1. Web Developer – Adds a toolbar with a wide variety of tools for the web designer/developer. This really is indispensable for anyone serious about creating websites. If you don’t already have it, this is a must have!
2. Firebug - Another great tool for web developers. You can test your site’s performance, debug javascript, troubleshoot and change CSS live in Firefox, inspect virtually any aspect of your web page (HTML, CSS, Javascript, DOM) and make tweaks right in the browser. Another must have for developers! Sitepoint has an excellent article on in-browser development tools. There are also a number of Firebug add-ons including YSlow (see below), Firecookie and Jiffy.
3. HTML Validator - Using the W3C Tidy Validator, you can easily view problems in your code and see exactly where the problems are, all in one handy viewer. Links to other reference sources are also useful. You might also try Total Validator. It has some nice features.
4. WAVE Toolbar – This toolbar, provided by WebAIM, is very helpful in validating and troubleshooting pages for Accessibility (508 Compliance).
5. SearchStatus - View the Google Pagerank and the Alexa score for any site. Right click on the “Q” button and get lots of useful details about how a site is doing in the search engines.
6. Screen grab! – This simple tool captures the webpage as an image. You can capture the visible page or the entire length of the page (even the part that would require scrolling forever). The images are a little too compressed than I’d like, but the time savings is well worth it when you need a full screen screen capture.
7. YSlow - Get detailed information about how your site could get a speed boost using Yahoo’s YSlow extension.  Using Yahoo’s Exceptional Performance methods, you can squeeze more performance out of your web site.
8. MeasureIt - Measure the size of anything (in pixels) within Firefox. Simple, but very useful tool.
9. Colorzilla - This simple utility gives you several useful tools in one. The eyedropper can pick up the color of anything in Firefox. It reports the color in RGB, and Hex and makes it easy to copy the value of your choice to any program, including Photoshop and Dreamweaver.
10. Clear Cache Button – Adds a button to your toolbar that will instantly clear your cache. This comes in handy for debugging your site. I preferred Cache Status, but it isn’t available for Firefox 3 yet.

There are many other worthy extensions. These are just the top 10 I rely on. Which extensions do you count on?

Now this could easily degenerate into a pseudo-religious diatribe about why Microsoft or Apple is evil or why Steve Jobs or Bill Gates are geniuses. I teach design and graphics classes on Macintosh AND Windows and at the end of the day, they both work. I don’t really believe that one is superior to the other, but they have both benefited from some serious competition.

In my experience (and I’ve been using Macs since 1986 and PC’s since 1988), there were big differences in the 80′s and 90′s, but the differences have essentially vanished in the last 10 years (give or take). How can I back that up? I have primarily used Windows since 1989. Every professional job I have had since then has had more Windows computers than Macintoshes. I have always used both for various tasks, but I’ve spent more time on Windows than on the Mac. Even from that early time (Windows 3.0), you could get the job done on either platform. Yes, even on Windows 3.0! Was the Mac better for design back then? Sure, but it was also very expensive. You could get a comparable PC for half the cost of a Mac. Which is the entire reason I bought my first PC. At the time, $1500 was a fortune, let alone $3000!

I started out with Windows 3.0, Adobe Type Manager, Aldus PageMaker and CorelDraw. For photographic images I had a Logitech hand scanner and the basic image editing software that came with it. Soon after I got Photostyler (a complete knock-off of the Mac-only Photoshop). Could I get the job done with the Windows machine? Yes. I created a variety of projects and they all looked just as good whether they came from a Mac or a PC. They were just tools and the operator made it look good (or not).

Since that time, much has changed. The industry has standardized and Macs have become (under-the-hood) standard Intel boxes, just like Dell and all the rest. Now, more than ever, there is little difference in hardware. PC enthusiasts celebrate the amount of choices PC users enjoy. If you like tinkering or building your own computer, Apple is not an option. Even for people who just need to upgrade their systems, Apple makes it difficult.

How about software? Well, there’s the difference, and that’s really what’s always set the two sides apart. The Operating System that runs a Mac or PC and the software that runs on top of it. How different are they? For most users, there is little difference. The Adobe Creative Suite is virtually identical on both platforms. Microsoft Office, although a little different on each platform, is compatible and offers the same functionality. That covers the software that most people use every day.

