Items marked with the "New!" graphic were added or changed in the September 2010 update.

I get a lot of questions about the hardware and software I actually use. With the understanding that the reality of my job requires me to change my daily computing repertoire on a regular basis, what the heck, here's the list. I'll try to keep this up-to-date, but again, my testing requirements often cause me to change things up with little notice.

Note: With the exception of some Microsoft software such as Windows and Office, I've paid for all the commercial software I use and mention below. Unless noted, I paid for all of the hardware, software, and subscription services listed here, and I do pretty much recommend it all. This isn't an opportunity for me to sell you on some vendor's products. This is what I really do use regularly.

I track my software usage automatically with Wakoopa. You can too!

Computers

While I maintain a wide range of laptop computers for testing purposes, most of my day-to-day computing occurs on a small range of "core" machines, which typically consists of one desktop PC and one notebook computer.

Dell Inspiron 537s

My main computer is a Dell Inspiron 537s desktop system with a 3 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8400 and 4 GB of RAM. This system runs Windows 7 Ultimate x64. It is attached to a 22-inch Dell that runs at 1680 x 1050. Also attached to the PC is a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, Microsoft Explorer Mouse (Blue-Track) (I highly recommend both) and Bose Companion 2 Series II speakers.

This PC stores my master media collection, so I sync devices from here, including the living room-based Apple TV, my iPhones, iPods, iPad, and Zunes.

Lenovo ThinkPad SL410 Notebook

My laptop is a Lenovo ThinkPad SL410. It's a mid-level 14-inch notebook with the best notebook keyboard I've ever used. The system includes a 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and runs Windows 7 Home Premium. I recently upgraded it to 4 GB of RAM, from the stock 2 GB.

Phone

My main smart phone is a prototype Samsung SGH-i707 Windows Phone running Windows Phone 7 OS. I've been using this phone on a daily basis, including three weeks in Germany this summer, and unlike the several iPhones I've owned, it's never dropped a call--not once--suggesting that many of the issues we've all come to associate with AT&T are, in fact, Apple's fault.

I also just received a Motorola DROID X from my employer. It runs Android OS and utilizes the Verizon Wireless. I'll be using it primarily for work-related email and travel, but will also use it as a comparison between Windows Phone 7, iOS 4.x, and Android going forward. It's a pretty sweet device, and the OS, surprisingly, seems very mature.

Portable Devices

I love good technology, and some of the best technology I use can fit in a shirt pocket. These are the gadgets I use regularly.

Zune HD

My Zune HD's are back in the regular rotation. I have two late 2009-era Zune HD portable media players, a 16 GB (black) unit and a 32 GB (platinum) unit. (I also have an original Zune 30 I can't bear to part with.) These are fantastic players, if underappreciated by the buying public.

Apple iPods

I still have several iPods, but I've bee using the new 2010 models lately. These include the new iPod touch 4G with 32 GB of storage, which I use for games and testing, an 8 GB iPod nano and a 2 GB iPod shuffle, the latter two of which are music-only devices. I use an older 60 GB iPod classic in my car, a Volkswagen New Beetle, connected via an iPod-friendly Alpine stereo.

Apple iPad

I've been putting up with the first-generation iPad (Wi-Fi, 16 GB) for months now and I am not impressed at all with this device. The screen is too glossy and reflective for movies or eBook reading (or almost anything else) and it's too heavy for an eBook reader. It is also far too expensive. One bright spot: It's a decent portable game machine, go figure. The search for a decent tablet-type video player continues.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones

I always use Bose noise cancelling headphones when traveling. Yes, there are other less expensive options, but Bose makes the best. Since early 2007, I've been using a pair of excellent Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones. For Christmas 2009, I received the new QuietComfort 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones and have been using those since. I strongly recommend (either of) these for flying. They are critical to protecting your ears and deliver amazing sound.

Amazon Kindle 3

Amazon's new Kindle is so good, I bought two: A Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi for myself and a Kindle Wi-Fi for my wife. As it has been since the day it appeared in 2007, the Kindle is a daily companion that I continue to use, rely on, and recommend. I subscribe to The New York Times on the device. I'm an avid reader, and I always look for books first on the Kindle because they're so inexpensive. My wife I use the Kindle 3 every single day. This is a much better reading experience than with the iPad. Highly recommended.

Panasonic DMC-ZS7

My digital camera is a Panasonic DMC-ZS7, a great 12.1 megapixel point-and-shoot that features 12X optical zoom with image stabilization functionality. The camera can take 16:9 widescreen photos, which I'm using exclusively as they look wonderful on an HDTV, and this model features a somewhat slow but useful GPS for geo-tagging. It's a little bit big and heavy, but the picture (and video) quality is good. Recommended.

