Products I've tried and found to be great!

All of us are consumers whether we like it or not. To live is to consume. It is often hard to know what the right choice is when buying a product. So here are some I've tried and can recommend (and a few to avoid). Please note that your mileage may vary. Please also check out my EcoPractice blog and my reviews in Amazon, Yelp, and Google.

• Cars
  • Honda, Subara, Toyota - Just about all the cars these manufactures make are great but double check with Consumer Reports for current details.
• Computers
  • Macintosh notebooks and desktops, IBM Thinkpads, Dell desktops and laptops have all worked well for me.
    
• Cordless Phones (900Mhz, 2.4Ghz)
  • Uniden - Every Uniden phone I've bought has worked great (I've used 6 different models so far). My luck with Panasonic (2 models) and Sony (3 models) has been just the opposite - none of these seemed to ever work right - they all had weird bugs. I also recommend 900Mhz over 2.4 and 5.2 Ghz -- much cheaper, work just as well, and do not interfere with wireless computer networks.
• Magazines
  • Consumer Reports - Honest & unbiased, they do fair and rigorous comparisons of products.
  • Consumers Checkbook - They evaluate products and services that are specific to certain regions of the US.
• Software
  • FileMaker Pro - I'm a database professional, yet FileMaker is my favorite database because it is relatively easy to use, powerful, and cleanly cross platform.
  • Acrobat - Sometimes confusing to use but an incredible product that helps you create and manipulate epaper. Emulating real paper is a really challenging task (regular paper is a very sophisticated and refined technology) but Acrobat does an amazing job.
  • Coach's Game Card - A program I wrote to help myself and other recreational soccer coaches better manage their teams.
  • Last Pass - A great password manager that protects you, your family, and your friends by ensuring you have strong passwords and take care of them appropriately.
    
• Swim Goggles
  • www.aquagoggles.com - Before getting a pair of these, I had tried a bunch of different prescription swim goggles most of which looked kind of goofy and worked so-so or not at all. The ones from www.aquagoggle.com look sleek (like regular swim goggles), are inexpensive, are very adjustable (so that they will fit you), and just work.
• Web Host
  • Google Sites - If you have simple needs (or even somewhat complex needs) and want a website that is durable, inexpensive, easy to maintain by one or many people, and will likely outlive you at no charge, this is a great choice.