Rants and Raves

Rants and Raves

The summer of 2011 is fast coming to an unofficial close now that Labor Day Weekend is upon us. There is less sunlight each day, kids are returning to school, and geeks like me look at our pale legs and think, “I should have spent more time outdoors this summer.” It’s a great time to review some of the gadgets, services, and software that I have found helpful, useful or useless so far in 2011.

Rave: Apple iPad 2

I purchased my iPad 2 in late May and have used it at work, home, and when traveling. I ride a motorcycle and go on multi-day trips solo around the west coast every year. I used to take a 7″ Asus EEePC netbook on my trips, but the iPad changed all that. It’s fantastic for catching up on news, weather forecasts, route planning (maps!), and staying in touch via email, chat, or even video conferencing with family and work. It’s compact, easy to use, holds a charge forever, and is great for watching movies while snuggled in my tent on camping trips.

Rave: Mighty Wallet

Although it’s not related to technology, I think my Mighty Wallet is so awesome it deserves mention here. I discovered the Might Wallets from a TV commercial. They’re made out of Tyvek, that indestructible stuff under the siding on your house, it’s more or less waterproof, tear proof, and gets softer over time. They’re inexpensive, $15 plus shipping, and come in a large variety of very creative patterns. I got the kind that looks like a topographical map and it gets comments every time I pay for something. www.mightwallets.com

Rave: Parallels Desktop

I use a Mac and have since 2004. I have used every mainstream desktop operating system available since the MS-Dos 3.x days, including Linux and even OS/2, and have found that OS X is the most refined, stable, and productive operating system available today. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best of what’s available. However, Microsoft Windows, for all it’s detraction and bad reputation, serves a purpose as well. Parallels Desktop lets me run Windows inside my Mac seamlessly, safely, and smoothly. VirtualBox is a free alternative that works great for most users, and I highly recommend it, but if you have to really push the envelope with your guest OS, Parallels is the way to go.

Rave: Evernote and Dropbox

I guess this could be considered two raves, but since Evernote and Dropbox allow me to do essentially the same thing — synchronize tasks and files between multiple computers and devices — I’ve listed them together. Evernote is where I keep my to-do items, and because it quickly and seamlessly (there’s that word again) keeps them synced up between my iPad and computer, I can stay on task and ahead of schedule more easily than ever before. Dropbox helps me keep important files available regardless of which device is in hand at the moment, regardless if it’s my home computer, my laptop, my work computer, or even my iPad. To me it should be built into every OS as a part of standard functionality.