Home Technology

One of the big advantages of storing memories (photos and movies) and music and video collections on a PC or home server is that you can then share them to other compatible devices around the house.

FIOS Internet, phone, TV

We were lucky enough to be among the first in the Northeast US to get Verizon FIOS Internet service a few years back, and since then we've upgraded to their phone and TV services as well. The FIOS TV service is particularly good, with numerous non-compressed HDTV channels. We use the built-in DVR to record TV shows. It's not as good as Media Center (what is?) but it's more integrated and it works fine. Our TV is a 42-inch flat screen Panasonic Plasma HDTV, which is excellent. We share one of the two HDMI inputs with a splitter box.

Xbox 360 S

The sleek new Xbox 360 S has now replaced four devices in our living room: Apple TV, WD-TV, Roku Digital Video Player, and DVD player. We use it with the Netflix video streaming service, to play locally stored and network-based video, and to buy and rent movies and TV shows from the Zune service. Oh, and it plays games.

Software and Services

Like many people, I have stock collection of software that I install every time I reinstall Windows or get a new PC.

Operating system

I use Windows 7 exclusively on my PCs, a mix of Windows 7 Ultimate, Professional, and Home Premium.

Productivity

I use Microsoft's beta Windows Live Sync/Windows Live Mesh service to synchronize key files between my PCs and Windows Live SkyDrive; it works well and is getting better. I use, rely on, and recommend Microsoft Office 2010, primarily Microsoft Word. (Hey, I do write for a living.)

For email and contacts management, I use Google's excellent Gmail service. Likewise, I manage my schedule with Google Calendar. I utilize the web interface for both services exclusively on the PC, and also access them on the iPhone via Exchange ActiveSync.

Internet and communications

For web browsing, I have switched almost exclusively to Internet Explorer 9 Beta. I do test a mix of browsers, however, including the latest (beta, when available) versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. I use and strongly recommend Last Pass for online password management (it now works in all major browsers) and Invisible Hand for product price comparisons.

I use Windows Live Messenger for instant messaging with friends and family only. Leo Laporte and I record the Windows Weekly podcast with Skype each week. I use FileZilla for (rare, usually book-related) FTP purposes.

I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, family, and other acquaintances. I blog with Windows Live Writer, which is excellent and free. I use and recommend Blogger and WordPress for my various blogs. (The SuperSite Blog currently uses Community Server, which I do not recommend.)

Security

I use and recommend the free Microsoft Security Essentials. My entire family uses it, and we've never had a single issue.

Digital media

I now use an unreleased beta (v4.7) version of the Zune PC software as my primary digital media jukebox because of its compatibility with Windows Phone. I also use Apple iTunes 10 to sync content to my iPods and iPad.

I purchase DRM-free music from Apple iTunes Store, and Zune Marketplace. I am a member of Microsoft's excellent Zune Pass subscription service.

I rarely purchase or rent TV shows and movies digitally thanks to improvements to the excellent Netflix service. Netflix has emerged as one of the most valuable technology services we utilize.

I use and recommend Audible for audio books. (Full disclosure: Audible advertises on my weekly podcast. That said, I would use and recommend this service regardless.)

I manage my photo collection with Windows Live Photo Gallery, which is free and excellent. I also use Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0 (not the latest version), Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006 (which has been discontinued), and the latest version of Google Picasa for photo editing. I back up my photo collection to the Google Picasa Web Albums service, and pay the company for additional storage yearly. This has gotten much cheaper recently.

I use VLC Media Player and Windows Media Player 12 (free with Windows 7) to watch digital movies on the PC; I prefer WMP, but VLC supports soft captioning in H.264/MP4 files.

I use and recommend a few Slysoft products related to DVD copying. These include Slysoft AnyDVD HD (which removes DVD copy protection) and SlySoft CloneDVD (for creating backup copies of DVDs). I rip DVDs to H.264 format using latest version of Handbrake, which is both free and excellent (and can create videos with soft captioning). This utility can also convert existing videos to H.264. Note: I do not steal DVDs; I use these products to create digital copies of my own movies so that I can watch them on a Zune or the Apple TV.

Like most people, I very rarely need to edit digital movies. When I do need to do so, however, I use Windows Live Movie Maker, which is excellent (and free).

Other applications and utilities

In addition to the aforementioned applications, I regularly use a number of other apps that don't necessarily fall into neat categories. I use Adobe Reader for PDF files, Techsmith SnagIt for screen captures, Microsoft Windows Virtual PC and Sun VirtualBox (both of which are free) for OS testing, and the latest version of WinRAR for file archiving (the built-in Compressed Folders feature in Windows is a joke). I use Visual Web Developer 2010 Express (free) for creating this web site. I also have started using Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone to tinker with Windows Phone 7 software development.

--Paul Thurrott