Gordon Likes it...
Some people make
really good stuff. Unfortunately, figuring out who they are can be kind
of a pain. Those who make particularly good technology that I actually
use and enjoy all the time I like to let other people know about,
because the more people know about the good stuff and use it, the more
likely it is to continue to be developed and available. So here is a
list of my winners, and sometimes some commentary on why I like them so
danged much.
The Winners
Apple Computers
After IBM knocked the final nail in the coffin of OS/2, I had to start
looking for a new computing platform. As I looked around at the
offerings available and at the directions different makers of software
and hardware seemed to be going in, Apple's products seemed like a good
choice. They were. I continue to occasionally use Microsoft Windows in
various flavors, but generally detest the design of the user interface
and have never been happy with their track record on stability issues.
OS X, Apple's BSD UNIX based operating system is a wonderful blend of
elegant design, ease of use, stability and power. In addition, Apple
actively embraces (finally) open source development and with the UNIX
kernel a plethora of software developed for Linux, BSD and other UNIX
variants is becoming available for the Mac. On top of which, with the
annoying exception of a second mouse button and a scroll wheel (easily
rectified by a trip to the mall for the desktop computers, or the
purchase of a Mighty Mouse from Apple) which Apple continues to insist
on shipping with their computers, they are marvels of fast, well
designed hardware with stylish looks (who says computers have to be
ugly?).
They should probably
get multiple listings though, one for their computers; another for the
Mighty Mouse (which I use at work); several for software packages such
as OS X, iPhoto, iTunes, Keynote; and another for the iPod.
BareBones Software
Makers of BBedit, an excellent OS X friendly text editor. In fact, all
of my web pages are written using it. Mind you the dull complexion of
those pages is a symptom of my laziness, not the quality of their
software. Text Wrangler, another slightly pared down version of their
editor, is also very nice.
Wolfram Research
I use their Mathematica product all of the time. There are many people
who firmly believe that Maple is better, and for all I know, they are
right for their applications. What I do know is that Mathematica is at
least one very nice way of handling mathematical computation and
graphics production, and I significantly prefer it for my own work.
Microsoft
Microsoft's Office product is a very nice package. I wish there were
some actual competition in this market though, Microsoft charges an arm
and a leg for it, and there isn't really anything else I've seen in its
league.
They also get a
hardware kudo.
I use their Intellimouse Explorer on my home machine. I have big hands
and this has been a trouble free and very comfortable and feature rich
mouse to use.
WeatherPop
This is a very cute application, and is very well designed. It is also
unobtrusive and the fastest way I know to check the five day forecast
around.
The HP 615 Digital Camera
For your basic 2.2 Megapixel camera, you can't get much better than
this. Intuitive interface, good quality pics, nice fit to my hand (did
I mention I have big hands) and a nice price point.
PowerShot A75
This is my current camera, purchased after I dropped my HP 615 on the
floor and broke the stupid battery cover. It has a bunch of features I
like, and in some ways is better than the HP 615. There is, however,
one thing I miss from the 615. I really liked having a remote control
for the camera.
TeXShop and TeTeX
TeXShop is a very, very nice (and simple) front end for doing all of
your mathematical typesetting. TeTeX is the engine it runs on. If you
are working on a Mac, I highly recommend this system.
GAP
This is an extremely robust, and free, package for doing intense
amounts of algebra on a computer. I'm using it for some of my work on
the theory of abstract polytopes.
Adobe
Acrobat Reader. 'nuff said.
Coming soon
A list of some of my favorite Dashboard Widgets.