Tech Stack

Tools I picked after trying the usual alternatives — these stuck for price or because they work better for me. #free · #subscription · #onetimepurchase

Apps

• Zen Browser — primary desktop browser #free
• uBlock Origin — ad and tracker blocking #free
• Tampermonkey — userscript manager #free
• Obsidian Web Clipper — save pages into the vault #free
• TickTick — tasks and calendars #subscription
• Noteful — handwritten notes on iPad #onetimepurchase
• Sweep Alarm — chore reminders #free
• ScreenZen — screen-time limits and focus #free
• Perplexity — web search and research #subscription
• Obsidian — personal knowledge base #free
  • Terminal — shell in a pane
  • Style Settings — theme tweaks
  • Baseline — theme
  • Book Search — find books in the vault
  • Hider — hide UI chrome
  • Mononote — link notes with the same title
• Spotify — streaming #free
  • Spicetify — macOS client customization
  • Eevee Spotify — iOS tweaks
  • Last.fm — scrobbles; feeds a custom stats app
• YouTube TV — live TV #subscription
• Feeeed — RSS reader #free
• Libby — library ebooks and audiobooks #free
• Hoopla — library streaming #free
• Kiwix — offline .zim Wikipedia and archives #free
• Feather — sideload iOS .ipa files via Apple dev certificates #free
• Claveo — music practice app #free
• Mood.camera — film-style camera #onetimepurchase
• Snapseed — photo editing #free
• PocketPic — custom photo timelapses #free
• Garmin Connect — watch data and workouts #free

Platforms

• Apple — default apps on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS #free
  • Books — local EPUBs, PDFs, and audiobooks
  • Podcasts — offline subscriptions
  • Music — local library synced from macOS
  • Photos — library synced via iCloud
  • Weather, Mail, Safari
  • Passwords — credentials and passkeys
• Google — workspace and AI #free
  • Maps, Gmail (domain), Drive (Docs, Slides, Sheets)
  • NotebookLM — AI note-taking
  • Gemini — general AI assistant
  • Edge Gallery — local LLMs on mobile
  • Authenticator — TOTP codes