Finally, a reader from Adobe for the Palm. I tried other readers, but they were always flaky and slow. Even though the current release is beta, it really outperforms other readers I have tried.

This device is pretty good for a 1.0 release. If you want to get into eBooks and don't have a Palm or CE device, then you might consider this unit. I don't really like the franklin reader, but I enjoy using the MobiPocket Reader. It is available for this device and the Palm. The main reason I bought this unit was for its future support of the Microsoft Reader. A version is suppose to be available sometime in 2001.

Bean has a "WebScription" service that allows you to purchase sets of books for $10.00 USD. They also provide free books as teasers from some of their authors. I read all of the free books and have since purchased several "WebScriptions". The books are available in many formats including: html and MobiPocket. The only drawback has been that not all of their titles are available in electronic form. This makes catching up on authors more difficult.

A good introduction to using DTDs.

A link site for design patterns.

As described on the site.

The J2EE(TM) Patterns presented here, a collection of J2EE-based solutions to common problems, reflect the collective expertise and experience of Java(TM) technology architects in the Sun Java Center over the past three years.

The best build tool on the planet. At least for Java. I've even used it as a poor man's backup utility. It's extensible and cross platform. I prefer this to make hands down.

This is a great logging package. It makes it easy to provide sophisticated logging in a Java application. Don't write one from scratch, take a little while and learn this package. It is well worth it.

A great JSP implementation that runs on Windows and Linux just fine. In fact, that is what I run this site under.

The documents provide a good basis on style for writing code that is readable by your fellow programmers. I have some exceptions with their suggestions, but in general I follow most of their guidelines. What ever style you choose, be consistent.

The reference implementation...go for it!

The Python Cookbook is a repository of Python classes and functions available from ActiveState. I've found several good scripts that make getting the job done easier.

Lots of examples of scripting in bash.

Very useful version management tool whether you are working alone or in a group.

If you work on a Windows platform, this toolset is a MUST! Most of the time, I still use a Windows command prompt instead of bash, but I use the tools (grep, sed, gawk, cvs, ls, mv, cp, etc.) all the time. Many tasks that were easier on a *nix platform may now be performed on Windows. Although my friends tell me I should really give up on the command line, I just cant' bear to do it.

A great little editor written in Java. I use it for most of my editing tasks now. I needed an editor that was fairly small, had similar keystrokes to the Windows CUA, and was portable across platforms. I went through several editors before I ended up here.

I don't use an IDE much anymore because ANT has really made it easier to do without one. But, when I want to do GUI work, I fire up NetBeans. I've also used it on larger projects and with the new MDI mode, I may use it more often. This is a major Java application, so pack your machine with RAM (384+ MB) to make it run like it should. It also integrates with ANT, so you can switch in and out as you choose. Wheel mouse support is available on Windows and Linux. From the NetBean's search page, search for mousewheel. Since mousewheel is a contributed module that is not listed with the other modules, make sure to read the messages to find the correct release. The wheel mouse will be officially supported when JDK 1.4 supports it.