Update: This has just been updated to version 1.1 and I also wanted to add a link to Whomwah.com, the plug-in creators website.

1. Firefox 3
   An amazing browser and the number of useful Add-ons is unbelievably useful. Great to see it eating away at Microsofts market-share, but it’s never going to be everyone’s favourite browser.
2. Firebug
   My personal favourite Add-on for Firefox is Firebug, the simple inline troubleshooting it allows you to do, makes HTML and CSS tweaking an minor inconvenience!
3. iGoogle
   It’s where I start my browsing session every time I fire up Firefox – it takes a little while to get organised, but the dashboard of categorised, relevant news organised by tabs makes the wide volume of information I need to keep tabs on manageable.
4. WordPress
   2.7 is simply improved perfection – the back-end interface improvements, coupled with the new automated upgrade process make it simply the best Blogging solution IMHO.
5. LogMeIn
   This free-to-use remote access software makes lifetime friends and family support contracts a manageable experience. The free version gives you all the power you should need for simple troubleshooting and PC maintainence.
6. Carbonite
   Automated, secure, off-site back-up. It’s not free, but it’s very affordable! How much is your data (photos, music, etc) worth in both time and money? Microsofts Live Mesh almost got a mention here, but I’m still getting used to it’s functionality and querks.
7. Popurls
   A perfect companion to iGoogle for broader interests and breaking news stories. Popurls is a customisable collection of all the best news feeds available online. Even better, is that if you don’t like it you can totally customise it!
8. Outlook 2007
   Alot of people have expressed their gripes at Office 2007. Personally I love it, a really positive step forwards. My favourite application is the new and improved Outlook, the simple inclusion of RSS feeds alongside my Inbox allows fantastic brand visibility and monitoring with the help of Distilled’s Reputation Monitor.
9. IM – Windows Messenger / Pidgin
   This was a tough choice, between IM and Twitter, but IM is still one of my most valuable tools for communication and online collaboration. Microsoft has been a wee bit sneaky, but incorporating Messenger into a Windows Live Essentials software pack, but Ads aside it’s my prefered client. For a fuss-free, fast and functional IM client Pidgin ticks all the boxes and sits perfectly in my system tray, without all the bells and whistles that Live Messenger brings to a desktop – perfect for work.

So that’s my Top 9 at the start of 2009. It would have been easy to expand the list to 20, but top 20′s don’t seem that popular as blog posts…and also it didn’t rhyme.