Encryption

Truecrypt - Why is TrueCrypt first on the list? Simple. A multi-gig, easy-to-lose, unencrypted drive with your data on it is a terrible security risk. Truecrypt helps me keep all my private stuff locked down. Read the "traveller mode" documentation for help setting it up.

Web and Internet

Operator - I'm not an Opera fanboy by any stretch, but if I've got to surf on a public computer, I'm using Operator. It's got Tor anonymous browsing built in to keep you safe. You can read more about it in my previous post. If I'm on a trusted computer, I'll go for Portable Firefox.

Pidgin - I don't usually need to IM from a client's site, but just in case I need to stay in touch I bring Pidgin with me. For portable multi-network chat, it's the best option out there. Add the encryption plugin to keep it secure.

Filezilla - Half the time I need Notepad++, it's because I'm editing files on my FTP server from the road. Filezilla portable keeps all my sites accesible from wherever I am.

Web-based list-creation service Blist has made a couple of changes recently, and the biggest one is "less a feature and more a philosophy." Because Blist is easier to demonstrate than it is to explain, you can now try Blist without an account. You can play with all the features, browser other people's Blists and even make your own -- you just can't save it.

At the same time, they've introduced social features, similar to the ones you're familiar with from places like Digg and Google Reader. You can add contacts and share Blists with others via your contact list. Previously, you could only share via email (that feature is still available.) We love to see intelligent uses of social features like Blist's. It looks like they've added something that people will actually use, without going overboard with elaborate profiles.

[via Mashable]

There's not much to Listaculous, which is what might make it useful for a lot of people. It's just tabs and to-do items, all in one window. Opening Listaculous in a pop-out window is appealing; the tabs make for a small footprint, even with multiple lists. For those who like their action items embedded in a home page, Listaculous also comes as an iGoogle widget.

It's Friday, and Download Squad wants to make sure that you have completed all your tasks for the week. And what better way to track and ensure they are completed than with an online app. We have covered a bunch of note taking and GTD apps in the past, but Vitalist is another one you might enjoy using.

Vitalist offers a fresh outlook on the space. The interface is quick to grasp, well layed out and offers tasks that can be grouped and filtered by color coordinated projects, making it quick to scan and update as required. Vitalist has also built out special mobile access websites including a dedicated iPhone website for completing tasks while on the go. Support for both Google and Netvibes start page widgets is available as well as reminders that can be sent to emails and via sms. There are a few different Vitalist account options starting at free, and rising up to $10/month. Free accounts of course come with a few limitations. Actions and Tasks are unlimited, but projects and contacts are limited to 10 and there are no task sharing features available.

With so many GTD tools in the marketplace, it's hard to decide which one to choose that will help you along the way. Sometimes your best bet is to actually get a good old fashion moleskin notebook and a pen. Getting things done truly has nothing to do with the application, and more to do with the execution and sticking to whatever you choose to help you along the way.

Check out a few more pics after the jump...

Lists of top [anything] are a big hit across the interwebs. They pack a lot of information into a neat list that's easy to comb for exactly what you need. As WordPress keeps gaining momentum and popularity, more and more bloggers are posting lists of their favorite plugins that help them stay on top of their game. Instead of posting a top X list, however, DLS reader Staska decided to aggregate. By using the power of community and this list of top WordPress plugin posts from bloggers around the world, Staska created a Top 30 WordPress Plugins list by tallying each plugin's mention from all those bloggers.

That's a lot of lists, and a lot of aggregating.

The result is a great success, with a strong list that should have something for everyone, and commentary from Staska on the wide array of WordPress plugins that keep the blogosphere runing.

Post by David Chartier

I have a Flickr account, and I take plenty of photos, but I find myself not using it as much as I feel I ought to. Maybe Thomas Hawk's list of Top 10 Hacks on Flickr will help remedy that. It's a round-up of tricks, scripts, and sites that make Flickr more pleasurable to use, and though I'd seen some of them already, several of them were pleasant surprises. His #1 Flickr "hack" is Flickr Leech. Its tagline is "because paging sucks," and what it does is shows you all of the thumbnails for any user, photoset, or pool all at once. Very refreshing. That's just the tip of the iceberg--Hawk also points out some great Greasemonkey scripts, some web (and desktop) apps, and more for your Flickr enjoyment.

Nevermind the other guy, what about what you want for the holidays? So you can't keep track of all those gifts you want? Sick of explaining the difference between an Intel Core Duo and and AMD 64 X2 to your loved ones? GiftHat gives you a place to store all your desires for the holidays and helps you justify being the greedy selfish little kid we all are inside, all the while maintaining the charade that it is a good thing for your loved ones, since they will know what you want without having to ask you, therefore maintaining that holiday tact no one seems to have. It will even allow you to load page images from Amazon to pick the right pix for your item, and grab the price too. The cool thing about GiftHat is that it will let you either automatically detect settings from a site or manually type in the details, so it works for just about any site, not just Amazon. With the nifty little JavaScript bookmarklet (drag this link to your bookmarks) and the ability to post a little GiftHat badge to your blog or website, it becomes a powerful service rivaling the functionality of del.icio.us except for gifts not sites, and actually makes shopping for yourself and getting what you want easy as, well pie. Pumpkin pie. The last great thing is that you can have any relatives, friends, and other people who will buy you stuff go to a simple URL on the web to see your list, in the form of gifthat.com/yourlistname. Email them the link, let them know that this is your wishlist, and you're done.

