February 5, 2010 at 7:25 am
Joe Johnson-482549 (2/5/2010)
Nadrek (2/5/2010)
Flash drives: There is a tremendous difference in speed between them, even before onboard encryption comes into the mix.Did you read the article about encrypted drives, that most of them are essentially open?
No, but when I want hardware encryption, I track down a Kingston DataTraveler Vault Privacy Edition. Otherwise, I use encyrption software I'm personally familiar with and use on a variety of media, _never_ software encryption that "comes with" a flash drive.
February 5, 2010 at 7:30 am
There definitely are differences in most software. Editors especially, but it depends on whether that matters to you. If it does, it's not a toaster. If it doesn't, it is. I've used Word, Wordpad, OpenOffice, etc. to write. In many ways I prefer Notepad or Edit Plus because when I click the icon it starts. When I click Word, it ramps up, so I tend not to use it to "write" because it's slow. I use it when I need formatting. Otherwise everything is a text editor that works for me. I've even written articles in SSMS because it was handy and I can /* */ around the text while I test code.
February 5, 2010 at 7:31 am
When my friend Joe User calls up and says they're in the market for a new laptop/desktop so they can surf and email, they're looking for a toaster. They always ask what brand to get. I usually recommend they spend toward the lower/middle price range and go with whatever else turns them on (screen size, optical drive, etc). Brand doesn't really matter (IMHO).
February 5, 2010 at 7:36 am
PDF995
A great embedded print device that does what it says on the tin - and all for under 10 bucks! Had my copy for years and last updated in 2007! It even works when used programmatically: no mucking about with libraries. Just reset your default print device to it, and you get a nice neat pile of pdf files in your selected folder.
February 5, 2010 at 7:42 am
There are toasters, then there are better mouse traps.
7Zip format is a better mouse trap. I have to compress lots of PDF files and it is amazing compared to zip.
Also 7zip includes the command line interface which has mountians of uses. We even use 7zip for backups and remote backups because the file sizes are so small we can move them off site over dsl connections.
Great product, I would even pay for it, but I don't have to. ; )
MJ
February 5, 2010 at 7:44 am
Any computer with a recent version of Windows (XP or later) , IE, and an internet connection.
Any printer within 50 feet of my desk.
Love that way-cool toaster!
February 5, 2010 at 7:45 am
On the software side I'd have to say it's the office suite. Doesn't matter to me if it's using MS Office at work, OpenOffice at home, or any other office suite product really, they all do the same thing to me for how I use them.
On the hardware side, I think printers have come to the point where they are pretty much toasters, unless you're getting some big industrialized model that has sorting and colating and stapling etc, or for special professional printing, they're all just the same to me. I'd have to agree with the people who say thumb drives. I don't really care about the speed of thumb drives, they're all small, easily used, and are tons times faster and more storage than diskettes ever were. 😉
February 5, 2010 at 7:54 am
I have two "toasters":
1. CutePDF -- it's been years since I worked with a computer that I didn't install this on.
2. WordPad -- it's a step above NotePad, but loads faster and is more useful for down-and-dirty notes than Word.
It's the simple things that matter ...
Thanks,
- Joseph Marsh
February 5, 2010 at 7:58 am
Notepad. But if I want a little jelly with the toast I'll use WordPad.
February 5, 2010 at 8:07 am
I agree that USB drives are toasters, could care less about brand, only cost. Mostly that was on desktops too, care about price far more than brand, and unlikely to spend any time tweaking it besides upgrading memory or drives later in it's life. For mice I don't care as long as it's a wireless laser.
Plus, now I'm associated for life with toasters!
February 5, 2010 at 8:25 am
I totally agree with a Print To PDF being a toaster. It doesn't matter too much which one you chose as they all do about the same quality of job. I use BullZip pretty much because it was the first free Print To PDF program that I tried and it has worked flawlessy for me since
February 5, 2010 at 8:38 am
Definitely Notepad++ for text editor(toaster) - I tried several others for quick code changes, but Notepad++ is the most versatile one that I have found. Favorite feature - bracket matching for opening and closing statements.
February 5, 2010 at 9:01 am
Snagit definitely. Codesmith. Textpad.
I've only used it for a few weeks but Subversion and TortoiseSVN look like they will be in my "toolbox" for a long time to come.
February 5, 2010 at 9:21 am
Mouse
February 5, 2010 at 9:22 am
I produce a lot of documentation as part of my job so I'd have to say SnagIt. Also couldn't do without my Notepad ++.
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