There ARE some differences, like Final Cut Studio, which is a Mac-only product. Is it better than Premiere Pro and After Effects? Some would argue either side of that coin. Can you get the job done on either one? Certainly.

On the Windows side, many would argue that there is an avalanche of Windows software compared to a short stack of Mac software. That really does matter in some specialized areas, but honestly there is equivalent Mac software in most categories. I think realistic people would agree Windows has an edge here, but for most users it’s not much of an issue. In fact, for many home users, the Mac’s iLife applications and/or the inexpensive iWork suite give users all the software they’re likely to need.

Of course, if you buy a new Mac, you can always boot it up in Windows and have the best of both worlds. So if you’re just starting out or thinking about buying a new computer, a Mac is a no-brainer right? Not necessarily. You have to buy a copy of Windows (and Parallels) which raises the price quite a bit.

Windows does have advantages, including cheaper and more flexible hardware, more software and strong support in the corporate world. Mac will continue to have a better operating system, solid Mac-only software, few virus and spyware problems, and more expensive proprietary hardware.

So which one will I go with? I will probably continue to hedge my bets. I have a Windows desktop and laptop. I also have a Mac desktop. My most recent purchase was an upgrade to OSX 10.5. I will probably upgrade both sides and continue to sit on the fence.

How about you? What do you use and are you happy with it?

The fact that you can search the text of all the books and download the sample files makes it even more useful. I know I checked out and read many more books than I would have otherwise. I was exposed to new techniques I would otherwise never have seen.

For about 6 months I lost access to Safari (my previously employer finally terminated my account). I thought about joining myself, but wasn’t sure if I needed another $23 monthly bill. I have access to a lot of books from other sources, so I wasn’t convinced.

Then, a month ago, I was trying to look for some information on Spry (new AJAX methods in Dreamweaver CS3). I did a search in Safari and they had exactly what I was looking for, complete with sample files. I joined as a trial member and quickly ran out of free page downloads–the trial is limited to 50 page views. I decided to join and at some point in the process it mentioned a $9.99 plan. That sounded perfect–5 books at a time for $9.99/month. I couldn’t find anywhere to sign up at this rate. After contacting customer service, which was a pleasant experience, I found that I could do this as a ‘special request’ after subscribing at the regular $22.99/month rate. True to their word, they credited my account and bumped me down to the $9.99 plan. I don’t know that they want this spread around, but I figure they’d rather get some customers hooked at the lower rate than turned off at the higher price. If you’re interested, sign up for a regular plan (month to month or annual) and then ask to be bumped down to Basic Starter – 5 slots Bookshelf, USD $9.99 per month.

In the end, if you use the service regularly, it is a very good value. I’m very happy with the number of titles I have access to for the equivalent of buying three new books a year. Plus I get the latest titles and don’t have to keep buying more bookshelves…

If you’re a member, or you sign up, let me know what you think…

Books

• Dreamweaver MX Magic (I wrote 2 chapters/projects for this book)
• Dreamweaver MX Killer Tips (I was a technical editor for this book)
• I’ve also reviewed and/or done technical editing for a few other web-related books from New Riders and Thomson/Course Technologies

Articles on DMXzone / FLzone / DNzone / FWzone

Photoshop Articles:

• Creating Animated GIFs with Photoshop & ImageReady
• Exploring the power of Photoshop CS2
• Creating Buttons and Tabbed Interfaces in Photoshop

Contribute Articles:

• Contribute: Part 1 – Setting up a Contribute Site
• Contribute: Part 2 – Administering a Contribute Site

Web Development:

• Implementing Site Search with FreeFind

Peachpit / InformIt

• Creating a Customized Web Site Search Feature in Dreamweaver MX

The Best Web Browsers (as of April 2008)

1. Firefox 2.x (Windows, Mac)
2. Opera 9.x (Windows, Mac)
3. Safari 3.x (Mac)
4. Internet Explorer 7.x (Windows only)
5. Camino 1.x (Mac)
6. Safari 3.x (Windows)
7. Internet Explorer 6.x (Windows only)
8. Netscape 9.x (Windows, Mac) — Officially dead
9. Mozilla / SeaMonkey 1.x (Windows, Mac)
10. Internet Explorer 5.x (Windows, Mac) — Officially dead

Honorable Mention:

1. Internet Explorer 8 (Windows only) – this one is still in beta and still has some bugs, but its standards-compliance, CSS and Javascript capabilities are very promising. It currently trashes some sites (like Google Maps), but general compatibility seems pretty good. I’ve used it to browse a number of sites and it’s been fairly reliable. We can all thank Firefox and Safari for pushing Microsoft to finally make a better browser.

