There’s been some discussion about Windows XP lately. What are some other favorites, or programs to avoid? I’ll start.
For kids:
My son (and I) love the Pajama Sam series of games from Humongous Entertainment. Theyhave good plots, good jokes, and a reasonable hint system in case you get stuck. Another plus is that the game changes a little each time you play, so it’s not a play-once throwaway.
Financial:
I used to have Microsoft Money 98 Standard, and I thought it was very good and uncluttered. The only problem I had with it was the difficulty importing my previous data (from a much earlier version of Quicken). I didn’t want to get that far behind again, so I upgraded to Money 2002 Standard.
2002 is a very different program, much more ambitious. 98 just recorded my transactions and gave me some analysis tools. 2002 attempts to give me advice. It has wizards for questions like “Should I remodel the kitchen?”, “Should I refinance?”, etc. It can let you set trigger prices for investments and advise you when they occur. It can advise you on asset allocation, retirement… The result is a much larger and more complicated program. I haven’t decided yet if I like it. One thing I don’t like is that many of the features launch you onto the Internet without warning. (Eventually, maybe, most people will have an always-on broadband connection. I just have a dial-up, and I resent not being asked.)
Other entertainment:
Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed is a very good racing simulation. The graphics are excellent, and the feel is good. I use a Microsoft Sidewinder steering wheel controller, which I recommend. The game has a few different modes: test driver (where you have to perform specific maneuvers to advance to the next task), evolution (where you must race specific cars to get to the next car), and free racing. I find the first two to be difficult, and I have reached a point where I’m stuck. The free racing is fun, but I’d like a larger choice of tracks. Still, I do enjoy the game.
VicomsoftFTP (for Mac): This is my favorite FTP program. It took a bit of getting used to, but once I did - I just love it. Drag and drop, multiple windows, fast. I dunno, I just like it. The next best thing is CuteFTP (Windows). I don’t understand why some ftp programs are so damned cryptic. (WSFTP always confused me.)
Adobe Photoshop: Well, of course I love this program! I can’t think of how I got along without Photoshop 6. Photoshop 4 and 5 are great too, but Photoshop 6 really added so many great features. The “Styles” and “Layer effects” are among my favorites, and also the improved type function! I can hardly wait to see what Photoshop 6.5 brings us! (Rumors are that it is due out the first half of next year, but Adobe refuses to confirm this.) Presumably it’ll be OS X compatable.
Adobe Illustrator: I just upgraded to Illustrator 10. Haven’t used it much, but it is compatable with OS X, which is nifty. I now own Macromedia Freehand 10 (also X compatable) but I have to say, I prefer Illustrator. I guess it’s that familiar Adobe Interface.
Macromedia Dreamweaver 4: Web authoring just came alive for me when I got this program. I used to use MS FrontPage, but it writes ugly code (and FP2000 is too buggy for me). Dreamweaver 4 is just soooo much better. I love the way it handles tables.
Procreate’s Painter 7: OS X compatable! With the ultra-cool “watercolor” technology! What’s not to love? (The watercolor technology is like “real life” watercolor - you paint a brush stroke, and watch it spread and ‘drip’ down the screen! Way cool!)
HomeSite 4.5: I just love HomeSite. I have been using it since version 3. I am not an expert in HTML, but I still enjoy the HomeSite interface. I look forward to upgrading to HomeSite 5.
My personal favorite game for the past year. Its NOT a quake/UT clone. Its not a Rainbow 6 clone either. Its outside, it’s HUGE, it’s realism based. Real guns and a realistic speed of game play. Single player sucks balls but mulitplayer is the most fun you can have sitting in front of a computer. You can snipe, you can throw hundreds of rounds out, you can chuck hand grenades and knife people. Stealth is important and is probably one of the best things about it IMO. Typical game types: CTF,(T)KOTH,DM and TDM. Throw in Flag ball (one or more flags that either team can get) and ‘Attack and Defend’/‘Search and Destroy’ (go after targets to blow up or defend them) and you have barrels of fun. Anybody else play this?
** Age of Empires:Kings **
The best RTS to me. Good team balance. Better replay than Starcraft (blasphemy?). I only play this alone so I’m not sure about multiplay.
I’ve played the demo’s for ** Ghost Recon ** and ** Return to Castle Wolfenstein ** and they both seem fun. RTCW especially. Looks like its gonna be great for mutliplay. I couldnt get GR to work online but the single player level(s) you get with the demo were pretty hard which is a good sign. No one does Terra Firma like NOvaLOGIC though. The rest are square.
