Taking advantage of the recent less busy work schedule, I organized the products I used this year aside from design work (excluding AI-related ones, as there are too many ==). I kept no more than two with the same functionality. The useful software has improved my efficiency, and I took the opportunity to collect and organize the information I need, which also adds some fun to life.
The three products I loved the most in 2023 are Eagle, Follow, and HapiGo. I look forward to discovering even better products next year.
Personal opinions, for reference only, welcome to discuss~
Browsing Related#
arc:
The browser I use at home, which has many interesting auxiliary features, such as space partitioning, vertical sidebars, automatic renaming of downloaded files, and the ability to go back to the previous tab with c+z, etc. Although the founder stated that there will be no major version updates by the end of this year, I will probably continue to use it for a while before switching.
edge:
The browser used in the company, inspired by a blog, removed some unnecessary features, and manually set a lighter version, also with a vertical sidebar. In short, as long as personal bookmarks can sync, I can try new browsers anytime.
Output Related#
An established minimalist Markdown editor. One of its advantages is that it can display the editing effect in real-time, what you see is what you get, supports iCloud sync, and costs 89 yuan for a lifetime license. It doesn't have many other features, which suits me now. Although there are many all-in-one options like Obsidian, Notion, Heptabase, etc., the problem is that they come with some learning costs, expensive annual subscription prices, and less-than-perfect experiences. It's better to stick to specialized tools.
uPic：
An excellent image hosting tool. It is used to insert links to local images or videos in Markdown writing and supports many private image hosts. If used occasionally or as a temporary transit station, you can start with the free SMMS. The downside is that it loads a bit slowly and may lose images (after all, it's free). I tried to set up a more secure and private image host using Tencent Cloud, which is also reasonably priced.
Input Related#
An RSS reading tool, a product just released by DIYgod this year. I actually knew about this type of software a long time ago, but I lost interest after opening it for a while and couldn't form a habit. The reason is that if the filtered information sources are not viewed in time, it quickly becomes 99+, and I lose the interest to open it. However, this one makes searching RSS very convenient, with certain categorization and customization rules, as well as a token feature similar to Bilibili, which adds some playability. I look forward to an early mobile version for easier use during my commute.
A text fragment recording tool, focusing on quick recording and random review. It was one of my favorites last year, and continuous recording allows me to see the value this product brings to me.
An information collection and management tool, one of my favorites last year. It is cross-platform and supports iCloud sync, used for collecting valuable articles and fragment information found on the internet. It can parse and back up, which is very practical.
An image and media collection and organization tool, always my favorite. It supports local storage, tagging, and folder classification. The plugin feature in the new version 4.0 can solve most material processing problems, such as one-click enhancement, image search, format conversion, etc. I spent 99 yuan for a lifetime license in my junior year, and it has become essential. Before the second price increase, I spent some more money to buy additional device codes. I mainly use it to organize the design materials or personal photos I browse daily.
Efficiency Related#
An input method auto-switching tool. This is really practical. I often switch software and don't know which input method is being used or whether it's Chinese or English, leading to the need to type to confirm, which affects efficiency. This tool can automatically switch to English input when switching to Photoshop and to Chinese input when switching to documents or WeChat.
An extended file manager for the native Finder on Mac. One of its convenient features is that it can open multiple windows, avoiding window clutter. It also supports cmd+c! It simply solves my problem of not wanting to use the left mouse button to copy. There are also some very practical features, such as real-time display of folder size data, so you no longer need to right-click to view the summary to see the file size, as well as custom function shortcuts for quick clicks.
A quick launcher. The domestic alternative to Raycast, which is more suitable for me in Chinese. I look forward to future updates supporting more plugins. It already has many one-click AI, translation, and screenshot plugins that I use daily.
A famous download tool for Mac. If you need direct link downloads, this is enough.
A minimalist multimedia transcoder. I don't use it often, but when I need it, I think of using it first.
An image viewer that focuses on a similar operation logic to Windows. You can view images by double-clicking, and the customization options are comprehensive.
An image upscaling tool with built-in AI models to choose from, and the effects are quite good.
A small tool to enhance the right-click menu on Mac, allowing you to create and move files with a right-click.
IINA：
The best media player for Mac.
Keka：
A beautifully designed compression tool that is also elegant and practical.
An automatic file organization tool using rules. For example, the Mac download folder can automatically categorize files by format, making it convenient to find previously downloaded files without sifting through a pile of jumbled and differently formatted files. There is a beginner's introduction on the minority side.
A tool for convenient font preview and management. After using too many font files, finding the desired style can be troublesome. The built-in Font Book on Mac is indeed not user-friendly, and this software meets my needs. Another similar software is Rightfont, which I also highly recommend.
A user-friendly, simple, and comprehensive product. The name is straightforward and clear, designed for quick retrieval and use :)
A computer cleaning tool that features a cool appearance. Tencent's Lemon Cleaner is also recommended and is very minimalist.
Beautification Related#
A DIY battery beautification tool that adds a cute emoji icon to the menu bar to sync battery levels, making my mood better.
An animation display for connecting headphones to Mac. Its function is to show an animation on Mac when opening AirPods, making the connection status clear at a glance.
A beautification tool for Mac's notch screen, adding a black border at the top to perfectly hide the MacBook's notch. Although I don't find it particularly ugly, hiding it does make it look more elegant.
A tool to customize information that stays in the status bar. You can set it to add GIF animations, device, and network information to the status bar, which is quite interesting.
A tool to hide status bar icons, specifically targeting the icons in the upper right corner of the status bar. If there are any you want to keep visible, you can quickly set them.
A tool to convert images into icons, allowing for mutual conversion between icon formats and various image formats, used to beautify Mac application icons or export them in reverse.
That's all~ See you next time!