We’re near the end of 2004 and I usually list my favourite albums from the year, at this time. I’ll still be doing that, but perhaps later on this week or next week. Being a software guy, I thought I should list my favourite software released in 2004. So here they are in no particular order:
1. Mozilla Firefox
Bar none, this is my favourite web browser…ever. It’s fast, safe and extremely customizable. Firefox is mint!
2. Mozilla Thunderbird
Another entry from the Mozilla Organization, this is a wicked mail client. Like Firefox 1.0, it’s fast, safe, extremely customizable and the included spam filter is a nice touch.
3. Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003
You won’t see me touting Microsoft too often. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, when it comes to development tools, MSVS is a rawking development IDE.
4. Python
I haven’t been using it long, but I love this scripting language. It’s a nice change of pace from all of the similar languages out there that resemble C.
5. OpenOffice
An open-source office suite that’s compatible with the file formats of the market leader, Microsoft Office. It’s never let me down.
6. Gaim
An open-source multi-protocol instant messenging client that’s under very active development. Negates the need to install ICQ, Windows Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, AIM and whatever other IM client people decide to use (and expect you to do the same).
7. FileZilla
An open-source FTP client that just works. What else needs to be said?
8. Unreal Tournament 2004
My favourite online multiplayer first-person shooter series made a huge improvement leap this year. New game types like Onslaught and vehicles always keep me coming back when I’ve lost interest in other games.
9. Doom 3
John Carmack must have a brain that’s thinking in matrices, vectors and polygon meshes all of the time. The 3D engine that he whipped up scared the hell out of me. I wish I had a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound setup because of this game.
10. Half-Life 2
Superb story and wicked graphics are what this game is all about. Less a game, more like a wild playable cinematic experience.
Those are my picks for 2004. Of course I’m not including any software developed by yours truly since most of it is customized for clients 😉 Ah, maybe just one; it’s small and can appeal to a somewhat broad audience…
11. eMastercam Forum Search Plug-in for Firefox/Mozilla/Netscape
I created this plug-in to make it easy for the world-wide members of our eMastercam forum at work to search the forum. Consider this less of a promotion of my plug-in, and more of a endorsement of the extensibility of the software from the Mozilla Organization 😉
