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Classic 2 Guys |
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Wading the World Wide Web |
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 Last night I sat up thinking about a programming problem from a project at work. Being a geek, this is nothing new. Often in college, I would dream calculus problems if I had a test the next day. My brain solves problems in the subconscious of sleep. If the problem is more difficult, it will work on it in the conscious mind taking my sleep with it. This one was a doozy. I didn't solve the problem, but I wasn't awake all night either.
I had remembered reading an article on the web where someone had solved a similar problem. I was able to go back to sleep and put the problem off until morning.
When I got into work, I waded through my bookmarks, found the article and fixed the problem. It took me about twenty minutes. At that moment, looking at my bookmarks, two things occurred to me:
1. There is a tremendous sea of knowledge on the web. Most of it available for free. There is also a tremendous amount of worthless stuff. Knowing how to sort the good from the bad is important.
2. I didn't solve my problem quickly because I am an ace at 'googling' or other internet hackery (although that helps). I solved it quickly because I KNEW where to look.
The second point struck me. As I read through online forums, the same questions come up again and again. It isn't that these users are so clueless that they can't use a browser, more often, there is just too much junk to wade through to get to the answer of the problem.
Well, in the Spirit of 2Guys, I am going to share the bookmarks I use pretty much weekly, if not daily, to solve problems.
http://www.oreilly.com/
But O'Reilly only makes books for the guys with bad teeth and pocket protectors, don't they? Wrong. O'Reilly hosts one of the best online communities for Mac OS X and open source information. The people that post articles are leaders in the industry and in many cases are the authors of the books that O'Reilly sells. There is a wealth of information on the website.
http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/ - posts articles and how-tos for the Linux operating system.
http://www.macdevcenter.com/ - Want to use your Mac to control your house? It's here. Need to know about the latest version of Xcode? Want really good tips on digital photography? Here too.
http://www.onlamp.com/ - Need to tweak apache? Sendmail? Look here.
http://www.oreilly.com/openbook/ - These are O'Reilly books that are published under an open source license. They are free to view.
http://safari.oreilly.com/
This one isn't free, but I am going to include it here anyway. There is nothing better than having nearly the entire O'Reilly, Peachpit Press and others catalogs at your fingertips online. For a $19.99 monthly fee, you get access to 2316 up to date technology books. Not a bad selection and easy on the VISA card.
http://sourceforge.net
When I need a little specialized utility and I don't have time to write it myself, sourceforge is the place to look. This is a huge repository for open source projects. You can sort your searches by operating system and there is plenty of software for Mac OS X, Linux and, dare I say it, Windows too. Check out Audacity for the quality of projects hosted here.
http://versiontracker.com
Another excellent source for software. You can also get a paid subscription (with software) where they will automatically keep the software that you download up to date..
http://www.ugu.com
Unix Guru Universe is a good collection of Unix and Linux knowledge. There are links for system administration to Unix Filesystems. The Unix 101 guide is extremely useful for Mac OS X users.
http://www.intuitive.com/wicked/wicked-cool-shell-script-library.shtml
This is the companion website to the No Starch Press book Wicked Cool Shell Scripts. All of the scripts that are written in the book are available for download from the site. There are some really good scripts for Mac OS X, Unix and Linux. If you are interested in learning to write shell scripts (this is different than Applescript) then you should spring for the book.
http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/mac911/
Chris Breen uncovers many of the problems we as Mac users encounter. You can read them all in his web log at MacWorld. Breen constantly pushes the edge of what Apple software and your Mac can do. If you are not sure if your hardware will perform, Chris Breen has probably already tried it. From the iPod to Final Cut Express, there aren't many out there with more experience than Chris Breen.
http://www.macosxhints.com/
This is a great collection of tips and tricks on just about everything Mac and OS X. There are tips on configuring your desktop to building a linux iTunes server using rendezvous.
http://www.darwinports.org
A great collection of open source software that has been ported to the Darwin operating system. There is also a manager to help you keep track of all of those programs.
http://www.fink.org
This is another collection of ported Unix and open source software for Mac OS X. Fink is actually the package manager. If you can't find it here, you better write it yourself.
http://www.macfixit.com
Is there trouble with an Apple update? Are there issues with new Apple hardware? See something very strange happen with your Mac and can't explain it? Go take a look at macfixit before you pull your hair out. It might save you a trip to the Apple Store Genius Bar.
http://www.osxfaq.com
OSXFAQ has a good collection of tutorials and notes on OS X. Of particular interest is the Mac OS X Unix Tutorial (http://www.osxfaq.com/Tutorials/LearningCenter/). If you are new to OS X and are curious about the Unix underneath, look here first.
http://www.yourmaclife.com
Your Mac Life is a weekly Macintosh Users radio show (airs Wednesday nights - check the site for times). It is a knowledgable and fun look at the Macintosh and the Mac Life. Definately worth checking out. If you miss the live broadcast, you can listen later from the archives. You can also sign up for a subscription to Audible.com. |
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August 11 2004, 10:07 AM EDT, by |
Comments:
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| sweetjimmyhugs |
8/11/04, 11:06 AM EDT |
Great list! I frequent all of these sites whenever I need info or am just curious about stuff.
I don't care what rlhamon says, you really are a smart guy who knows his stuff. ;-)
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| nhmacusr |
8/11/04, 4:03 PM EDT |
Hey Guys, sorry about the laziness.....next time I'll have dynamic links in there.
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| iKen |
8/11/04, 4:29 PM EDT |
you know you can still edit it.
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| adam jackson |
8/11/04, 5:33 PM EDT |
you forgot my site again :(
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| nhmacusr |
8/11/04, 10:46 PM EDT |
Sorry Man. I have never been to your site. Now that it is in my bookmark list, I'll be there more often :)
The article was mainly a technical reference. I'll cruise over to you more often.
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| Jonahan |
8/12/04, 8:31 AM EDT |
Great list, I don't think I can even add anything to it.... wait maybe... nope....got nothing.
Wait what about Crazy Apple Rumors Site? Their Crazy Apple Help Desk is very helpful sometimes. As long as it's nothing technical and you don't really want your problem solved anyway. But that sort of stuff is for Quakers.
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| Jonathan |
8/12/04, 1:52 PM EDT |
www.apple.com/support .. forums are pretty good too..http://discussions.info.apple.com/ ... but I'm sure you all knew about these already.
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| cAtraXx |
8/13/04, 12:11 PM EDT |
Sourceforge owns, but they often have M$ banners there ...
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