Most Popular* Browsers (as of April 2008)

1. Internet Explorer 6.x (Windows only) ~32%
2. Firefox 2.x ~30%
3. Internet Explorer 7.x (Windows only) ~28%
4. Safari ~4%
5. Opera ~1.5%
6. Mozilla / SeaMonkey 1.x <1%
7. Internet Explorer 5.x (Windows, Mac) <1%
8. AOL <1%
9. Netscape <1%
10. Konqueror <1%

* I looked at browser stats from a few sources (1, 2, 3). Browser stats are hard to get anyone to agree on. Depending on the source of your statistics (and the audience they were derived from), the results can be greatly skewed. For instance, stats from a more tech-savvy audience skew toward Firefox while stats for Fortune 500 and Government sites skew toward IE 6. IE 7 is trailing due to slow uptake of Vista, an odd new interface, and IE 7′s initial reputation for ‘breaking’ many sites. I’m sure Microsoft didn’t expect IE 6 to still be on top over a year and half after the rollout of IE 7. They’ve already released the beta of IE 8, but most people are still using a browser designed 7+ years ago (half as old as the web itself). Of course, this begs the question, “Does anyone care what browser they’re using?” I would say about 30-40% of computer users care (likely the ones that represent most internet activity) and take the time to try different browsers. If you spend a lot of time online, you owe it to yourself to try them all out and see which one you prefer.

What do you use? What is your preferred browser? Why?

Of course, we’ve heard that before only to have the spinoff of Netscape (Mozilla’s Firefox) help resurrect Netscape in the image of this next generation browser. Apparently everyone believed the rumors of it’s death and very few went to look to see if it was still alive and kicking.

I used Netscape off and on as my main browser since version 1, relying on it’s e-mail client for a few years back in the 90′s. It took years for Mozilla and Firefox to regain the lost momentum, but in many ways Netscape’s legacy has continued to be a thorn in Microsoft’s side, spurring the folks in Redmond to improve their browser.

Rest in Peace, Netscape.

Netscape is notably survived by: Firefox, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey and a small list of other interesting projects. Netscape kicked off the internet revolution, and through it’s direct descendants it continues to move the industry forward.

While some have been more interesting than others, it is very eye-opening to see how other design studios are setup and operate. You get amazing access to the physical space and the staff are usually present so you can ask lots of questions.

I have been to Dallas (1999), San Francisco (2001), Orlando (2002), Chicago (2005) and Las Vegas (2006). Each city has its own unique identity and the design studios are varied–from very small startups to large, international firms.

In addition to the keynotes, conference sessions and optional studio tours, there are great parties each time. It’s a great chance to meet famous designers or just hang out and have a good time.

If I could, I would attend every year (and I have, everytime I can convince my boss to pay for it). Of the many conferences I’ve attended, it has consistently offered the most inspiring and educational content. On top of that, it’s also been the most fun.

If you’re going, let me know how you liked it…

• CDs
• MP3 Downloads
• Radio

This question intrigued me as I have a huge collection of CDs, and I’m still lukewarm about MP3 downloads. In addition to buying new CDs (1 or 2 each month), I download music all the time. In fact, I have an annual membership to eMusic, I download certain tracks and albums from iTunes and I’ve looked high and low for rare tracks I couldn’t find anywhere but online. So why do I bother with CDs? For one, the sound quality is undeniably better on a CD. The second is the tangible item I can take anywhere (at home, in the car, at work) and I don’t have to worry about it vanishing in a hard drive crash. The last major reason is for the artwork and liner notes. A professional package adds another dimension to an album beyond the music. In some ways, the music’s identity is tied to the visual imagery of its packaging. With downloads, I can’t always find information like when an album was recorded, who played on a particular track or who wrote a song. eMusic has a great price and OK sound quality, but they’re seriously lacking this extra information. iTunes is a little better, but the price is much higher. $9.99 isn’t horrible for an album, but somehow it seems like a lot for something that’s completely intangible. I bought the complete U2 collection from iTunes, but I still have a problem getting rid of my old fashioned U2 CD’s, even though I’ve paid for the same music twice and I generally listen to the iTunes version on my iPod.

