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Great apps, tools, software... What do you use?

MattL

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Inspired by @Andy Black mentioning Descript.com in some other thread and it looking like a fantastic solution...

I thought we'd put all these recommendations and suggestions into one thread?

Easier to find and share.

Here are some I've heard good things about/used myself:

  • Descript.com

    Others who have used can describe it better, but from the looks of it, it makes editing videos and podcasts easier.

  • Streak

    Apparently it's a fully-fledged CRM that's built into Gmail. I've only used it for tracking email opens.

  • ClickUp (for project management)

    Back when I was searching for project management apps most were difficult to use, clunky, or simply lacking some key features. ClickUp was the one that stood out to me.

  • MailerLite (Email Service Provider)

    Why not the more popular ones? Well, I remember @Lex DeVille cursing MailCheat(Chimp) at some point, ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign were incredibly slow for me (writing, editing flows, etc.) and I didn't need anything special. This one has worked flawlessly for me so far.

  • Canva (for simple infographics, visual content)

    No need to pay ridiculous fees to Adobe when you're only using 5% of its features. Canva's free plan is good enough for most things. I was subscribed to the paid plan for a while but noticed I didn't really need it.

  • WordPress (Content Management System)

    I know there are a number of alternatives out there nowadays, but most businesses still use WP. It works well enough for me and I see no reason to switch to an alternative.

  • Carrd.co (Simple one-pager websites)

    Haven't used myself because everything is already set up. It does look quite simple, however.

  • frontpagemetrics.com

    I use this to figure out when a specific subreddit has the most active users. Important information for promoting on the site.

  • Crisp (Freemium chatbot)

    The chatbot space seems to be completely saturated and the competition looks quite cutthroat. Crisp looks like the best of the freemium alternatives.

Feels like I'm forgetting something... I'll try to update this at a later time.

Anyhow, post yours!
 
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Andy Black

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  • Loom

    Record little videos on your screen or phone and send to people. Get notified when they’re watched.

  • Calendly

    Stop the email ping-pong trying to schedule a call. This has saved soooo much time.

  • Zoom

    We probably all know this one by now. I pay for it so group chats don't get cut off at 40 mins.

  • Snagit

    Grab and annotate screenshots.

  • Telegram

    Great for sending messages, including voice and video. Can create a broadcast channel people can subscribe to.

  • Google Sheets

    I've not used Excel in a couple of weeks. I may soon switch to Google Sheets going forward.

  • Otter.ai

    Create a voice message that's transcribed as you speak. Send a link to the message.

  • Socialblade

    Great tool for viewing Twitter growth (and other social media platforms).
 

Andy Black

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mdot

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From an electronics/hardware prototyping perspective:

KiCAD
KiCad EDA
Open source and very capable EDA software for laying out electronic schematics and designing circuit boards. Large amount of community support and tutorials.

Falstad Circuit Simulator
Circuit Simulator Applet
Easy and intuitive electronic circuit simulator. Great for visualizing how circuits work and performing first-order testing on designs.

Fusion 360
Fusion 360 | 3D CAD, CAM, CAE & PCB Cloud-Based Software | Autodesk
Solid modelling program, great free/low cost alternative to SolidWorks. Used to design 3D models and drawings for 3D printing, machining, injection moulding etc and has simulation and rendering build in. It also has an integrated PCB designer called Eagle but I personally prefer KiCAD.

VSCode
Visual Studio Code - Code Editing. Redefined
Clean and powerful code editor, with hundreds of plugins, including...

Platform.io
PlatformIO is a professional collaborative platform for embedded development
Plug-in for VSCode among others that allows for easy development of code for tons of different microcontroller platforms and APIs.

Git
Version control system that tracks and backs up changes to code and allows multiple people to work on the same code at the same time. I bet most of software you use wouldn't exist if the developers didn't use version control.
 
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Kid

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My recent discovery:

Sketchboard
It's great to do decision trees, very fast and easy to use.
I was using Umlet earlier but Sketchboard 3x better.
It has generous free (unlimited in time) tier.

Edit:
Sketchpad
This app is also free and is good for any kind of
doodles or semi-hand drawings.
It allows to export to pictures without watermark
and syncs with Google Drive for saving your work.
(Just noted that coincidentally it's name starts with 'Sketch' too)
 
Last edited:

MJ DeMarco

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For me, Canva has a been a godsend.
 

