It’s the end of 2009, and time to have a little blog fun. Here are my tech recommendations for things I’ve discovered (or re-discovered) in the last year.
- Ubuntu Linux 9.10 (Karmic Koala!): it seems that each time Ubuntu releases a new version of their Linux/GNU/open-source remix, they out-do themselves. Version 9.10 is no different. With an excellent desktop experience framing everything, and the latest in open-source available (from OpenOffice 3, to Firefox 3.5, to GNOME Shell), I cannot recommend more strongly that people give Ubuntu a shot. Take it for a test drive without installing it using their Live CD, or install it in a virtual machine.
- Firefox Extensions:
- Zotero: organize your scientific papers, search them, generate bibliographies, tag papers for use as sources in a new paper . . . in short, do it all with Zotero! No scientist should be without, and unlike programs like “Papers” for Mac, you can use it on something other than a Mac!
- FoxTab: want a modern way to navigate your tabs? Like 3-D? You’ll love FoxTab! Key combos like CTRL+PAGE UP will now bring up a 3-D view of your tabs as thumbnails of what they currently display. You can flip through them, select the one you want, and you’re done. And don’t tell me that “Safari has had this forever,” because what matters is that now all of us can have this kind of nifty feature.
- Total ReChrome and Chromifox Basic: like the Chrome browser but hate how it works? Like Firefox but wish it looked more like Chrome? You can be happy now. Combining the Chromifox Basic theme with the Total ReChrome addon will bring Chromey bliss to Firefox.
- TiddlyWiki and jsMath and the jsMath Plugin: I’ve commented on this in my professional blog, but if you’re a scientist who wants a wiki experience without the need for a remote server, and who wants LaTeX in that wiki without all the headache, combining these three technologies is the way to go. TiddlyWiki gives you a go-anywhere wiki experience, jsMath gives you the javascript engine for rendering LaTeX, and the jsMath Plugin for TiddlyWiki gives you the path between them.
- GNOME Do: here’s one for you Linux folks out there. GNOME Do is your command-line in the desktop, and so much more. A single keystroke brings up the GNOME Do window, and a few letters in the name of an application and a quick smack of the ENTER key will launch your desired program. With dozens of plugins, it can do so much more. GNOME Do is my cure for the menu/submenu/subsubmenu nightmare.
