What I Use

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.

Wakoopa

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

Disclosure

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 every day.

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 Q8400 and 4 GB of RAM. This system runs Windows 7 Ultimate x64. It is attached to a 22-inch Dell LCD monitor that runs at 1680 x 1050. Also attached to the PC is a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 and a Microsoft Explorer Mouse (Blue-Track). I highly recommend both.

Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet PC

My current laptop is a Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet PC. It is a Lenovo loaner machine and it is an absolutely stunning mix of portability and utility, with 6-to-7 hour battery life, depending on how you use it. The system includes a 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM and runs Windows 7 Professional. This is my main laptop now and the one I bring with me on all trips.

Toshiba mini NB205

In mid-2009, I purchased two Toshiba mini NB205 netbooks, one for each of my kids. My experience with these devices was so good--they get 7-8 hours of battery life and are surprisingly usable--that I bought a third one for myself. My Toshiba features a 1.66 Atom processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a 250 GB hard drive. I used Windows Anytime Upgrade to upgrade the included version of Windows 7 Starter to Home Premium edition. I use this device primarily as a portable video player but am experimenting to see whether it could possibly make sense as a regular PC on trips.

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.

Apple iPhone 3G

Apple's smart phone entry, the iPhone 3G, has evolved from a device that was deeply flawed into one that I cannot bear to part with, and it's hard to overstate how useful it is, and how much better it keeps getting over time. I have a black 8 GB model and I never leave the house without it. AT&T's lackluster wireless network continues to be the iPhone 3G's sole Achilles Heel, but coverage has improved over time as well.

Microsoft Zune HD

I've moved to the Zune platform over the past several months. I have two Zune HD players, a black 16 GB version, which I use for movies and TV shows, and a platinum 32 GB version, which contains my music library and podcast collection.

Apple iPod

I use a 30 GB iPod in my car, a Volkswagen New Beetle, connected to an iPod-friendly Alpine stereo. (I would like to move to a Zune solution for the car and am now researching this.) I also have a late 2009 iPod touch with 32 GB of storage, which I use to test the Apple ecosystem stuff.

Amazon Kindle 2

My Amazon Kindle 2 is a daily companion, and I continue to use, rely on, and recommend this wonderful product. I subscribe to The New York Times and Time Magazine on the device. I'm an avid reader, and I always look for books first on the Kindle because they're so inexpensive. I use the Kindle 2 every single day, and my wife now uses the original first-generation Kindle.

Canon PowerShot SX200IS

My digital camera is a Canon PowerShot SX200IS, a great 12.1 megapixel device that features 12X optical zoom (yes, you read that right) with image stabilization functionality. The Canon can take 16:9 widescreen photos, which I'm using exclusively as they look wonderful on an HDTV. It's a little bit big and heavy for a point and click camera, but the picture quality is so good I can't bear to part with it. Highly recommended.

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. While I haven't found a single uber-box that can do it all (yet?), we do utilize a number of set-top boxes and other technological products for enjoy digital media in the home.

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 HDTV, which is excellent. We share one of the two HDMI inputs with a splitter box. (In addition to the devices mentioned below, we also use an upconverting DVD player in the living room.)

Apple TV

Apple's often-ignored Apple TV remains the single best digital media set-top box on the planet, and while I'd love to get away from the Apple ecosystem, I simply can't ignore this device. I'm surprised it's not more popular, to be honest.

Roku Digital Video Player

We subscribe to the Netflix DVD service, and the $99 Roku Digital Video Player is a must-have purchase for any subscriber: With this tiny, silent box (and an Internet connection), you can stream thousands of movies and TV shows, and starting this month, they've added HD-quality shows as well. And soon, Amazon On Demand will be added to the mix. The Roku box is excellent though, like most digital video solutions, it lacks closed captioning.

WD TV HD Media Player

Western Digital's entry into the set-top box sweepstakes is as performance-challenged as all of the other non-Apple players, but it's simple to set up and use, and it works nicely with the H.264-encoded content I prefer. Basically, the WD TV HD Media Player is a tiny box (almost identical in size to the Roku, above) with two USB ports and HDMI-out. You plug in a portable hard drive, and you can then access the digital music, photos, and videos on that drive via remote control, using your HDTV. I use it for my collection of movies, and for my kid's TV shows and movies. It works very well.

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'm a Windows guy, and I moved to Windows 7 exclusively on my PCs, a mix of Windows 7 Ultimate, Professional, and Home Premium.

Productivity

I use, rely on, and recommend Microsoft Office 2007, primarily Microsoft Word. (Hey, I do write for a living.) I am currently testing the Office 2010 Technical Preview.

