I must have the best and latest of everything. This holds true for me as long as my budget holds up. In fact, its less ’latest and greatest’ and more ‘what people are willing to give me’ most of the time. Not that I’m cheep, just that I’m poor.

Not that it would make much difference I suppose, who wants to pay for stuff you can probably get for free. Take software for example. I’ve found free versions of almost every app I’ve wanted to use. When I first got my computer I spent hours searching online for free software to make the tiniest of jobs simpler or quicker. Because I could.

For about a year I used Safari on my Mac. It was free, it came with Apple’s design and endorsement, and could therefore be trusted to integrate itself into the operating system without hassle. I started subscribing to rss feeds at about the same time that Apple released Tiger, and with it the new improved Safari 2.0. Safari 2.0 had lots of cool stuff I was sure I needed, but couldn’t afford the upgrade to Tiger. Then Safari started crashing. A lot. I tried to fix it but to no avail. I had already tired of Internet Explorer at my all PC workplace and switched to Firefox. I thought, why not do the same at home?

I haven’t looked back (except maybe the once I’ve started Safari by accident using Quicksilver, and I felt a wave of nostalgia for its beautiful brushed metal). Firefox gives me a clean consistant experience between work and home, and allows me to do amazing things like keep my bookmarks in sync (now even easier with Foxmarks). But it got me thinking… How many things can I keep in sync between work and home?

Then I ‘discovered’ Web 2.0… what a find! I can create documents, keep a calendar, write to-do lists, even write screenplays, all from my browser, allowing me to access these things from anywhere. I’ve gone-a-hunting for as many useful sites as I can find. My next post I’ll be listing the best ones I’ve found so far, and the ways I’m using them.