Saad Khan

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Google Sheets

I've not used Excel in a couple of weeks. I may soon switch to Google Sheets going forward.
I've seen Google Sheets being used more often than I anticipated. Is it because everyone has a Gmail account? I guess people are just bored of Excel now or maybe Google has introduced a new feature that makes people want to switch to Sheets.
 
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Andy Black

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I've seen Google Sheets being used more often than I anticipated. Is it because everyone has a Gmail account? I guess people are just bored of Excel now or maybe Google has introduced a new feature that makes people want to switch to Sheets.
I switched from one computer to another and it’s ridiculously confusing trying to migrate my MS Office license to the new laptop. In the meantime I started using Google Sheets in earnest, and now I’m getting used to it. So I may cancel my monthly subscription to MS Office, all because of how convoluted their systems are.
 

Andy Black

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How could I forget!

Vittle for my iPad. It allows me to record drawings on the tablet.
 

Hadrian

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Bananatag (email), and Trello (Project Management). Free Versions are Great!
Braintoss is an inexpensive paid app but worth every penny!
 
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ProcessPro

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Roam Research
A note-taking tool for networked thought.

Lastpass
To remember all my password and auto-fill on any site.

Cold Turkey
To set up blocks on my computer to keep me productive.

Tomighty
A little Pomodoro app that helps me alternate between work and breaks.

Fences
An application that allows me to group off icons on my desktop.

Groupy
An app that allows me to group different apps into one window, the result of which looks like a browser window with tabs...it's just that each tab is an app, or folder, etc.

Powertoys
Snap windows to pre-defined window sizes on my PC for the best layout.

NoiseGator
Applies a noise gate to my mic to cut out background noise when I'm not speaking.
 

Madame Peccato

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Joplin

Open source tool made to take notes. I use it for writing content too. Markdown is very simple to use, and you can synchronise it with the cloud to have your notes on every machine.

I use it on a windows pc + a linux laptop and it works flawlessly. It took some tinkering and help from @DMNinja to get it to sync properly. The Linux installation is a bit F*cky if you go with the typical "Windows" way, but if you install it via the shell script it works out of the box.

You can make notebooks and sub-notebooks. Very organized and simple.

Shoutout @Black_Dragon43 and @Speed112 for introducing me to the software. I love it so far! I've been using it for a little over a month. The only downside is that importing text on Google Docs / Word's docx requires minor editing, but it's such a small thing that I don't mind.
 
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Andy Black

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Powertoys
Snap windows to pre-defined window sizes on my PC for the best layout.
Awesome. I used to have one years ago but it stopped working with a Windows update. I’ll check this one out.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Any recommendations for videos and animation software?
 

BizyDad

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Crisp (Freemium chatbot)

The chatbot space seems to be completely saturated and the competition looks quite cutthroat. Crisp looks like the best of the freemium alternatives.
I would pay someone to teach me how to get Crisp to send Google analytics chat events. I've been testing this chat software for about a month now, and it's a little rough around the edges on some features. If you know how to code, probably not a big deal. But it's not exactly intuitive for the lay person.

I'll add to the list:

Callrail for call tracking and recording.

Google Assistant for notes and reminders.

Trello + Gmail for storing client tasks/emails.

Pocket for bookmarking. It will also read an article to you. Big timesaver.

Feed.ly as an rss reader

Also, for times when you wish an email alert was a text message instead, use your phone's native feature (sorry, I don't know if this works outside the US)

AT&T: phonenumber@txt.att.net
T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net
Sprint:
phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com
 
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Kid

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Cryptomator
Cryptomator - Free Cloud Encryption for Dropbox & Co
This neat free tool creates folder that works like normal folder but
when you "save" any file in it, it gets totally encrypted.
Point this folder to Dropbox and
you get synced, encrypted and backed up
files that are most important to you.
(No one,even Dropbox,can read them without a password).

I use it daily for data that can be retrieved
in case of dysk or whole computer failure
and setting up new device.
 

Thinh

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It's a whole new paradigm for note taking. The founder even published a white paper about its fundamentals.

Other than that, 1Password (or any password manager I guess), saves so much time and pain.

