The Best Of - 2014 Edition

At the end of every year I note down a summary of the best applications, hardware & websites I’ve enjoyed & depended on throughout the year (and often for some time before).

This post has long since been superseded. You can find the latest version of this post here.

Software / General Use#

• Fastmail - https://www.fastmail.com
• Evernote - https://evernote.com
• Reeder - http://reederapp.com
• Keynote - https://www.apple.com/au/mac/keynote
• Lastpass - https://lastpass.com
• Plex - https://plex.tv
• Calibre - http://calibre-ebook.com

Software / Geek Use#

• Sublime Text - http://www.sublimetext.com/3
• Homebrew - http://brew.sh
• DropSync - http://mudflatsoftware.com
• Beets - http://beets.radbox.org
• Textual - http://www.codeux.com/textual
• XLD - http://tmkk.undo.jp/xld/index_e.html
• Code Academy - http://www.codecademy.com
• Exercism.io - http://exercism.io
• Sickbeard + Headphones + Couchpotato + Sabnzbd - http://www.totalhtpc.com/ultimate-usenet-guide.html

Software / Mobile#

• Tweetbot - http://tapbots.com/software/tweetbot
• Pushover - http://pushover.net
• Lastpass - https://lastpass.com
• Keynote - https://www.apple.com/au/ios/keynote
• Reeder - http://reederapp.com/ios
• Evernote- https://evernote.com
• Plex - https://plex.tv
• Backblaze - https://www.backblaze.com
• WTF Podcast - http://www.wtfpod.com/app
• MiniHack - https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/minihack-for-hacker-news/id631108846?mt=8
• Uber - https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/uber/id368677368?mt=8
• Goodreads - https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/goodreads-book-recommendations/id355833469?mt=8
• Notify4M - https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/notify4m/id499161979?mt=8
• Bandcamp - https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/bandcamp/id706408639?mt=8
• Hype Machine - https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/hype-machine/id414315986?mt=8
• Nuzzel (Only got onto this today) - https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/nuzzel-news-from-your-friends/id692285770?mt=8
• Alien Blue - http://www.reddit.com/r/alienblue

Software / SysAdmin or DevOps Specific#

• Gitlab - http://gitlab.org
• Gitlab-CI - https://about.gitlab.com/gitlab-ci
• Dash - http://kapeli.com/dash
• PostgreSQL (Makes my list every year & just keeps getting better) - http://www.postgresql.org
• PGBadger - http://dalibo.github.io/pgbadger
• Docker - https://www.docker.com
• Consul - https://consul.io
• Puppet (I couldn’t do my job as well without it) - http://puppetlabs.com
• iTerm - http://iterm2.com
• Nginx - http://nginx.org
• Htop - http://hisham.hm/htop
• Bonnie++ - http://linux.die.net/man/8/bonnie++
• Openfire - https://www.igniterealtime.org/projects/openfire
• Hiera-Eyaml - https://github.com/TomPoulton/hiera-eyaml
• Rubinius - http://rubini.us
• Puma - http://puma.io
• XenServer - http://xenserver.org
• ElasticSearch - www.elasticsearch.org
• Logstash - http://logstash.net
• FPM - https://github.com/jordansissel/fpm
• PFsense - https://www.pfsense.org
• Debian Jessie (Not quite released but the next great version of the best linux Distro IMO) - https://www.debian.org/releases/jessie
• Check_MK Multisite - https://mathias-kettner.de/checkmk_multisite.html
• PWSafe - https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/pwsafe-password-safe-compatible/id520993579?mt=12
• Supervisord - http://supervisord.org

Websites#

• Last.fm - http://www.last.fm/user/sammcj2000
• Feedly - https://feedly.com
• HackerNews - https://news.ycombinator.com/news
• Lucidchart - http://lucidchart.com/
• MondoTunes (Might be a little biased here!) - http://mondotunes.org

Hardware#

• Das Ultimate 4- http://www.daskeyboard.com
• Logitech Performance MX - http://www.logitech.com/en-au/product/performance-mouse-mx
• 15’’ Macbook Pro Retina - http://www.apple.com/au/macbook-pro
• iPhone 6+ (because its bigger than bigger, or something) - https://www.apple.com/iphone-6
• CuBox - http://www.solid-run.com/product/cubox-i4pro
• Parani SD1000 Bluetooth Serial Adapter - http://www.senaindustrial.com/products/industrial_bluetooth/sd1000.php
• SanDisk Extreme Pro 480GB SSD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171999

Other / Non-tech#

• All Day Socks - http://alldaysocks.com
• Sennheiser Amperior On-Ear Headphones - http://www.head-fi.org/products/sennheiser-amperior-on-ear-headphones
• O2 + ODAC - http://www.jdslabs.com/products/48/o2-odac-combo
• Benchmark DAC1 HDR - http://benchmarkmedia.com/products/benchmark-dac1-hdr-digital-to-analog-converter
• Bellroy Wallets - http://bellroy.com
• Ink Shoes - http://www.inkshoes.it
• Kindle Paperwhite - http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/feature.html?docId=3077740006
• Nerf Jolt - http://nerf.wikia.com/wiki/Jolt_EX-1

Books#

• The Phoenix Project (Reread this year for the 3rd time) - http://itrevolution.com/books/phoenix-project-DevOps-book
• Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman! - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5544.Surely_You_re_Joking_Mr_Feynman_
• The Dark Tower Series - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43615.The_Gunslinger
• Snow Crash - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/830.Snow_Crash