Uses: Dependable Services and Tools I Rely On

What Is /uses?

Inspired by the many examples of /uses from Slash Pages, I decided to make my own! It’s a list of all the stuff I personally use. In the future, I plan to add some context and photos to my favourite items. If you want to learn more about what I used for building this site instead, visit the /⁠colophon.

Tech Hardware

• Current Phone: Nothing Phone 3a, 12GB RAM, 256GB, in blue
• Cameras:
  • Ricoh GR IIIx
  • Canon 6D
  • Osmo Pocket 1
  • Other camera gear on my photography blog
• Tablet: iPad Mini 6gen 256GB
• e-Reader: Kobo Aura One LE (2017)
• Wearable: Garmin Vivosport
• Security: Yubico Security Key C NFC, PortaPow (UK) Data Blockers (AKA USB condoms)
• Desktop: Mac Mini M1 (2020), 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
• Laptop: Macbook Air 13" (2012), 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD (max spec) running Linux Mint
• Homelab server: Raspberry Pi 4B 8GB
• Peripherals:
  • Keyboards:
    • Owlab Spring Keyboard
    • OLKB Planck rev.4
    • Leopold FC660M
  • Dell Ultrasharp U2415
  • Xiaomi Monitor Light Bar 30769
  • BenQ ZOWIE EC1-B Mouse
  • Kensington Orbit Trackball
  • DockCase DPR81C 8 in 1 USB-C Hub
  • Audio:
    • Harman Kardon SoundSticks II Speakers (2004—This is probably the oldest piece of tech I use daily that is still running strong!)
    • Samson Meteorite (USB condenser) Microphone
    • DAC/Amps:
      • Leckerton UHA-4 Slimline USB DAC/Amp
      • E1DA PowerDac V2.1
      • EarStudio ES100 V1
    • Headphones:
      • Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 6XX
      • Beyerdynamic T51p
      • Koss PortaPro
      • Audiosense DT 200 IEMs
      • Moondrop Space Travel TWS
  • Storage:
    • ACASIS TBU405 Pro 40Gbps Enclosure with Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
    • Samsung T3 1TB
    • SanDisk Professional G-Drive 4TB (7200RPM Ultrastar 3.5" HDD)
    • Seagate IronWolf Pro NAS 8TB (7200RPM 3.5" HDD)

Tech Software

Android

I wrote a post about my Android setup and how I manage this Hugo website on Android if you want to learn more.

• App store: F-Droid Basic, Accrescent, Play Store
• Browser: IronFox, Cromite
• Keyboard: FUTO, Fcitx5 for Chinese characters
• Dictation: Transcribro
• Email client: FairEmail
• SMS: QUIK
• IRC: Goguma
• Messages: Signal, Telegram, Threema, Matrix (Element X)
• Navigation/GPX: Organic Maps, OpenTopoMapViewer, OSMTracker for Android, Geo Share
• 2FA: Aegis
• Launcher: Pear Launcher
• System cleaner: SD Maid SE
• Firewall: NetGuard or ReThink for DNS & firewall
• Reddit: RedReader
• Threadiverse (Lemmy/PieFed/Mbin): Voyager, Interstellar
• Music: Navidrome via Symfonium, Wavelet
• Dictionary: WordWeb
• Markdown/text editor: Markor
• Terminal: Termux¹
• Git client: GitSync or PuppyGit
• IDE: Squircle CE
• Mastodon: Tusky
• UnifiedPush (noticiations): Sunup
• Reading: Libby, KOReader
• Podcast: AntennaPod
• Music: Symfonium
• Habit tracker: Table Habit
• Tasks: Tasks.org, SuperProductivity
• Video: PipePipe
• RSS: Feeder
• Image gallery: Aves Libre
• Photo editing: Saulala, Snapseed, Image Toolbox

macOS

• Browser: Floorp, LibreWolf
• Extensions: uBlock Origin, Decentraleyes, Dark Reader
• Email client: Thunderbird
• Notes/PKM: Obsidian
• To-do: SuperProductivity
• Music: Self-hosted Navidrome with Feishin
• Markdown/text editor: ReText
• IDE: VSCodium
• RSS: FluentReader, NetNewsWire
• Gif recorder: Licecap
• Text expander: Espanso
• Dictation: Voiceink
• Monitor control: MonitorControl Lite
• Archiver: PeaZip
• Spotlight alternative: Sol
• Window manager: Rectangle
• Multi-device sync: KDE Connect, Syncthing
• Networking: LuLu, Tailscale
• Remote storage:: Mountain Duck
• Android file manager: OpenMTP
• Package manager: Homebrew
• Virtual machine: UTM
• Terminal: Apple Terminal with fastfetch, Oh My Zsh, powerlevel10k Zsh theme
• Backups: Carbon Copy Cloner
• Remote desktop: NoMachine
• LLMs: Ollama
• Photography apps: Post-processing software on my photography blog

Home Lab / Self-hosted

• OS: DietPi
• Dashboard: Homer
• eBooks: Calibre
• DNS: Pi-Hole
• Music: Navidrome
• RSS: Miniflux
• Containers: Portainer

Online Services

DISCLAIMER: This section contains affiliate links.

• Search engine: DuckDuckGo, StartPage
• DNS: Quad9
• Cloud storage: Koofr, pCloud, Tresorit, Dropbox (all with Cryptomator)
• Email: Mailbox.org²
• Calendar: Mailbox.org²
• Password manager: Bitwarden
• Git forge: SourceHut, Codeberg (Leaving GitHub in progress completed!)
• Domain registrar: Porkbun, OVH
• Static website hosting: Bunny.net Storage
• WordPress hosting: Hostinger WP Starter
• CDN: Bunny CDN
• VPN: Mullvad, Private Internet Access

EDC (Every Day Carry)

Here are some of my favourite brands and specific items.

• Bags: Gregory, Mystery Ranch, Timbuk2
• Glasses: Silhouette
• Shoes: I’m a big proponent of barefoot shoes, been wearing the classic Camper Peu design for maybe 20 years already! Nowadays, I’m wearing Vivobarefoot.
• Apparel: Favourite brand is Patagonia, hands down.
• Water bottle: Anything from Zojirushi.
• Coffee cup: KeepCup Brew Cork
• Hand cream: This is my absolute non-replaceable skincare product: La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Mains.
• Wallet: The FIRETI Omega Ti used to be my favourite, but it’s a bit heavy (and the company no longer exists). A very lightweight wallet I also like is the Micro size from Paperwallet.
• Hardware security keys: I use the baseline Security Key Series from Yubico.