It’s been a while since I’ve done a software shoutout. The last one was actually in 2022, a full three years ago. A lot has changed in the programming industry—namely the titan that is AI has reared it’s ugly head. My coding workflows are in a constant state of flux now, as I try to find the right balance of code written by me and code generated by AI. I’ve also officially made the plunge into making Jetbrains IDEs my main editor, after nearly a decade of using Visual Studio. That could probably be its own blog post.

Side Note: I’m sad that AI has ruined the use of em dashes. I used to use them a great deal, but they’re such a red flag for AI generated text, that I suppose it’s time I move on.

AI (New!)

Back in 2022, I would have never predicted something like AI to come along. As a software developer, this has completely changed my workflow. I’m still trying to learn the best balance between code written by me and generated code, but it has been a blast getting to learn this new tech.

  • Claude/ChatGPT:** I’m putting an asterisk on both of these, because they aren’t software, they are services. Or Saas if you want to be granular, I suppose. Still, AI powered tools have quickly become a main stay in my various workflows. A worthy replacement for stackoverflow, and pretty fun to use in general.
  • TypingMind: A worthy front-end you can purchase to setup your own API-s with a chatlike interface. Helped me learn more about how AI’s work, and has a one-time payment versus a subscription. I don’t use this as much as I used to, but I still fire it up from time to time.

Utility

  • WinDirStat: Still a must. As long as I use windows, I’ll use WinDirStat. Visualizes your disk storage, for easy space management. Also, it has cute little pacman as a loading animation.
  • Windhawk: A nifty program that lets you edit the Windows 11 taskbar. Pretty neat! There were a few tweaks I wanted to make to the taskbar that windows facilitated, I can recommend for any Windows power user.
    • Search Everything: Unfortunately, still a must-have, and always will be unless Windows gets their act together. I don’t expect them to fix their search anytime soon.
  • Bit Warden: I don’t know what it would take for me to leave bit warden. I think I’d have to stop using passwords entirely, or a completely superior password manager is released.
  • LocalSend: I just recently learned about this. Let’s you send files from PC to Phone and vice versa. I don’t get a lot of uses out of this, but when I need it, it’s nice to have.

Video & Audio

  • Ear Trumpet: I switch between audio sources a lot, and this lets me right-click the sound icon and swap between them quickly. I’m sure it can do a lot more, but for that feature alone this is a must for me.
  • Audacity: Out of pure laziness, here is my copy and paste description from three years ago: An Audio Editor. I’ve been using Audacity since my very first animated Flash Movie that I released in 2004.

Writing & Coding

  • Obsidian: I’m surprised I was not using this three years ago. Was I still using Evernote? Obsidian has become my go to second brain. Very flexible, and I find markdown enjoy able to write in. It feels very flexible and lightweight. I believe it has a rich plugin ecosystem, but I haven’t really looked into that.
  • Jetbrains (Rider and Fleet): I have exclusively used JetBrains products in my career, but never for my personal projects. I had two reasons for once. One, JetBrains has a hefty annual subscription fee. And Two, I didn’t want to use the same IDE for both work and personal projects. Especially with hybrid and remote work, I wanted to feel a bit more separation between coding interfaces. I decided this year to take the plunge, and have actually really enjoyed tinkering around with Rider. I wouldn’t mind changing the theme over time, so it does look a bit different from work, but it’s not causing my any stress or anything as is.
  • Godot: My game editor of choice for a long time now. One day I’ll finish another game.

There are a few dozen other programs I rarely use that you can find my previous shoutouts. There are also some programs that have grown to be so ubiquitous that I’m not sure it’s worth mentioning them specifically (Have you heard of this great little software called “Steam”?). I did not mention VLC again this year because I don’t really watch videos locally at all anymore. Most of my videos are in my Google Drive, and I just watch them from there.