I’ll show you some change you can believe in!

In the last 8 months, I changed from WinXP to Ubuntu, from Outlook to Gmail, from spending hours reading blog articles to 15 minutes with Google Reader, from Trac to Lighthouse, from SVN to Git/Github, from IE6 to Firefox 3, from Winamp to Rhythmbox, from (Aim, Msn, ICQ, Gtalk) to Pidgin, from Mongrel to Passenger, from a desktop to laptop, from a cordless phone to a Samsung Instinct, from Los Angeles to Indiana, from a 32 inch tube to a 50 inch Panasonic plasma.

The only thing that hasn’t changed is the love for my new tools. I’m lightyears ahead of where I was by keeping an open mind, following trends, and listening to my friends. I should probably make a whole post for every change but that might take another 8 months and its not unlikely that my toolset will be totally different. So here is short list of why what I’m using now is better than what came before it:

Ubuntu: Constantly updated, secure, configurable to exactly what I want, integrates my work and development environments seemlessly, multiple desktops, a useful terminal interface.

Gmail: Fast, easy to use, keyboard shortcuts, filters and labels.

Google Reader: News comes to me, can read 200 updates in 15 minutes, keyboard shortcuts, easily share articles with friends.

Lighthouse: Good SCM integration, simple interface for adding tickets, useful ticket searching.

Git/GitHub: Easy branching, conflict resolution, offline development, concurrent development, source browsing and commit searching.

FireFox 3: Tabs, extensions, Firebug, FireFTP, keyboard shortcuts, security.

Rhythmbox: Fast, simple, using my hardware music keys on my laptop to change music, desktop notification of what track just started.

Pidgin: Merge all programs into one, desktop notification, plugins, configurable.

Passenger: Easy to setup, fast, easy to maintain.

Laptop: Work from the couch, Hulu from bed, easy to pair problem solve, less power, quieter, portable speakers.

Samsung Instinct: GPS navigation, weather, news, email.

Indiana: Pretty clouds, friendly people, no traffic, breathable air, its cold( weather changing is nice, except for shoveling snow).

50 inch plasma: HD is pretty, easy to read text, all consoles can be plugged in at the same time.

What change has improved your workflow and life in general?