For PC:

  • LaTeX (Document preparation system for high-quality typesetting) I have been using it since 1986. It was recommended to me by Ender Ayanoğlu, now a Professor at EE Dept of UC Irvine. It is a public domain program, developed first as TeX by Donald Knuth of Stanford University. Leslie Lamport generated macros to make it more user-friendly and called it Lamport’s TeX: LaTeX.  Since there was no internet to download the program at the time, I bought a LaTeX copy that runs on Microsoft DOS from the Stanford Bookstore in the form of twenty 5-inch floppy diskettes and brought it to Bilkent. I also bought the user manual of LaTeX, (L. Lamport “LaTeX: A Document Preparation System” Addison-Wesley, 1986). I am probably the first user of LaTeX in Turkey. I was giving PHYS102 in the Spring semester of 1986-87. I prepared the first midterm exam questions using LaTeX and printed them using a dot-matrix printer. My students were really surprised by the quality of the typesetting. At the time, the best word processing program was called Wordstar, running on DOS (Microsoft Windows or Word was not available at the time), which was unable to produce mathematical equations, Greek letters, or even Turkish characters. I typed the EE211 textbook using LaTeX. I ask my students to write the papers or MS/PhD thesis in LaTeX. I use Overleaf to generate LaTeX files in a collaborative manner (see below).
  • Thunderbird (mail client): Recommended to me by Orhan Aytür. I have kept copies of all my mail traffic since 1994. I store my archive in the Cloud so that I can reach it from different computers running Thunderbird. The archive is composed of many small files, each storing one month’s mail. Only that file is downloaded from the Cloud when I need it. I do not use Microsoft’s Outlook. Storing archive files in the Cloud for Microsoft Outlook is not possible since it generates a single, very large PST file that contains everything inside.
  • Matlab: First recommended to me by Seviğ Ayter in 1990. I have been using it ever since. I use it to draw graphs and write Matlab code to do numerical calculations. Its interpreter is able to generate code to utilize all the available processors in a PC in parallel if the Matlab code is properly written (using array operators). I also use it to do symbolic operations, using its symbolic math toolbox.
  • Chrome (internet browser) From Google. It’s better than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
  • Word: to generate short text-only documents with only several pages (Note that word interprets some LaTeX commands, like \Omega, to generate Ω, or \omega to generate ω, often used in EE texts. To turn on this facility, check “Use Math AutoCorrect rules outside math regions” in the Math AutoCorrect tab of Proofing in Options). I avoid using Word when the document is long, or it contains references, figures, etc. I do not recommend my students to write their thesis in Word. I ask my students to use LaTeX instead.
  • XCircuit  (circuit drawing program) Recommended to me by Özgür Aktaş. It is a lightweight, powerful public-domain vector graphics program. It is able to generate high-quality EPS files. It has somewhat awkward keystrokes for command entry. Once you learn it, it is a great tool. You can generate your own library. It understands LaTeX commands. Microsoft Word rejects importing EPS files after a security update. I now convert the EPS file to a TIFF file to insert into Word.
  • LTSpice (free and powerful time-domain circuit simulator from Linear Technologies, now Analog Devices) It is an efficient and fast simulator with no limitations on the size of the circuit. I prefer it over the commercial versions of Spice. Highly recommended for EEs.
  • Diptrace (has a free version) is a Powerful printed-circuit-board design program with schematic entry.
  • Klayout (free and powerful GDSII layout viewer and editor): I use it to check GDS files generated by Cadence. It has a tool to perform continuity checks and detect layout errors.
  • AWR (linear and nonlinear microwave circuit simulator, now part of Cadence) I use it in my Microwave class to teach microwave amplifier design.
  • Xournal++ (Free note-taking application using a stylus). The latest version is stable and does not crash. I use the stylus of a Wacom tablet. I share the screen in Zoom using Zoom lectures. xournal++ generates very small PDF files, later to be shared with students. It is much better than Microsoft’s OneNote or any other commercial program I tried. I have a plugin generating keyboard shortcuts for dashed, dotted, and dash/dotted lines.
  • Inkscape (Free vector graphics drawing and illustrator). It is more powerful than XCircuit but more difficult to use and learn. It can generate emf files that Microsoft Word accepts for importing. I have generated a Circuit Schematic symbol file to generate schematics with it. I still prefer to use XCircuit, though.
  • Comsol (Multiphysics finite element simulation package) Runs on Linux also.

For iPad:

  • Noteshelf: To use iPad as a notebook. It has a zoomed region to be able to write with an iPad pen. Because it uses a chisel tip pen, my handwriting looks better than it actually is. The PDF file it generates is relatively large (Nearly 1MB for one A4 page handwriting).

For CentOS Linux:

  • Cadence: Professional IC design package. I use it through the Europractice license in IC Design courses. Difficult to use and maintain, but it has all the bells and whistles. I am the maintainer and administrator of the Cadence cluster in Room EE-108.

For Cloud:

  • Overleaf (collaborative multi-user LaTeX development tool). This online tool has LaTeX compiler. Makes it “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” after a delay. I recommend my students use it when we are writing a paper together. With the latest change in October 2023, the free version rejects to compile long LaTeX files, such as a thesis.

Passwords: 

I have different passwords for different websites or mail servers. I use long, complex, and unintelligible passwords for each. If one website is compromised and the passwords are stolen, only that website is affected.