Wow, I feel so self-centered after this post, I am going to go feed a homeless guy or something. Peachy.

Okay, okay, the "essential Firefox addons" list has been done to death, but if everyone else can beat a dead horse, why can't I? Having just freshened up my system I had the unique opportunity to take a fresh look at which Firefox addons I have installed and which ones I can't live without. As it turns out, there's quite a lot of them, so without further ado, here's my 15 essential Firefox add-ons:

Adblock Plus: I don't like red-and-green flashing YOU ARE A WINNER!! ads any more than you.

BugMeNot: I don't like giving my e-mail address, much less taking the time to fill out yet another form and click on another e-mail confirmation link, any more than you.

DownThemAll!: DownThemAll! isn't just useful for downloading a ton of files at once (though that's most certainly its best feature)--it also makes a great general-purpose download manager for when Firefox's built-in options aren't enough.

ErrorZilla: Firefox's standard the-site-could-not-be-reached error message is so passé. ErrorZilla augments the lowly "Try Again" button with six more: Google Cache, Coral Cache, Internet Archive Wayback Machine, Ping, Trace Route, and Whois.

Are you ever out and about, and can't recall that little something you had to do? Motask would love to help you. Motask is a to-do list accessible through mobile devices. Through its extremely simple interface, users can add tasks, edit tasks, and easily delete them when the task has been completed all through motask.com from their mobile device. It's a great way to remind you what had to be done while you are out. Simply log on to the website, open an account in two seconds, and start making your task list. The service is free of charge, and unfortunately there is currently no way to export tasks, or upload tasks from other applications like Outlook. Nonetheless, it's a great simple reminder tool for on the go.

I've long been meaning to give Ubuntu a more serious look, and Adam Pash's Top 10 Ubuntu apps and tweaks over at Lifehacker is all the more motivation. Pash identifies ten ways you can improve your Ubuntu experience, including Automatix (application installation automator), Beagle (desktop search), Gnome Deskbar Applet ("a great app launcher and then some"), VLC (video player), Firefox (web browser), amaroK (audio player), and CheckGmail (email notifier for Gmail). As usual, the comments following the article are a great trove of further tips.

What would you say is the greatest software ever written? Snood would probably top my list, but I must admit InformationWeek's list is a bit more.. practical. Charles Babcock's What's the Greatest Software Ever Written? is a great mini-survey of the history of software, terminating in a list of 12 of the world's most historic software developments. I won't ruin the final 3 for you, but here are items 4-12.

12. The Morris worm
11. Google search rank
10. Apollo guidance system
9. Excel spreadsheet
8. Macintosh OS
7. Sabre system
6. Mosaic browser
5. Java language
4. IBM System 360 OS

Number 1 will not surprise you, but 2 and 3 are interesting choices. So, if you had Babcock's job, what would top your list of the Greatest Software Ever?

[Via Lifehacker]

Guardian Unlimited is running a great article called Websites that changed the world. It's odd to think of things we take so much for granted as having changed the world, but it's true, they did. Among the world-changing web sites are Wikipedia, Blogger, MySpace, Amazon.com, and, of course, Yahoo! and Google. One odd choice is Napster, which of course had a web site but was not itself a web site, but it was, indeed, disruptive enough that I think we can let it slide. It's also interesting in that Napster is the only item on the list that is only a shadow of its former, world-changing self.

I'm going to tell you a secret: With Active Desktop, a feature that has been around since Windows 95, you can turn any personalized home page, nay, any IE-compatible web page at all, into your desktop. Okay, it's not really a secret, but is unknown to many and taken for granted by most. Wallnote, however, is a web app that wants to capitalize on that functionality. It's a note-keeping and to-do-tracking app that can be used in any web browser, but is designed to live happily on your desktop. Wallnote doesn't have a lot of fancy features, but it has a nice clean look and gets the job done. It's free to use and there's a no-registration demo plus step-by-step instructions for getting it running on your Active Desktop on the Wallnote web site.

[Via Lifehacker]

Oh, how we love the Top 10 lists. TechWeb's Alexander Wolfe has written a Top 10 list that's actually one Top 6 list and one Bottom 4 list: Top 10 Windows Vista Hits & Misses, i.e. what's awesome in Vista and what ain't so great. Here's your basic spoiler:

Hits:

1. Sidebar and gadgets
2. Pretty Aero interface
3. Media Center integration
4. Windows Media Player 11
5. Non-intrusive DRM
6. Flip 3D task switcher

Misses:

1. Installation problems
2. Lousy performance
3. Bad Search and security behaviors
4. Steep memory requirements for Aero

Wolfe concludes that "Vista is very strong on its consumer presentation skills, but has made less of a business case for corporations to upgrade from Windows XP," and that he would be willing to pay the OEM price of about $85, but not the $199 or $299 that we've been hearing for a retail copy.