Because my new PC is so very much faster than my old dual G4 Mac, I find myself using the PC – go figure. Although OS X is clearly the better ‘user experience’, and better I would argue for general software development, there are a few programs that I am now enjoying under Windows XP: The Triple20 Semantic web tool available at the Swi-Prolog web site and Google’s Desktop Search.

The one thing that I would like to get for Windows XP is a better command window utility. When working, my approximate work breakdown is:

• IntelliJ – 50% (includes occasional use of Eclipse and Netbeans)
• xterm or command window – 25%
• FireFox – 15%
• OpenOffice.org – 10%

All is well, except for the command window. I would like to buy an alternative command window shell – I use bash from cygwin, but I would like something better.