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In an effort to explain why I never get anything done and to eliminate that problem, here is a list of things that I'm constantly searching for on the web, and perhaps a few thoughts about each.

It's possible that this list will make no sense, and might even send certain people into seizure, but it's something that I need to nail down, and perhaps you - yes, you, dear reader - can help me figure out some of this stuff.

Then again, maybe I'm just too picky and will never be satisfied. Most people who know me would agree.

I should probably make this into a page rather than a post.  Oh well.  A list of stuff I'm constantly searching for on the internet follows:

  • Digital Cameras
    • High (>7) megapixel
    • Greater than 3x zoom
    • Removable lenses?
    • SLR?
    • Pocket-sized
    • AA-battery powered (not rechargable proprietary)
    • Uses SD or CF cards, not MS

  • Input Devices
    • Alternative keyboard
    • Use mouse and keyboard simultaneously
    • Short learning curve

  • Linux Live CDs
    • Boots to shell-only system
    • Runs Apache 2.0 by default
    • Checks for and automatically mounts HD for web data storage

  • Learn Languages
    • Rosetta
    • Mnemonics
    • Learning Annex

  • Getting Things Done
    • Syncronize paper, Palm, and desktop

  • Mac
    • Debug for Safari and IE
    • Other purposes?
    • Network support
    • OS upgrades

  • Trend Aggregation
    • Natural Language Parsing
    • Power curve inversion

  • BNF as language
  • Online code clip library software
  • Web development reference
  • Project management

Comments

Comment by cliff on .
cliff
http://asymptomatic.net/2005/09/14/738/the-ultimate-searchlist-of-doom#comment-3694
There are a couple of these that I can help with. Kinesis Ergonomics has some alternative keyboards and pointing devices. I don't recall ever seeing anything that would allow you to "mouse and type" at the same time (which I would consider The Holy Grail of input devices, if you're a programmer of any kind), but they've still got some cool stuff. As for the web development reference, I'm a big fan of these cheat sheets (CSS, JavaScript, etc.). Hope that helps!
Comment by Owen on .
Owen
http://asymptomatic.net/2005/09/14/738/the-ultimate-searchlist-of-doom#comment-3695
Thanks, cliff. I currently use a Microsoft Elite keyboard (they don't make them anymore, but I hear that a new version is coming soon) and the keyboards at Kinesis look similar and more expensive. For a one-hand keyboard, check out the FrogPad, which is something I keep not buying. The cheat sheets are also good. I need a more comprehensive online reference, though. I would ideally like to unite XHTML, PHP, CSS, Javascript (both native lanuage syntax and structures, and W3C DOM), and SQL into a single resource.
Comment by cliff on .
cliff
http://asymptomatic.net/2005/09/14/738/the-ultimate-searchlist-of-doom#comment-3696
I never said that they were cheap! (I almost had a heart attack when I saw some of their price tags.) As for the FrogPad, I've seen something similar to that in the past; I thought, "What a great idea!"...and then immediately tacked it onto the list of "Things I'll Never Buy, Because They'll End Up Collecting Dust In My Basement". As for your "Hitchhiker's Guide to All Things Webby", the cheat sheets are at least a decent start, esp. when combined with things like W3 Schools. The problem is that no single site (that I've seen) has all of the information that you want pulled together in one place, and pulling it together manually would be a (possibly worthwhile) pain. Another issue is that, as with many documentation/reference materials, there isn't really a means of searching through all of it. It'd be nice if there was an automated way to aggregate and index this stuff. Hmmm...maybe you could write a WordPress plugin to do it? ;-) j/k
Comment by Owen on .
Owen
http://asymptomatic.net/2005/09/14/738/the-ultimate-searchlist-of-doom#comment-3700
Yeah, I know what you mean about tech gadgets collecting dust. I have a mental limit for what I'm willing to spend on an item of such dubious distinction. The FrogPad seems to sit gingerly on the other side of that line, dangling its feet over the edge. Most of the documentation I mentioned can be found in some form or another online as open documentation. Many are even free to download the whole set for redistribution. The trouble, as you say, is organizing all of it. Besides that, I would rather all of the documenation have the same kind of "feel". I mean, you could just toss all of the single-page downloads onto a site and use a prefab PHP search tool to return results. But intermixing the styles of the pages is undesireable. Something like MSDN that isn't Microsoft-specific would be very nice.