Software for nuttin’.
Last week I explained How I double my PC productivity with only 65MB of free software, so this week I’ll continue sharing some more productivity tips using browser extensions. I normally use Firefox and Chrome for 95% of my work. The rest of 5% is split between Opera and Internet Explorer.
![How I Double My Browser Productivity With Just 13 Free Browser Extensions [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/howidoubledmybrowserproductivitywithjust13freeextensions.jpg)
Recent research suggests that all this artificial light from our gadgets like tablets and smartphones could be disrupting our sleep patterns. Apparently the problem is that the light from these screens, especially when absorbed later in the evening or at night, can really upset our circadian rhythms and reduce our levels of melatonin.
![Twilight helps you sleep better by adjusting your melatonin levels [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/twighlight.jpg)
It’s hard to remain a ‘concerned’ citizen nowadays because you can never tell whether a product you’re buying comes from a company whose ethics are questionable or worse. There are so many different degrees of ownership in the major corporates, that it’s almost impossible to trace who owns what when it comes to consumer products on the shelves.
![Buycott – finally there’s a guilt free way to shop [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/buycott3.jpg)
If you’re a Star Trek fan, you’ll love Quintet. This free multiplayer space game lets you and your buddies take control of a starship and boldly go where no other web browser has ever gone before.
![Quintet – boldly fly your starship through the galaxy with your friends [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/quintet3.jpg)
Victorinox, the Swiss Army Knife creators, have come up with an ultra cool smartphone app which takes the concept of multi-use tools and adapts it firmly for the digital 21st century.
![Victorinox Festival Ready – everything you need to survive a festival on your phone [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/festivalready1.jpg)
Like many readers of the Red Ferret, I spend much of my working day in front of a computer, and like others I have an inbox flooded with emails arriving every minute, in addition to client and business partner phone calls…and in between all of this I need to get work done. There are a number of good task management and work organization systems out-there (David Allen’s GTD, 43Folder’s Inbox Zero, etc …) but they all need to be supported…
![How to Double Your PC Productivity With Just 65 MB of Free Software [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/65-mb-of-freeware-that-hugely-improved-my-productivity.jpg)
We’re all for strong security, so don’t take this as a complaint, but why does it have to be so hard to retrieve wireless networking passwords on Windows? Surely there should be an easier way to locate and store these important bits of information?
![SterJo Wireless Passwords – retrieve lost WiFi passwords at a stroke [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/sterjowirelesspasswords.jpg)
There are boring ways to lock your computer against unauthorized access, and then there are interesting ways. We don’t know about you, but we’d much rather use a good looking method than rely on a stuffy password to do the trick.
![Picword – instantly lock your computer with a picture [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/picword.jpg)
There’s no shortage of ways to have fun with your phone, but most of them are solitary pursuits, involving games or creating strange photos. So for all of you who would like to engage in a little ‘magic’ fun, we present a new tool.
For some reason web editors, tools to help code and build websites, appear to have fallen out of fashion. Maybe it’s the rise of themed CMSs or just a decline in demand, but there aren’t that many of them being marketed any more. Unlike, say, video editors.
![BlueGriffon – open source web editor is a great tool for both beginners and experts [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/bluegriffon.jpg)
When we watch TV or play games, we tend to be doing so in the evening in a dark room. This is obviously not improving your eyesight, as you’re putting your pupil through an overly strenuous workout. It’s a good idea to have ambient lighting around to make things easier for your eyes to process, but you don’t want to ruin the immersion from a lamp or room light being on.
We love Amazon to bits, but the one annoying part about shopping there is having to peer at tiny thumbnail photos of products the whole time, trying to get an idea of what’s on offer.
![Picture Fox for Amazon – brilliant Firefox plugin makes Amazon shopping so much nicer [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/picturefox6.jpg)
The problem with having terabyte drives and digital cameras with increasingly large resolutions, is the fact that we all end up storing gazillions of files, and often large ones, on our computers. Which probably wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that by the time we end up editing a good proportion of them, leaves us with duplicates all over the place.
![Duplicate Cleaner – clear out those pesky duplicate files and photos and free up vital disk space [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/duplicatecleaner-1.jpg)
You know how you were wishing that it was easier to find video content you enjoyed, and how you would really prefer if it downloaded onto your phone or tablet in the background automatically when you were WiFi connected rather than on your 3G mobile plan?
![Paul – your friendly video buddy makes sure you get your fill of mobile fun [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/paul.jpg)
If you’re like most people, you will run at least two web browsers on your computer, if not more, just to give yourself some flexibility with the different sites out there. We use Chrome and Firefox mostly, and switch between them to check different site features, or access content at different speeds and with different browsing functions and plugins.
![Browsing History View – all your web viewing from multiple browsers in one neat box [Freeware]](http://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/browsinghistoryview3-1.jpg)
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