I wasn’t going to do a post like this… But what the heck, all the popular kids are doing it this week, so why shouldn’t I? I’m not really much of a defaults guy. I’ve always preferred to support indie developers, so will usually go that route if their app is as good or better than the Apple default.
| Category | Application |
|---|---|
| Mail Client | Apple Mail |
| Mail Server | iCloud Mail w/ custom domains |
| Notes | Obsidian |
| To-Do | Things |
| Photo Shooting | Apple Camera |
| Photo Management | Apple Photos |
| Photo Editing | Pixelmator Pro |
| Calendar | Fantastical |
| Cloud File Storage | iCloud |
| RSS | Reeder |
| Contacts | Apple Contacts |
| Browser | Safari/Chrome/Firefox |
| Chat | Messages/Teams/Slack |
| Bookmarks | Things |
| Read It Later | Things |
| Word Processing | Microsoft Word |
| Spreadsheets | Microsoft Excel |
| Presentations | Microsoft Powerpoint |
| Shopping Lists | Bear |
| Personal Finance | Microsoft Excel/Bank Mobile App |
| News | Safari/Reeder |
| Music | Apple Music |
| Podcasts | Overcast |
| Mastodon | Mona |
| Password Management | 1Password |
| Code Editor | Nova |
Some extra utility apps in my toolbox I can’t live without…
- Launchbar: It’s the first app I install on any new Mac. I’m lost without it.
- Bartender: To hide menubar icons that are pointless.
- FastScripts: Assign a keystroke to AppleScripts to do various things.
- Shottr: For taking screenshots. The price can’t be beat and it does a great job.
- Magnet: Resize and arrange windows with a keystroke. Obviously, I hate taking my hands off the keyboard.