Marble Publishing - Technology

This page touts some of the technologies I like or use. (Need I say it? They're not always the same.) You'll find a long unpublished article plus a handful of shorter comments and testimonials here. If you find something helpful, please let me know.

Keyspan USB Server

I'm a fan of the Keyspan USB Server. It's a small, silent device that plugs into an Ethernet network and has four USB jacks on it. Using a simple software application, any computer on the network can use any USB device that's plugged into the server. (I wrote a brief review of the device for O'Reilly's Make magazine, Volume 04.) It's not perfect: sometimes I have a hard time getting our Epson scanner to connect. If you're interested in learning more about the device, read my article, Using the Keyspan USB Server on a Mac network. (Coming soon.)

LinkSys NSLU2

The Linksys Network Storage Link 2 (NSLU2) is a network-attached storage device for home networks. It's inexpensive, and worth every penny. Frankly, it's a machine with a number of problems, some of which can be worked around. You can read more detail in my article, Using the LinkSys NSLU2 on a mixed Mac-PC network.

Nvu

N|vu is an open-source web development tool. I used it to create this website. Many of its features are quite good, especially for a free tool. It's also quirky and buggy, though not in a replicatable way. Its built-in CSS editor, CaScadeS, is impenetrable to me, and its site manager proved more trouble than it was worth (so I used an FTP client, Fetch). Still, for the price, N|vu is worth a look. Click on the logo to download your own copy (Mac, Windows, or Linux).

SimpleCSS

The CSS editor that comes with N|vu made my brain hurt, but SimpleCSS, a free editor from HostM Web Hosting, proved to be a joy to work with. Mostly. I had some crash problems, but I suspect that they're because I'm running an under-powered Mac. I'd recommend giving it a look.

Go Daddy

Marblepub.com is hosted by Go Daddy. I had heard of the company, but really didn't give them a serious thought until I had the privilege of interviewing some of their technology people for an article in Packet magazine. (Unfortunately, the article is only available online to Packet subscribers.) Anyway, I'm generally pleased with Go Daddy's prices and service.

Apple Computer

Since my days at Sunset magazine, I've worked on Apple computers. I've had a Macintosh SE, a Power Computing clone, a Powerbook 1400, and an iBook G3. I now run a Mac Mini (see the blog to read about upgrading its memory), and my next machine will be a 20-inch Intel iMac. Soon.

Samsung SyncMaster 910MP

I gave Jane this monitor for Christmas in 2005. It's a lovely display with a nice pair of speakers. I'm jealous.

imageshack

Everybody enjoys getting something for free, and that's why I like Imageshack. It's a free, quick, and easy photo hosting service -- great when you want to post a picture to a message board but don't want to host it yourself.