But that’s just my preference. What’s yours? How many previous versions of WordPress should new plugins support?

After downloading and activating the plugin I headed over to its options page to configure it and was presented with the following page:

What? I have to register to be able to use the plugin? And not only do I have to register but it says:

In addition you’ll receive complimentary subscription to MaxBlogPress Newsletter which will give you many tips and tricks to attract lots of visitors to your blog.

Not only does the plugin require registration to use it, but it automatically subscribes you to the site’s newsletter. There is no opt-out option available.

So What?

MaxBlogPress (MBP) also offers a premium version of this plugin. Despite the recent controversy surrounding selling premium themes on an open-source platform, I don’t have any personal obligations to selling one’s work. However, I do take issue with misleading and downright shady techniques.

The MBP plugin’s download page gives the impression that it is a free plugin and never mentions that registration is required at all. The registration form itself posts your name and email to the plugin author’s Aweber email marketing page (http://www.aweber.com/scripts/addlead.pl).

Personally, I get enough spam without having to sign up for more when downloading “free” WordPress plugins (yes, I realize their newsletter isn’t technically spam). For now, I’m steering clear of MaxBlogPress’ plugins and sticking with plugin authors who don’t require pointless registrations and newsletter sign-ups.

Hardware

	MacBook: For the past six months I’ve done all my developing a 13′ MacBook. I didn’t want to fork the money out for the Pro and am glad I didn’t. This baby hasn’t let me down yet. It’s an Intel Core 2 Duo (2.4 GHz) with 4 GB of RAM, 150 GB HDD.
	Wireless Mighty Mouse: The trackpad just doesn’t cut it for long development sessions. Of course the Apple Store likes to sell the most expense mouse that they make. What the heck, I had just spent a grand and a half on a computer, what’s another $70?
	Apple Keyboard: For a while I just used my MacBook’s keyboard. However, my wrists started aching and being a dental student wanting to avoid Carpal Tunnel Syndrome I purchased a wired keyboard for $49. I don’t mind the wires and wanted the number pad. The low profile is actually quite comfortable.
	1TB Western Digital HDD: I bought this for $140 on Black Friday. It’s great for backups of all my projects, family photos, and family videos. Has SATA, Firewire, and USB connections.
	Logitech USB Desktop Microphone: I bought this microphone for $15 on Amazon for producing my screencasts. I have been pleasantly surprised in its quality. It has a great filter for soft background noises and works on Macs and PCs
Software
	BlueHarvest: Macs like to create lots of hidden system files which PC users find worthless and annoying. BlueHarvest scans and deletes DS_STORE files, resource forks (the dot undersocre files), .trashes, and other files from configurable drives. Best of all, it can remove them from zip files too. This keeps my Mac’s hidden files from being included in the files I send to clients or release online. Regular price: $12.95.
	Billings 3: To manage my invoices I use a great program called Billings. It allows you to send your clients estimates, invoices, and receipts after payments. It generates PDFs which it then can email through your mail program. It also tracks payments so you can see just how much your clients owe you. Regular price: $59.
	Coda: By far my most used program, Coda bills itself as “one-window web developement for MacOS X.” It is an excellent code editor with syntax hilighting, built in previewer (for PHP too!), FTP, built in Terminal support, and more. I use it daily for all my development projects. Regular price: $99.
	MAMP: Macintosh, Apache, Mysql, and PHP. Runs my local development servers. It comes with an installable widget for starting and stopping servers easily. Free and Pro versions available.
	Parallels Desktop: Developing web applications on a Mac means that most people will see things differently then I do. To my dismay, things look quite a bit different on a PC. Parallels lets me launch my Bootcamp installation of Windows XP as an application right inside Mac OS X. This program has saved me hours of rebooting time. Regular price: $79.
	Photoshop Elements: When I need to do some graphic design I usually fire up Photoshop Elements. It’s quick and does everything I need it to. Regular price: $139.99.
	TeamViewer: Sometimes a client will have an error that I can’t replicate. In those cases I like to see exactly what they’re seeing. TeamViewer lets my take control of their PC using a onetime generated password. Best of all, my Mac can control their PC just fine. Regular price: Free for personal use.

So there you it, the programs and tools that I use most frequently when working on development projects. What do you think? Have you used any of them? What are some of your favorites?