I sit writing this while my mind pines away for the sunshine and warmth of spring. I am sure many of you reading this feel the same way. Thinking of what to write has been tough lately, but today I had a fun thought and in a flash knew that this post would be about Valuable Tools for geeks. Being a technophile means I will never be without work, thankfully. That being said here is a list of the invaluable tools that I believe every card carrying computer geek needs to do their primary job and of course al the side work we have as well.
The trusty USB Thumb Drive
Unless you just enjoy hauling a 9 pound brick of a laptop with you everywhere you go, having a small key chain, compact USB flash drive is a lifesaver. I have one that is 32 GB large. No “mine’s bigger than your’s” jokes, please. I have mine set as a bootable device with a whole cavalcade of recovery and “fixer” programs. I never leave home without it and I have everything I need to get any PC up and running with me at all times.
Dedicated Web Space
You might think this is more of a luxury than a tool, but I assure you in times of need having a virtual medium out there on the World Wide Web that you can send files to and retrieve files from ANYWHERE in the world is an INVALUABLE tool. When the old thumb drive is full or cant be used, say on a PC with no USB ports free, this tool is my “go to GUY”.
FTP Program
Well, if you have web space out there in the virtual world you have to have a way to get to it right? A good QUALITY File Transfer Protocol program is a true necessity. I won’t go into my likes and dislikes about FTP app cause I have some quirky needs. What I will say however is make sure you try out several programs before you settle on one you will stick with for a while. Lots of great freeware programs for this but beware many of the free ones are garbage.
Mini Flashlight
When peeking into the black bowels of a PC case that has not seen the light of day in years a bright, maneuverable light source is always a boon. I have a key chain LED that like my thumb drive is always at my side.
Multi Tool
When in doubt break out the screwdrivers. I Love my multi tool. Its got all the tools a growing nerd needs.
PATIENCE
When you deal with as many people as I do on a daily basis that have serious trouble understanding and using computers you begin to wonder how the world continues to spin since its based so heavily on computers now. With that in mind Tech Support specialists such as myself should all try as well as we can to have patience when encountering such situations. Its like my Wife always says, “Not everyone is as goo at everything as others”. Stop and think about that one. Think we geeks would stand a chance at the Olympics? Maybe Curling? HA!