Most Popular "Multi-Platform" Posts Of 2009

A new year is coming so I've decided to create a few posts with the most popular howto's and applications published in 2009 by Web Upd8, mostly because these posts are still up-to-date and can continue helping our readers and subscribers.

This first part presents the most popular "multi platform" (Windows and Linux and / or Mac OS X) posts.

1. 4 Ways to Create Bootable Live USB Drives (For Windows, Linux and Mac OS X)

Nowadays, netbooks and even some laptops don't come with an optical disk unit so you must use a bootable USB to install your operating system. This post tells you how to create a bootable USB from Windows, Linux or Mac OS X. This has been the most popular "cross platform" post of 2009, probably mostly because the netbook market had a real 'boom' in 2009.

2. Automatically Download All The Wallpapers From National Geographic (Almost 400 Wallpapers) [Windows, Linux, Mac OS X]

A post which initially begun as 2 small Linux scripts created by me, has been well received, reaching the second place in this top even though it was only posted about two weeks ago. A couple of readers send in modified scripts for Windows and Mac OS X too (thank you once again!). There is now even a Windows application for this, based on my work (the Windows app didn't give me any credits, but never mind that). If you haven't downloaded the National Geographic Wallpapers, you should: there are almost 400 amazing wallpapers created by professional photographers.

3. How to Add Twitter in Pidgin (Windows/Linux)

A Pidgin plugin (which has evolved quite nicely since then) for using Twitter in Pidgin.

4. 10 Great Firefox Addons You May Not Have Heard Of

The 10 Firefox add-ons I always recommend to anyone and I use daily (yes, I still use them).

5. Anonymous BitTorrent Using ItsHidden VPN [Windows & Linux]

A free VPN targeted at those who want to protect their privacy online.

6. Build Your Own City In Real-Time Strategy Game Unknown Horizons [Windows & Linux]

We have covered quite a few free, multi-platform games and this is one of the best I've played (I have played almost only free / open source games). You should really try Unknown Horizons if you like strategy games with emphasis on economy and city building.

7. Gimp Paint Studio [Gimp Optimized for Drawing and Painting] - Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

Gimp Paint Studio (GPS) is a collection of brushes and accompanying tool presets intended to speed up repetitive tasks by avoiding the need to manually reset tool options after each change. Tool presets are a simply saved tool options, a seldom discussed but highly useful feature of the GIMP.

8. Use Dropbox To Sync Files Between Different Computers and Other Dropbox Uses

Even though the post starts with "I am aware of the fact that probably most people already know about Dropbox", Dropbox wasn't as popular back than as it is now. If you are still not using it, I suggest you read this post.

9. Make Firefox 3.5 Look Like Firefox 4.0 Mockup Theme

Ever since the first Firefox 4.0 Mock-up came out, there have been different attempts to make Firefox 3.5 or 3.6 look like 4.0. The theme called Strata40 was already very good back then, but it has become even better now.

10. Wally: Best Automatic Wallpaper Changer Application I've Seen [Windows, Linux, Mac OSX]

Wally is an automatic wallpaper changer application which can either use your wallpaper collection or download the wallpaper from a lot of different sources.