---
title: "Two cool utils: InstallPad and Live Writer"
url: "https://osherove.com/blog/2006/8/14/two-cool-utils-installpad-and-live-writer.md"
canonical: "https://osherove.com/blog/2006/8/14/two-cool-utils-installpad-and-live-writer.html"
published: "2006-08-14T21:27:00"
updated: "2006-08-14T21:27:00"
tags: ["Cool Tools"]
author: "Roy Osherove"
description: "Two things are on my plate today (small as they may be..) Live Writer is my new blog post writer, and it's pretty cool (via Scott ). Main reasons: It has spell checking built in, and it posts nicely into Community…"
usage: "Licensed under CC BY 4.0 — reuse, quote and adapt with attribution (Roy Osherove, link to the original page)."
license: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
---

# Two cool utils: InstallPad and Live Writer

By Roy Osherove August 14, 2006 In [Cool Tools](https://osherove.com/blog/category/cool-tools)

**Historical article** · Originally published August 14, 2006; technical details may be outdated.

Two things are on my plate today (small as they may be..)

1. [Live Writer](http://windowslivewriter.spaces.live.com/blog/cns%21D85741BB5E0BE8AA%21174.entry) is my new blog post writer, and it's pretty cool (via [Scott](http://www.hanselman.com/blog/WindowsLiveWriterAndDasBlog19.aspx)). Main reasons: It has spell checking built in, and it posts nicely into Community Server (though it does not detect it automatically like it did for Scott's DasBlog blog platform. Setting it up was a breeze though..

1. [InstallPad](http://www.installpad.com/) looks like it could be the next big hit for me. It will automatically download and install applications from a list you edit. Even make sure the latest version is the one downloaded! I know many places that I can share my Application list with to get them more productive. Once I have an app list or two, I'll post it here (via [Larkware](http://www.larkware.com/dg6/TheDailyGrind947.aspx))

## More in Cool Tools

[All posts in Cool Tools](https://osherove.com/blog/category/cool-tools)

- Aug 21, 2006

    ### [Cool Tool: Direct Access - Keyboard macros everywhere](https://osherove.com/blog/2006/8/21/cool-tool-direct-access-keyboard-macros-everywhere.html)

- Aug 16, 2006

    ### [SharpRobo - Winform UI Unit Testing made easier?](https://osherove.com/blog/2006/8/16/sharprobo-winform-ui-unit-testing-made-easier.html)

- Jul 26, 2006

    ### [Sanjay's cool tools](https://osherove.com/blog/2006/7/26/sanjays-cool-tools.html)

- Jul 19, 2006

    ### [Regulazy Facts](https://osherove.com/blog/2006/7/19/regulazy-facts.html)


---

## About the author

**Roy Osherove**: Senior Solutions Architect at AWS working on AI for production and AI-driven development; author of The Art of Unit Testing and Elastic Leadership, with about 20 years of consulting and training on unit testing, TDD, team leadership and continuous delivery.

### Sites

- [RobotPaper](https://robotpaper.ai/): This blog: AI patterns and anti-patterns, AI and coding agents, and engineering leadership.
- [osherove.com](https://osherove.com): Roy's personal site. Author of The Art of Unit Testing and Elastic Leadership; consulting and training on unit testing, TDD, team leadership and continuous delivery, plus about 20 years of blog posts.
- [The Art of Unit Testing](https://www.artofunittesting.com): The Art of Unit Testing, 3rd Edition (Manning): readable, maintainable, trustworthy unit tests, plus TDD workshops in C#, JavaScript, Java and Kotlin.
- [5whys.com](https://www.5whys.com): Roy's writing on software team leadership: self-organizing teams, surviving chaos, learning mode and the Elastic Leadership model.
- [Pipeline Driven](https://pipelinedriven.org): Continuous delivery and DevOps practices: build patterns, pipeline-friendly testing, DevOps metrics and enterprise DevOps.
- [Elastic Leadership](https://www.elasticleadership.com): Elastic Leadership, Roy's framework for software team leaders (survival, learning and self-organizing modes).

### Social

- X: https://x.com/royosherove
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/osherove/

### Contact

- Contact form: https://forms.gle/jQSx5KoXvrVA1JCK7

### License

Licensed under CC BY 4.0 — reuse, quote and adapt with attribution (Roy Osherove, link to the original page). License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/