Software I'm using and how I'm using it
Here's an end-of-the-year software roundup covering both applications and features. This list prioritizes:
- What I haven't written about before.
- What is likely to be distinctive (do you really need to know I use Gmail?).
- What has worked and stuck for at least a while (so, not "this looks cool" but "I've gotten real value from this in 2025").
- Things that are not generative AI coding tools: I'm an enthusiastic and heavy user of these, but it's a different sort of subject that I have written about and will keep writing about.
And here's the list:
The Helix text editor
The biggest surprise for me. My notes are here and here. It's a joy to use.
Notes and Reminders
After years of trying third-party tools like Todoist, DEVONthink, and Obsidian (all of which are wonderful), I'm back to Apple's first-party notes and reminders applications. They're both much-improved applications that benefit from their iOS integration, and keeping it simple tools-wise helps me avoid perverse incentives I discuss here.
By the way, I still use and love Drafts when I really do need quick capture.
Instapaper
Similarly, after trying many read-it-later tools, I'm using vanilla, free Instapaper. It doesn't spring to mind when I think of software I adore, but I am in fact reading things later, on my terms, and comfortably, and I'm grateful for that.
Redirector
One doesn't need to be a complete dopamine addict to benefit from something like Redirector, which detects when you're visiting certain URLs and redirects you as configured (I send myself to Instapaper).
Triple-click to toggle greyscale on iOS
It's nice to have my phone in grey by default: the things I want to be consuming in short breaks exploit color a lot less. Being able to triple-click the side button to toggle this means that I can still look at cute photos in color. (Here's how to enable this.)
And that's the (non-generative-AI) list. I'm struck by how short it is: that means that a lot of standard software is serving me well, and that a lot of what's new to me is generative AI.