I prefer to use OS X or linux on my laptops, and linux on my workstations and servers. Serious coing got spent on a 17″ MacBook Pro for most of my work and fun. I run Fedora on all my desktops and web/mail servers. There are many other distributions, some are fine, a few are excellent. I support a significant number of Windows OS variants; Windows XP sp2 is my current favorite offering from MS.
Software tools:
OS X specific
Quicksilver - something I can not explain and can not live without.
Vim - the editor. Not really specific to any OS but…
OmniGroup - authors of OmniWeb (my favorite THE BEST browser) along with many other fine tools.
Panic - Portland-based development company that makes second-greatest file mover in the form of Transmit, as well as my favorite web code editor (outside of VIM; heck, their CSS tool alone is worth the price of admission) in the form of Coda. And they make my desktop purdy with CandyBar. I have not met them, but I think these guys are SO cool.
Adium - chat away.
Vienna - read news, change the way you browse the web. I made a FlatGraphite style for Vienna that suits my tastes.
Stuff I use on Linux as well as OS X
GNOME - my favorite GUI for a long time, but now plays second fiddle.
Vim - didn’t I already say THE editor (worth saying twice).
rsync - the greatest file mover.
Gimp - a fine way to manipulate images.
Bluefish - excellent web coding tool.
Evolution - a decent email client for GNOME, though mutt is the best.
Inkscape - vector image tool.
AbiWord - easy, lightweight, cross-platform word processor.
Gnumeric - easy, lightweight, cross-platform spreadsheet.
Gaim - chat away on OS X or Windows.
Most of my web coding work is done with PHP.
Things to do in and around PDX:
- Take a cruise on one of the Portland Spirit vessels.
- Have a great meal at Lucy’s Table.
- The Columbia Gorge is truly spectacular.
- The largest Suzhou style garden/a> outside of China opened to the public September 14, 2000.
- OMSI- The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. They have an OmniMax theatre and a submarine called the USS Blueback. It was used in the filming of The Hunt for Red October.
- Portland is home to three public rose gardens. Offering a spectacular view of the "City of Roses", the 4.5-acreInternational Rose Test Garden in Washington Park is one of the largest and oldest rose test gardens in the country.
- Located above the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park, the Japanese Garden has been proclaimed one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside Japan.
- The World Forestry Center Museum offers the sights and sounds of tropical rain forests; encounter centuries-old trees in an old growth forest exhibit and explore the mysteries of fossils and petrified woods.
- Set among 62 acres of botanical gardens,The Grottois an internationally renowned Catholic sanctuary.
- The Oregon Coast Aquarium has been voted one of the nation’s top 10 aquariums. Keiko lived here before he moved to Iceland.
- The Columbia River Maritime Museumis located on Astoria’s waterfront, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean.
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