What people recommend, in their own words, with the receipt.
Writer and teacher at NYU; author of Here Comes Everybody and Cognitive Surplus, on the social and economic effects of the internet.
11 things
Kindle PaperwhiteHardware Amazon
I do have two Kindle Paperwhites (two because I lost one in a pile of papers and replaced it and then found it again) which I love. The Kindle's best feature is that it offers no way to check my email.
His Uses This interview, on a deliberately net-centric and disposable setup.
usesthis.com ↗·2014-04-15
SublimeSoftware
but I do just enough coding to want python running locally, and I've never found a Chrome extension that is anything like as good as Sublime for coding.
His Uses This interview, on a deliberately net-centric and disposable setup.
usesthis.com ↗·2014-04-15
ChromeSoftware Google
and, starting in '12, a mixed period where I moved all my writing to Google Docs and coding to Sublime. (My browser is Chrome because duh.)
His Uses This interview, on a deliberately net-centric and disposable setup.
usesthis.com ↗·2014-04-15
LG flip phoneHardware LG
so I also carry an LG flip phone (my one non-*n[iu]x tool] which is useless in every respect except the two crucial ones: call quality is great, and the battery lasts for days.
His Uses This interview, on a deliberately net-centric and disposable setup.
usesthis.com ↗·2014-04-15
BBEditSoftware Bare Bones Software
Then from 2003-2012, it was mainly BBEdit and WebDAV (latterly Dropbox),
His Uses This interview, on a deliberately net-centric and disposable setup.
usesthis.com ↗·2014-04-15
emacsSoftware
My writing tools have gone through three phases: 1993-2003, mainly emacs in a telnet window.
His Uses This interview, on a deliberately net-centric and disposable setup.
usesthis.com ↗·2014-04-15
ChromebookHardware
The kitchen machine is a cheap-o Chromebook, which has a pretty lousy case and keyboard but is fine for recipes and playing NPR.
His Uses This interview, on a deliberately net-centric and disposable setup.
usesthis.com ↗·2014-04-15
BeOSSoftware Be Inc.
I used BeOS for a month or so in 1997, which was beautiful but didn't play well with others.
His Uses This interview, on a deliberately net-centric and disposable setup.
usesthis.com ↗·2014-04-15
DiggService
After several years, I've just stopped using Netvibes in favor of Digg's newsreader. Digg doesn't work as well as Netvibes (and I may ultimately switch back),
His Uses This interview, on a deliberately net-centric and disposable setup.
usesthis.com ↗·2014-04-15
iPadsHardware Apple
I've tried iPads and Nexi tablets, but didn't like them – they are both consumption-centric and concentration-destroying, which is for me a deadly combination.
His Uses This interview, on a deliberately net-centric and disposable setup.
usesthis.com ↗·2014-04-15
MavericksSoftware Apple
I dislike what I've seen of Mavericks – the earlier removal of "Save as…" in native apps was already a portent of The End Times, as if more were needed, and Mavericks looks to go further in that direction
His Uses This interview, on a deliberately net-centric and disposable setup.
usesthis.com ↗·2014-04-15
Every entry is a verbatim quote and a link to the public post it came from. Nothing is paraphrased. If it is not on record somewhere public, it is not here.
The verdict is what they actually said: loved and liked are explicit; recommended means they told others to get it; uses means they only say they use it; read is a book on their public shelf with no verdict; mixed and disliked are kept too.
A dashed affiliate link, sponsored or their own label means the post disclosed a relationship. It is shown, never hidden.
The small bar beside a date shows how dated a recommendation is for its kind of thing.
The bar shows how dated a recommendation is, for its kind of thing. Full and green is recent. It drains, and turns amber and then grey, as the post gets older.
What counts as old depends on the thing. A laptop praised four years ago has been replaced twice; a book loved twenty years ago is probably still loved. The bar is empty after about:
A striped bar means the post carries no date and the date shown is an estimate. No date at all, no bar.