App Defaults 2024

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Below is my updated list of apps I use in various categories updated from 2024. I have excluded my strict work-usage-only applications.

Main Apps

• 📨 Mail Client: Mimestream (macOS) / Mail.app (macOS/iOS), Mail.app, and Gmail (search only) (iOS)

• 📮 Mail Server: Gmail, Fastmail, and some iCloud hosting with a custom domain

• 📝 Notes: Notes.app (ad-hoc/personal), NotePlan, and a late shift back to Obsidian (work). I still bounce between these apps but lately enjoy using Obsidian more for most notes.

• ✅ To-Do: OmniFocus, with some dabbling in Todoist

• 📷 iPhone Photo Shooting: iOS Camera

• 🟦 Photo Management: Lightroom, Photos.app, Google Photos

• 📆 Calendar: Calendar.app, BusyCal (included with SetApp)

• 📁 Cloud File Storage: iCloud Drive, Google Drive

• 📖 RSS: Feedbin + Reeder (I use both the new Reeder and Reeder Classic)

• 🙍🏻‍♂️ Contacts: Contacts.app, Cardhop (for birthdays)

• 🌐 Browser: Safari and Vivaldi (when Chromium is required)

• 💬 Chat: iMessage, Telegram, Discord, Slack

• 🔖 Bookmarks: Raindrop.io

• 📑 Read It Later: Matter, Obsidian (using the excellent web-clipper)

• 📜 Word Processing: Paper (via SetApp)

• 📈 Spreadsheets: Excel

• 📊 Presentations: PowerPoint (occasionally dabble with Keynote)

• 🛒 Shopping Lists: Instacart/Meijer app or Walmart direct

• 🍴 Meal Planning: N/A (I use shopping apps to plan)

• 💰 Budgeting and Personal Finance: Monarch Money

• 📰 News: Apple News, RSS

• 🎵 Music: Apple Music

• 🎤 Podcasts: [[Apple Podcasts]]

• 🔐 Password Management: Keychain/Passwords.app (1Password is only used for licenses and secured notes)

• 👨‍💻 Code Editor: Nova

• ✈️ VPN: Tailscale

• ✨ AI Platform: ChatGPT (preferred model for API usage in other apps), with some dabbling in local LLMs

Other Apps I Rely On:

• Search/Utility: Raycast
• Screenshots: CleanShot X
• Clipboard Manager: Paste

Here is a link to my App Defaults 2023 post.

For background, I was inspired by Hemispheric Views 097 - Duel of the Defaults! and this post by Robb Knight.

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