My favorite and recommended software and tech.

Sometimes I get asked about the things I use to build, stay productive, or buy to pretend I’m being productive when I’m really just procrastinating (master procrastinator here). Here’s a list of all of my favorite stuff.

Productivity

  • Obsidian

    The best note-taking app that leverages non-linear note styles. Community-built plugins also got you covered for anything you could ever want in a note-taking app.

  • Anki

    Struggling to remember facts? Anki-fy it! Anki utilizes the power of spaced repetition in flashcards to help you retain information. Warning: you may become part of the Anki cult (or quit within a week).

  • Visual Studio Code

    A community staple IDE for anything code and programming related. My favorite feature is the ability to use plugins... such as ChatGPT for debugging your code.

  • TickTick

    A great task-manager app with a powerful calendar baked in. It might soon be replaced on the list, as I’ve been using it less in favor of Obsidian Tasks + Reclaim.ai calendar.

  • Raindrop

    Drop all your bookmarks, references, and cool websites here, and you can view them anywhere. It’s free, comes with great tagging organization, and has a cool logo.

Useful MacOS Apps

  • Bitwarden (FREE)

    Bring the power of Google passwords to any application you use. Saves the hassle of remembering 100+ different passwords.

  • Shottr (FREE)

    Versatile screenshot tool with extremely powerful features, including scrolling capture, OCR, and screenshot editing. And it’s all for free!

  • Rectangle (FREE)

    Snap that window left, right, and across monitors! Feel the power of Windows’ window management in MacOS.

  • DeepL (FREE)

    I should really study my Chinese, but DeepL is the only reason why I don’t. Translate screenshots, documents, and text more accurately than Google can.

  • Raycast (FREE)

    A feature-rich application launcher that has dethroned Alfred as the king of application launchers. Though that might spark some arguments.

  • Maccy (FREE)

    View your entire clipboard history and paste them rapidly. Great if you copy a lot of information, which is literally everyone.

  • Expanso (FREE)

    Can’t be bothered to type your long email address out or your address? Setup keyboard shortcuts to expand anything you want.

  • Keka (FREE)

    If you understand the pain of downloading a .zip file and then manually unzipping it, just get Keka. Auto unzips files, and can also compress files too.

  • AltTab (FREE)

    I love how Windows handles AltTabing, so let’s move that feature to MacOS as well! Works wonders if you have 20 applications open at the same time.

  • Arc (FREE)

    "Arc is the Chrome replacement you've been waiting for." Great tab management and many small UX enhancements (mini browser, CTRL F with GPT...) that make it even better.

  • BatFi (FREE)

    Extend your MacOS battery life. Charging your MacBook battery to 100% is bad for the battery - BatFi will limit the maximum battery percentage to 80%. Good enough for most people.

  • Warp (FREE)

    A modern, AI-powered terminal. Much better than the default terminal or iTerm2. Use my referral code to download it for free with an exclusive theme!

  • Draw.io (FREE)

    Free collaborative diagramming software. Great for creating flowcharts, diagrams, and more for your blogs or projects. The best diagramming app I’ve ever used.

  • PDFGear (FREE)

    Anything you need to do with PDFs, PDFGear has you covered. No longer do I need to open a webpage to compress, merge, or OCR my PDFs!

  • Latest (FREE)

    A simple app that keeps all your other apps updated. No more manually updating apps, and no more annoying update notifications.

  • SoulSeekQT (FREE)

    A criminally underrated music downloading app. P2P connections to download high-quality music. Especially great for audiophiles who want hi-res FLAC files.

  • DaisyDisk (PAID)

    Find big files on your Mac so you can clean them up. It’s a great way to free up space on your Mac.

  • Bartender (PAID)

    If you downloaded all my recommended apps, your Mac menu bar is probably a mess. Bartender lets you organize your menu bar so it’s not a mess. I find it much better than HiddenBar (a free alternative).

  • Screen Studio (PAID)

    Ever want to create stunning recordings of your screen? This one uses AI to track and zoom in on your cursor, add backgrounds, and add animations.

  • Parallels (PAID)

    So I can actually access engineering apps like Altium or Solidworks on my Mac. Having native Apple Silicon optimized engineering software would be awesome though.