Now I’m going to date myself and admit that I bought music on vinyl records for years and finally moved into the CD age in the early 90′s. Napster made CD’s feel downright irrelevant in the late 90′s. Of course the lawsuits helped to remind folks that people make their living from the music industry and it really isn’t right to just rip it off. But did the RIAA’s lawsuit rampage actually save the CD (or the major label’s sagging sales)? In my very informal polling it doesn’t appear to. Sure, most people have some CDs, but most people under 30 (and many over that age) seem to be right at home downloading music and leaving it at that. I suspect the CD will be around for quite some time, but their retail sales will account for an ever decreasing percentage of album sales.

With an increasing demand for more lenient restrictions on copying and higher quality digital files, it’s not hard to imagine a completely digital music world in the future. In the meantime, if you hate the DRM restrictions or you want the old-fashioned music-buying experience, you still have plenty of options. Amazon and CDUniverse have about the best selection anywhere. Of course, if you don’t like paying $15-$20/each, consider CD trading services like Lala.com. I have traded dozens of CDs there and it’s been (mostly) a fun experience.

How do YOU buy new music? Do you even pay for music? Is BitTorrent your ‘music provider’? Do you subscribe to a service like Napster 2.0? I’m curious how other music lovers feel and how they get their music fix.

Here’s some other interesting reading on the topic of Downloads vs. CDs:

• P2P Music Downloads Increase Music CD Sales
• CDs vs. Downloads
• Digital Music Sales Near $3B, Don’t Offset CD Sales Slump

All of Adobe’s major software has been upgraded at the same time and it’s essentially identical on Mac and Windows. Even the video software, like Premiere Pro. In my mind, the integration and overall capabilities of this suite make it the most compelling solution for anyone in print, web or video production. I’m not a video professional, but what I’ve seen so far has rivaled every major feature in Apple’s suite. The fact that it’s available for both platforms is good news for everyone.

Macromedia’s product line has been rolled in and the transition isn’t seamless, but it’s really good. What designer hasn’t been hoping for better integration between Flash and Illustrator/Photoshop, or between Dreamweaver and Photoshop? Isn’t it nice to be able to learn one interface and use it consistently (more or less) throughout all of your creative tools?

I try not to get rolled up in the hype, but CS3 lives up to Adobe’s hype. I use almost all of Adobe’s software and I’ve been delighted with the improvements in all of the tools. There are only a handful of groundbreaking features, but there are hundreds of improvements and new features that really improve your day-to-day work.

I only have a few minor complaints. The bundles. There are too many and they are confusing. Which includes what? I don’t have a great solution, but it was hard to decide which bundle to buy and even harder to explain it to newer users. So many people design across media these days. Along those lines, I’m not entirely comfortable with the death of ImageReady and the rise of Fireworks. Most designers I know use Photoshop all the time. Fireworks is a good program, but it requires switching from Photoshop and learning new ways of doing the same things. I always hoped ImageReady would be rolled into Photoshop. It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen now…

So why does Microsoft think it can rule this market? Internet Explorer will undoubtedly roll the technology into an update. This will guarantee that around 90% of all users will have access to it (even if IE is not their preferred browser). How about Mac and Linux users? There are versions available for them as well (or will be soon for Linux).

However, uptake of Internet Explorer 7 has been relatively slow, especially in corporations where IE 6 is likely to linger around for a long while. This makes it likely that total installation of Silverlight won’t top 50% of the market in the next year or so. With the popularity of YouTube and an array of sites with new video content, it’s no wonder Microsoft wants in on this market. However, the robust (and unobtrusive) Flash Player does video (and everything else) very well. Why would sites like YouTube reengineer to work on SilverLight? I don’t see any compelling reason–yet. A few big names have signed on to support SilverLight (like Entertainment Tonight), but how irritated and/or confused will people be to download another new technology? How likely are Mac users to add more Microsoft technology on their computers? Sure it’s free, but if Flash already does it, why bother?

Microsoft is wise to start enlisting partners early on. This will be key to adoption, but I would imagine most sites will offer Flash AND Silverlight before just opting for Silverlight.

One key advantage to this development is that it is likely to keep Adobe on their toes, improving Flash and Flash Player even faster than has been usual.