Skip to main content

Verge Favorites: Matt Macari

Verge Favorites: Matt Macari

/

Who doesn’t like to bump up the bass and treble a bit?

Share this story

The Verge staffers aren't just people who love technology. They're people who love stuff. We spend as much time talking and thinking about our favorite books, music, and movies as we do debating the best smartphone to buy or what point-and-shoot has the tightest macro. We thought it would make sense to share our latest obsessions with Verge readers, and we hope you're encouraged to share your favorites with us. Thus a long, healthy debate will ensue where we all end up with new things to read, listen to, or try on.

Boom

Laura_book

Like so many, I usually have music playing in the background while I work. The problem is that the default audio on my Mac is flat and uninspired. I’m no audiophile, but who doesn’t like to bump up the bass and treble a bit? There are some great third-party apps out there (like Hear) that give you incredibly granular control but that’s too much for me — I just end up tweaking every virtual button, slider and knob until it all sounds like garbage. I really just need a simple solution, and Boom is about as simple as you can get. In addition to a general volume boost feature, Boom provides a basic but effective 10 band equalizer that provides great system-wide control over your computer’s sound. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do — nothing more, nothing less — and it's available in the Mac App Store.

Borderlands 2

Josh_album

The first Borderlands was very good, but Borderlands 2 is incredible. If you prefer first-person shooters with solid co-op play and large — no, huge — maps to explore, then this is your game. A thoughtful and detailed story is nice, and Borderlands 2 certainly has that, but it’s the futuristic wild west setting (Pandora), weapons choices, frequent rewards (to buy better weapons of course) and, again, its expansive scale, that sets it apart. And I play as the ninja character, Zero. Of course.

RetroMacCast

Josh_album

Although I love bleeding edge technology, my affection for vintage computers will not be stifled. My first computer was an Apple ][+ and I was admittedly a little traumatized when I had to sell it off after high school. Fortunately I found RetroMacCast to provide me with weekly therapy sessions to advance the healing process. The podcast is focused exclusively on retro / vintage Apple wears and hosts John and James cover it all. Whether it’s a computer, an accessory, or memorabilia, if it has an Apple logo on it (rainbow preferred) they’ll get into it. You can check out their large collection of episodes on iTunes going back to 2006. And make sure to catch their eBay finds in each episode — people sell some crazy, cool stuff.

Maruman Mnemosyne

Josh_album

If you're reading this you probably spend most of your time tapping away on a keyboard but let's face it, bringing pen to paper can feel pretty good too. Cathartic even. When it's that time for me, I try to do everything on Mnemosyne’s spiral notebooks. The paper provides an incredibly smooth writing surface that brings out the best in even the cheapest pens and pencils, even if they don’t deserve such niceties. The notebooks come in a variety of sizes and line styles and they’re all protected with a durable but flexible plastic cover that seals the deal for me. You can pick up notebooks that cost a lot less, but sometimes you really do get what you pay for. If you're going old school, do it up right.

Wunderlist

Josh_album

To-do apps are a dime a dozen but I hate most of them. They’re either too complicated or too simplistic. I lean toward simple, so Wunderlist is a great tool for me. It provides just enough organizational options and functionality, without going overboard. There’s not much more to say about it other than It’s free and cross-platform — for Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, and even BlackBerry. And don’t worry, there are numerous background choices so you aren’t stuck with that default wood grain look.

More from this stream Verge Favorites

See all 51 stories