Search with Design

I started to write a post about technology I use in everyday SEO activities, but given that part of the stupid-kitsch of this blog is that almost none of it is directly about search or design, I decided to keep the list going and expand into the life of an SEO, Designer, or other web-people.  So here are 10 things that, in my experience, just work, every time, in the familiar way, without any extra effort.

FireFox

I recognize there were memory leak issues in the beginning, and a couple of the 2.x versions weren’t so hot, but FireFox has consistently proven that it will take whatever garbage code gets thrown at it, and do its best to present it coherently and quickly.  Not only that, but you can load the bastard up with near-unlimited plugins  (at current count I have over 35 running on this machine) and it maintains its composure.

Best of all, I’ve regularly used FireFox across Linux, Mac and Windows platforms and the only thing that changes is the location of the ‘Preferences’ menu option.  That’s it.  It runs flawlessly on all those sytems, and if they made a version for my cellphone I’d use it there, too.

WordPress

Sure, you’re going to have problems with hackers exploiting your software, but when you are essentially rolling up the functionality of Microsoft Word, Frontpage, Blogger and FireFox into a web-based utility that my 56-year-old mother has no problem using, well… let’s say the tradeoff of releasing more updates is totally worth it.  No other blogging platform can touch it in terms of functionality and community development, and it’s beginning to overtake even some of the most venerable content management systems in terms of web development for community and corporate sites.

Having installed WP on more than 50 sites in the last year, I can tell you that it is the easiest, most user-friendly way to get a site up on the web.

Coca Cola

This is one of the non-technical entries.  Coke and the internet go back a long way.  Since the mixture of caffeine and sugar basically fueled the development of the early ‘net you could say it’s more resposible for the creation of the web than Al Gore.  Sure, there are newer, flashier drinks, and in social situations with non-web-people you’ll probably have to drink coffee, but try drinking an Americano with your burrito… or ordering some “Bawlz” at your favorite sandwich shop.

If I have one issue with Coke, it’s the lack of cane-sugar-based formula in restaurants and soda machines in the US.  This is really more of a governmental issue, with stupid subsidies making cane sugar more expensive to use than corn syrup, but it just tastes better.

The iPod

You don’t need me to tell you that the iPod just works.  Their stupidly-high sales figures can do that fine.  Just notice that on the web, and even in TV and print in many cases, it is taken for granted that you have an iPod or at least know what one is.  The iPod is almost as a ubiquitous and necessary to life in America as a cell-phone.  And they just work!  I think I’ve had to “reboot” my iPod 3 times in as many years.  Not even my Dell 400SC running Linux will stay up for a year straight.

Sport Compact Cars

Although I wanted to write this entry about my old standby, the Acura Integra, I have to admit that as a classification of vehicles goes, the SCC not only appears to be the choice of web-people everywhere, but also one of the most counted-upon vehicles out there, and the choice between a Rabbit, a Civic, a Golf, a Celica or a WRX is such a personal one that it’s hard to say which is the best.  Although I’ve since moved on from my SCC phase, I have to say that I miss the feeling of non-worry that comes from knowing you can park anywhere, drive anywhere [there’s a road], and haul almost anything (including 4 friends, if they’re not the complaining type).

IBM Keyboards

Maybe it’s just my typing style, but IBM keyboards just seem to fit right.  They’re also insanely durable.  My evidence for this claim consists of the indestructible IBM Model M and the venerable Thinkpad.  The Model M is one of the finest keyboards ever built.  It’s loud, heavy and has the ergonmics of a brick, but with each key rated for over 15 million keystrokes, you are almost guaranteed to die before your keyboard breaks.  Think about that.  And when you press a key on the Model M, you know for sure that key got pressed.  None of that squidgy “did I hit it or not” nonsense like modern membrane keyboards.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Thinkpad keyboard.  Although not as pretty as some of the other laptop typing surfaces, the keys are normal size (a fact you will never appreciate unless you type vigrorously on your laptop) and the keys (like the Model M) give you definite press/no-press feedback, which is simply invaluable for multi-taskers.

And to top it off… they work.  They just work.

LinkSys Routers

Some might say that my CCNA Certification might force me to draw the conclusion that routers made by Cisco and subsidiaries are superior to others, but my experience in setting up home and small-business networks for myself and my friends has taught me that LinkSys knows what a router needs to be.  All the LinkSys products I’ve owned over the years work flawlessly for years without restarting, just a little canned-air every once in awhile.  When I lived in a non-air-conditioned house in Tucson for a year, I even set a container of ice on top of my WRT54G to keep it running cool and never once had a problem!

QDoba

I am almost certain that nearly all web development would cease if QDoba went under.  The fact that nearly any time of day, any size group can walk in to any QDoba and get not only their favorite burrito made their way, but also get it in under 5 minutes and free on every tenth order, is just beautiful.  If you don’t know why QDoba “just works” I suggest you go find out.

What “just works” for you?