leah Maclean (Working Solo)
- Ping-o-matic – Kelly King Anderson (Start Up Princess)
- Quicksilver – Adam Kayce (Monk at Work)
- TextExpander – Adam Kayce (Monk at Work)
- TurboTax – Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
Monetization
- Adsense Notifier for Firefox – Robyn Tippins (Sleepy Blogger)
- Google Adsense – Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
- OpenAds – Wendy Piersall (eMoms at Home)
Office Suites & Software
- Google Docs & Spreadsheet – Easton Ellsworth (Business Blog Wire)
- Mellel – Adam Kayce (Monk at Work)
- Microsoft Office – Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
PDFs
- CutePDF – Phil Gerbyshak (Make It Great!)
- PDF Conversion Software (online) – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- PDF Converter – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- PDF to Excel – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- PDF to Word – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
Photo Sharing
- Flickr – Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei (Eye on DNA), Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now), Kelly King Anderson (Start Up Princess)
- Photobucket – Kelly King Anderson (Start Up Princess)
Press Releases
Screen Capture & ScreenCasting
- Apple’s Grab – Jason Kaneshiro (Webomatica)
- Camtasia Studio – Easton Ellsworth (Business Blog Wire)
- SnagIt – Jason Alba (JibberJobber)
Search Engine Optimization Tools
- iWebTools – Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now)
- SEOBook Free SEO Tools – Aaron Weiche (Prime Advertising & Design)
- SEOmoz SEO Tools – Aaron Weiche (Prime Advertising & Design)
- Sitening SEO Tools – Sarah Lewis (Blogging Expertise)
Search Engine Optimization – Keywords
- Google Keyword Tool – Aaron Weiche (Prime Advertising & Design)
- Overture Keyword Selector – Aaron Weiche (Prime Advertising & Design)
- SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool – Kelly King Anderson (Start Up Princess), Aaron Weiche (Prime Advertising & Design)
- WordTracker – Aaron Weiche (Prime Advertising & Design)
Shopping Cart
Sitemap Tools
- Google Webmaster Central – Aaron Weiche (Prime Advertising & Design)
- XML Sitemap Tools – Aaron Weiche (Prime Advertising & Design)
- Yahoo! Site Explorer – Aaron Weiche (Prime Advertising & Design)
Social Bookmarking
- del.icio.us – Sarah Lewis (Blogging Expertise), Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Furl – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Ma.gonlia – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
Social Content
- Flickr – Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei (Eye on DNA), Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now), Kelly King Anderson (Start Up Princess), Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- YouTube – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
Social Networking
- Blog Catalog – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Facebook – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Go2Web20 – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Linkedin – Wendy Piersall (eMoms at Home)
- MyBlogLog- Gayla McCord (MomGadget), Ingo (Stixster)
- MySpace – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Technorati – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
Social Plugins – WordPress
- AddThis – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Digg Button – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Feedburner – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Share This – Lisa Sabin Wilson (Just a Girl in the World), Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- SocialPoster – Terinea (Terinea Weblog)
- Sociable – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Webvirtue Share Your Post – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
Social Recommendation
- Babblz – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- BizzBites – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- BUMPzee – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Digg – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Netscape – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Sk*rt – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Stumbleupon – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
Stock Photos
- iStockPhoto – Leah Maclean (Working Solo)
- Stock.xchng – Randa Clay (RandaClay), Easton Ellsworth (Business Blog Wire)
Surveys
Website Statistics
- ClickTracks – Aaron Weiche (Prime Advertising & Design)
- Google Analytics – Sarah Lewis (Blogging Expertise), Ponn Sabra (Empower Women Now), Aaron Weiche (Prime Advertising & Design)
- StatCounter – Randa Clay (RandaClay)
- WebSideStory / HBX Analytics – Aaron Weiche (Prime Advertising & Design)
WordPress Plugins
- Digg Button – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- DoFollow – Wendy Piersall (eMoms at Home)
- Head META Tags – Wendy Piersall (eMoms at Home)
- Share This – Lisa Sabin Wilson (Just a Girl in the World), Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Show Top Commenters – Wendy Piersall (eMoms at Home)
- Sociable – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- Webvirtue Share Your Post – Char (Essential Keystrokes)
- WP-Amazon – Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei (Eye on DNA)
