A brief note for Christmas/Hanukkah/Festivas/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice
As an incredible nerd, I find that there are some sites, products, and toys that I cannot live without (or at least, that is what I tell myself). Although I realize that very few share my geeky passions, my hope is that these links will prove useful for all in the new year. Here is my “must investigate†list, in no particular order…
Lifehacker - “Geek to live, don’t live to geek†Despite appearances, I do not spend 10 hours a day reading technology blogs and news sites. Lifehacker is the only site that I read every day. Why? Where else would I learn the recipe for mulled beer ? Or learn about the best applications of 2008 ? or learn to convert an xbox into a home media computer ? Even if you aren’t a “techie†and even if you don’t care about the best new download from mozilla, there is something interesting to learn at lifehacker.com.
RemembertheMilk.com and Jott.com- These two productivity sites are, without a doubt, the core of my day to day organization. Both allow you to easily record your daily tasks and set reminders that can be delivered by email/text message. With remember the milk (rtm for the initiated), I send myself emails during the day with the task heading as the subject line. Jott is slightly different, allowing the user to call in voice recordings, which are then transcribed into tasks. Jott can even be connected to remember the milk, if you really want to rely only on one final destination for your task tracking obsessions…
Google Chrome - If you are looking for a light weight browser (that means fast) that will change your world, Google Chrome is a good contender. There isn’t much to say, as it does what it’s supposed to do. However, I’ve used almost every browser on the market at some point and this one is my favorite.Â
Kottke.org - “Home of fine hypertext products†Although personally I spend all my time at work brow furrowed, concentrating intensely on my labors (cough…), some people may feel the need to goof off a bit during the day. For this, I recommend kottke.org. The articles on this blog are truly interesting, focusing on subjects from design to world affairs. It’s a good step above youtube (no silly videos here) and it’s always work appropriate.
Skype - Allie and I have been using the video phone capabilities of Skype for the past few months during my travels. Also, I spend a good part of my professional day working with colleagues in turkey over skype. I know that this is hardly a hidden gem, but I thought it was still worth emphasizing, as it has so many features.
portableapps.com (Pidgin, Filezilla, Lightscreen, etc) – If you are looking for an application, often the result will be some shareware (not free) demo that installs on your pc, leaving a trail of destruction and slowing things down to a crawl. Not so with Portable Apps. Portable Apps are not only free, but they don’t really “install†on your PC. Instead, they decompress to a folder that be kept on the desktop (and deleted like any other folder). They leave zero crud on your machine. I hope that something in the list above proves useful. I wish all of you the very best in the new year and the happiest of holidays.Â
Best, Alex
PS: If you’re planning a trip or travel for a living, Tripit.com is a pretty neat way to organize your itinerary.
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