Brave Browser.
Does everything Chrome does but with privacy at the center.
 

S.Y.

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Todoist / Google Calendar are core for me

Evernote: where I archive notes

Obsidian: my thinking tool. The linking feature is gold. And pen/paper. Journaling has been amazing to me.

Notion: I turned it into a relationship (personal) management system.
(anyone suggestion for a tool dedicated for that?

Alfred for Mac. A very useful tool for navigating for navigating MacOs
 
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Xavier X

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As I'm in a perpetual state of travel, here are some travel-related tools I use. Many here travel for business and leisure, so they might be handy.


1. Finding flights: Skyscanner, Google Flights.
I like to use the calendar view on both, to see the dates with the best deals. In this pandemic world, Skyscanner has a nice tool that shows travel restrictions and requirements for all countries, on a nice interactive map tool.

2. Finding most efficient transit route:
Rome2rio.
This does a decent job of giving me the transit combination options from point A to B. As well as the average cost of each option. So something like: Take a 2-hr train to A, then 1-hr bus to B, and a boat to C. Average total cost and time = $X.

3. Phone Calls:
Text Now, Rynga.
Unlimited free calls and text to the US, Canada and Mexico, including 1-800 numbers. And you can choose your own number. You can receive unlimited calls too. It's easier for family and friends to reach you on a US number, as you travel. I've used this to make a ton of calls over the years, calling family, friends and customer care.

Rynga is decent too, but unlike TextNow, it's not completely free. You need to buy credit, but get access to free calls to US, Canada and many other countries, without using the credits. You only use it for non-free calls.

4. Accommodation: Airbnb

This might sound like a no-brainer, but I've met too many people staying in sub-par accommodation like hostels, for long periods. When they could find a much better option on airbnb, at the same cost (when 28+ day monthly discount is added). Only reason to stay in a hostel for long periods is social reasons.

5. Destination Research:
Mapees (I own this one)
I have a thread in my signature, where I go into detail on this. However, if you've ever wondered what the different neighborhoods at your destination are like, then this is for you. It helps you choose your ideal area to stay, based on map doodles and input by other travelers who have been, or live there. I've lived in/been to 30 countries so far, and researching the different areas of a new city is always a pain. That's why I created this. It's not a "travel blog," or something. The content is provided by the users.
 
D

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Fatmap
Similar to Google Earth, but with hiking trails marked on it. Imaging is actually better than on Google Earth. Also has an app, but only work with internet.

Google Primer
For daily marketing inspirations

TeamUp
Simple and easy to use scheduling software to share with your staff. It's so effective, that it's weird to be free.
 
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PhilKowalski

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Notion: I turned it into a relationship (personal) management system.

I definitely would second Notion, it is an amazing resource and I do all kinds of work in it (shopping list, project management, writing, notes, web bookmarks, idea collection etc etc)

I would like to add..

Stencil - a very good alternative to Canva (which I was happy to snatch a lifetime deal)

millions of icons AND images come with it

Sticky Password - as an alternative to LastPass (whcih I think has become problematic lately)

Morning Fame - as a YouTube research tool with suggested weighted on how your channel performs against the competition
 

MJ DeMarco

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What kind of animation? If you only need basic graphic animation to drop voice overs on, you can use Canva.

Looking for something that would resemble Prager U videos.
 

Xavier X

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Looking for something that would resemble Prager U videos.

You said you like Canva earlier, so if that kind of interface is what you like, then I think Animaker is a good option. It's intuitive like Canva, and very similar overall, but for animation. You can customize the characters, and it's web based too.

Unlike Canva though, the free version has a watermark. Paid version starts at $10/month.
Threw this together real quick on the free version. This is just a gif version of the video, for easier posting here.
Obviously, you can add music, voice overs and all that good stuff.


Animaker gif.gif
 
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Mario_fastlaner

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I found very useful AnswerThePublic. It gives you, starting from a key word, the most common research on google by the people.

can be very useful to understand where people are having major issues in some particular topics.
 

Madame Peccato

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SEOMinion is a browser extension that lets you download Google FAQs and see other useful SEO metrics, like how many searches the keyword you googled has.

It works on Chrome(and Chromium derivatives like Edge) and Firefox. I tried installing it on Brave but it's not working, I'll have to tinker with it.
 

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