Programs and Code

This page is a reference for myself as much as everyone else, with links to lots of projects that I use or want to follow up on.

Ubuntu – An operating system for humans. Possibly the only Linux based operating system that many people have actually ever heard of, and even that is questionable at times. However, I have been using the system full time for close to 10 months since leaving Windows XP, and am loving it. Of course, my work doesn’t need any Windows programs, so that helps, but if you’ve never tried it, give it a spin. Side note on it – the other day I took in a Macbook to be repaired on warranty, and the Apple tech suggested I try using Ubuntu to recover any data off the computer before they replaced the hard drive.

Quantum GIS – A full featured, cross-platform GIS system. Does everything (and much more) that I need when it comes to GIS, and it only keeps getting better and better. It uses GRASS as a backend for some of the heavy lifting, but is a solid file editor and viewer on it’s own.

OpenStreetMap.com – If Wikipedia and an atlas had a baby. While coverage is still catching up to Google and MApQuest in more developed areas, it already apparently has better coverage in Africa than either of those two, likely due in large part to having people on the ground vs using government issued data.

R – The open source statistics program. While some people complain that the command line interface is too difficult to learn, I would argue that spending a couple of months to really get to know the program will save you years down the line (It has for me). I have also released a package for R called fossil; my goal is to make this package a full featured palaeostatistical program which can handle phylogenetics, biogeography and anything else that comes to my mind.