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 almost exclusively, though I occasionally sync them with Windows Live Mail 2009 and/or Microsoft Outlook 2007. (I do not use Microsoft Outlook regularly, however, nor do I recommend this bloated piece of junk.)

Internet and communications

For Web browsing, I use Mozilla Firefox 3.5 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 8. I also test my own sites with (but do not recommend) the latest versions of Apple Safari and Google Chrome. I use and strongly recommend Last Pass for online password management.

I use Windows Live Messenger 2009 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 FTP purposes.

I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, family, and other acquaintances. I use various clients to access the Twitter micro-blogging service. I blog with Windows Live Writer 2009, which is excellent and free.

Security

I use the free Microsoft Security Essentials on all of my PCs and recommend that you do as well. The built-in firewall and anti-spyware/malware controls in Windows Vista and 7 are adequate for my needs.

Digital media

I use Microsoft Zune 4 as my primary digital media jukebox and organize my music, TV show, and movie collections with this software. I also use Apple iTunes 9 for Apple TV, iPhone and iPod syncing, and to add album art to digital video files. (Zune lacks this capability for some reason.)

I purchase DRM-free music from Apple iTunes Store, Zune Marketplace, and Amazon MP3, in that order. I subscribe to the Zune Pass service, which is $15 a month but now includes 10 free DRM-free songs per month as well, reducing the actual cost of the service to about $5 a month.

I do sometimes purchase or rent TV shows and movies digitally as well. I usually use the Apple iTunes Store (often via Apple TV) or Zune Marketplace. We subscribe to the Netflix DVD service.

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 2009, which is free and excellent. I also use Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0, Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006, and Google Picasa 3.5 for photo editing. I back up my photo collection to the Google Picasa Web Albums service, and pay the company for additional storage yearly. (I also back up by photo collection to Amazon S3 via the Server Online Backup utility in HP's home server.)

I use Windows Media Player (free with Windows) to play DVD (rarely) and digital (more common) movies on the PC. I use and recommend a few Slysoft products related to DVD copying. These include Slysoft AnyDVD (which removes DVD copy protection) and SlySoft CloneDVD (for creating backup copies of DVDs). I rip DVDs to H.264 format using the excellent and free Handbrake 0.9.3. 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.

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 Acrobat 9 Standard and 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 WinRAR 3.90 for file archiving (the built-in Compressed Folders feature in Windows is a joke). I use Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 or Visual Web Developer 2008 (free) for creating this web site.

--Paul Thurrott
March 4, 2007
Updated March 6, 2007; March 10, 2007; June 8, 2007; August 25, 2007; September 15, 2007; December 13, 2007; April 8, 2008; May 18, 2008; June 16, 2008; October 21, 2008; January 15, 2009; October 19, 2009; November 8, 2009

I've moved my own home computing "infrastructure" to Windows Home Server and have happily been using that solution for about two years. I recommend it highly, especially the HP MediaSmart Server line.

HP MediaSmart Servers

I recently consolidated all of my personal and professional data onto a single HP MediaSmart Server, a late 2009-era ex495 with 3.75 TB of storage space (over two drives).

Dell Optiplex 755

I also use a Dell Optiplex 755 workstation tower system with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (8M, 1066MHz FSB) and 8 GB of RAM as a server. This system runs Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 with Hyper-V 2.0. I have a virtualized domain with several servers and clients running under this system.

While the kids do use a Nintendo Wii (with Wii Fit and Mario Kart) in the cellar, our primary video game activities occur on the Xbox 360.

Xbox 360 Arcade

My Xbox 360 is a late-2008 Xbox 360 Core console that's been upgraded with a 120 GB Xbox 360 hard drive. This console is attached to my Gamercard, Paul Thurrott, and runs at 1080p on my HP w2408h 24-inch LCD in my home office.

Xbox 360 Pro

My son's Xbox 360 is a mid-2008 Xbox 360 Pro console with a 60 GB hard drive. This console is attached to a 720p HDTV.

Xbox 360 games

I move through video games pretty quickly. Check out my Xbox 360 Activity Center for the latest reviews and games I'm playing. For most of 2009, I've been stuck on Call of Duty World at War, and I've completed 10th prestige and all of the available Challenges.

I try to keep an eye on the Dark Side, too.

Apple MacBook (mid-2008)

This Penryn-based Apple MacBook is a black, third-generation machine with a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo T8300 microprocessor and a 250 GB hard drive. I've upgraded it to 4 GB of RAM. This machine dual boots between Windows 7 Ultimate and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. I rarely use it these days.