---
title: Uses
layout: page
permalink: /uses.html
description: Software, tools and services that I use regularly.
---
Software and services that I use for work and my own enjoyment.
Computer setup
- Midnight MacBook Air (2022 - M2)
- 27" Dell Monitor
- Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID + number pad
- Apple Magic Trackpad
- Homepod Mini for audio
Desk and chair
- My desk is a custom made corner desk I bought on Etsy years ago. It's sturdy, has tons of storage and finally arrived with a chip on the surface to add some character after the first one got lost by the freight company on the journey from Michigan to Los Angeles. I probably _wouldn't_ repeat the experience, but I do love the desk.
- [Herman Miller Aeron chair](https://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/office-chairs/aeron-chairs/): it's pretty comfortable and makes swiveling around my corner desk easy.
macOS + iOS
- [Vivaldi](https://vivaldi.net): a flexible, reliable and privacy focused browser.
- [Fantastical](https://flexibits.com/fantastical): a powerful calendar app that continues to outpace Apple's calendar app.
- [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md): fast, flexible and configurable (or minimal) as you'd like.
- [Plexamp](https://www.plex.tv/plexamp/): Plex's flexible and delightful music player.
- [Ivory](https://tapbots.com/ivory/): the best, most polished Mastodon client for macOS and iOS.
- [ReadKit](https://readkit.app): super flexible and universal — it makes it easy to triage my feeds and save things over to Instapaper.
- [Parcel](https://parcelapp.net): the most flexible and reliable package tracker for Apple's ecosystem.
- [Flighty](https://flightyapp.com): I don't travel a ton but Flighty makes doing so a fair bit less stressful.
iOS
- [status.log](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/status-log/id6444921793): a fantastic client for status.lol that provides an outstanding native experience for the service.
- [Working Copy](https://workingcopy.app): an incredible, fully-featured git client.
- [Secure Shellfish](https://secureshellfish.app): the _best_ ssh client for iOS, complete with Codeapaces support and Files.app integration.
- [Runestone](https://runestone.app): a superb, lightweight text editor for iOS that works beautifully with Working Copy and Secure Shellfish via Files.app.
- [FontCase](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fontcase-manage-your-type/id1205074470): for managing/installing fonts.
macOS
- [FMail2](https://fmail-app.fr): a lightweight wrapper around the Fastmail web app.
- [Rectangle](https://rectangleapp.com): to quickly move around/organize/snap application windows. Using a Mac without it now feels like it's broken.
- [Dato](https://sindresorhus.com/dato): an option-rich calendar utility that lives in your menubar.
- [AirBuddy](https://v2.airbuddy.app): finer-grained control over AirPods and other wireless devices.
- [Meta](https://www.nightbirdsevolve.com/meta): the _best_ utility for tagging and organizing music files on macOS.
- [Permute](https://software.charliemonroe.net/permute): a useful utility for quickly converting files to different formats.
- [noTunes](https://github.com/tombonez/noTunes): a lightweight utility that prevents Music.app from launching. It also allows you to set a new default music player.
Dev tools
- [VS Code](https://code.visualstudio.com): it's the industry standard — for better or worse.
- [Catppuccin](https://github.com/catppuccin): nearly as ubiquitous as Dracula but lighter and more playful, I've started using this theme wherever I'm looking at/reading/writing code.
- [Mono Lisa](https://monolisa.dev): a relatively new find, I've been enjoying how pleasant and readable this font is (and have even gone so far as to install it on iOS via [FontCase](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fontcase-manage-your-type/id1205074470)).
Services
- Fastmail: the best, most reliable email, calendar and contacts provider around.
- NextDNS: a privacy-focused, set it and forget it DNS service. I use their security features on my home network and a profile with strict ad-blocking rules on all of my devices.
- DNSimple: a robust, user-friendly DNS provider and registrar. I moved my domains here after my old provider was acquired.
- [Cloudflare](https://cloudfllare.com): I use their pages hosting, workers and myriad other features.
- bunny.net: an affordable and altogether user-friendly CDN. I host the images for my site with them and use their optimizer/transforms heavily.
- [Plausible](https://plausible.io): lightweight, privacy-friendly analytics.
- Feedpress: they've been around for a while now and don't change much (nor do they need to), but look no further for reliable, helpful feed analytics.
- [Feedbin](https://feedbin.com): performant, open and super reliable RSS.
- [Instapaper](https://instapaper.com): slow to change and often better for it — a reliable and steady read it later service.
- [forwardemail.net](https://forwardemail.net): a simple and reliable service for forwarding and routing emails from a few of the domains I own.
- [Backblaze](https://backblaze.com): It backs up my MacBook Air and attached storage drive and I don't have to think about it.
- Proton: a reliable, trustworthy VPN with all of the features you'd expect from such a service.
Check out [uses.tech](https://uses.tech) for more lists like this one.