al3x's notes on happy computing, modified.

I have modified the following slightly from the original to suit my tastes. It's an open template and is well suited to modifications, so try your own version at your leisure. (I also consolidated somewhat.)

Software

• Use as little software as possible.
• Use software that does one thing well.
• Do not use software that must sync over the internet to function.
• Do not use web applications that should be desktop applications, or vice versa.
• Do not use software that isn’t made specifically for your operating system. (You’ll know it when you see it because it won’t look right or work correctly.)
• Do not run beta software unless you know how to submit a bug report and are eager to do so.
• Use a plain text editor that you know well. Do not use your text editor for tasks other than editing text or code.

Hardware

• Do not buy a desktop computer unless your daily computing needs include video/audio editing, 3D rendering, or some other hugely processor-intensive computing task. Buy a portable computer instead.
• Do not use your phone/smartphone/PDA/UMPC for tasks that would be more comfortably and effectively accomplished on a full-fledged computer.
• Use Linux or BSD.
• The only peripheral you absolutely need is a hard disk or network drive to put backups on.
• Use hosted services in lieu of hosting on your own hardware (or virtual hardware) for all but the most custom applications.

File Formats

• Keep as much as possible in plain text. Not Word or Pages documents, plain text.
• For tasks that plain text doesn’t fit, store documents in an open standard file format if possible.
• Do not buy digital media crippled by rights restriction technologies unless your intention is to rent the content for a limited period of time.