Uses
Updated February 18 2026
Inspired by Robb Knight and following the suggestions of Wes Bos, these are the things I use regularly, mostly, daily. I’ve moved my analog tools to a new Analog Defaults page.
Digital
MacBook Air M3
MacBook Air M3 24 GB RAM, a 1 terrabyte SSD, and the current release version of Tahoe.
2 Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB External Portable HDD USB 3.0 drives.
One drive for TimeMachine, one drive for miscellaneous long-term file archiving.
CanoScan LIDE 300 Mostly I use this to scan paperwork for Mom.
Brother HL-L2300D Monochrome Laser Printer
Efficient and inexpensive, but awkward to use because it can only print PDF files or images, and only with the Brother iPrint&Scan software, but it does support duplex.
MacOS Software
- MacOS Tahoe
- 1Password
- Alfred a keyboard based app launcher, and more.
- AHD5 The digital version of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition.
- BBEdit I use BBEDit for distraction free writing and for all HTML & CSS, and for text cleanup and massaging.
- Bear My go-to app for quick drafts, especially for blog posts. Elegant software that gets out of the way so I can concentrate on writing. Syncs reliably between macOS & iPadOS, and now, the Web.
- Apple Books for ebooks. I want something better, but I’m locked in to Books for Apple’s proprietary DRM. The Books.app desperately needs some basic improvements.
- Brother iPrint&Scan Required to print with my laser printer.
- Calibre for managing and producing ebooks.
- CleanMyMac 5 I have just under half of my 1 terabyte SSD free in part because of CleanMyMac.
- Cyberduck an SFTP client with support for various cloud-based servers.
- EagleFiler Archiving Web pages in .pdf and non scholarly research in .pdf.
- Kobo ebook app
- Mela Recipes
- NetNewsWire RSS reader I rely on RSS for most Web browsing and reading.
- Notes I use Notes every single day, on every device.
- Numbers I use Numbers for the things you’d expect, like taxes, but also for lists, databases, calendar generation, and bibliographies.
- Pages Long-form writing and business letters and invoices. Right up to the pont I send a manuscript to a publisher and I export it, the final draft is in Pages. Once a publisher has a ms., I license Microsoft Word for final edits, then abandon it again.
- Podcasts
- Pop-Clip “A multi-tool for text”. I’m fairly new to Pop-Clip, but really find it useful for small text modifications from the keyboard and single-word spell-check.
- Preview Basic image editing for Web pages.
- Scrivener Book drafting, and research organization.
- Soulver 3 Calculator crossed with a notepad, enjoyable and elegant. Monthly budgets and expense tracking, all sorts of in-the-moment calculations.
- TextExpander Lots of repeatedly used snippets, especially for CSS & HTML.
- TimeMachine
- VueScan Pro for the CanoScan LIDE 300.
iPad 10.2'' 8th Generation iPad
I purchased the 10.2'' iPad for writing and .PDF annotating, but without a desk, the iPad is too awkward for long term use, and as my sight decays, difficult to get close enough to see the screen for long term use. My iPad is not used very often these days. It’s still where I read/use digital manuscript and early printed book facsimiles, which I need to list here.
iPad Mini 6th Generation 64 GB & Apple Pencil 2
I bought my iPad Mini primarily for reading ebooks and watching video. Since buying an Apple TV, I have increasingly been using the Mini for writing with the Apple Pencil 2, rather than video, and neglecting my 10.2 iPad 8th generation.
iPadOS Software
- iPadOS 26
- 1Password
- AHD5
- Bear
- Freegal Music Public Library service for streaming and downloading licensed free music
- Hoopla App for using the public library digital media service to borrow ebooks, video, and audio.
- Kindle Ebook app for a few legacy books. I’m replacing Kindle books with Kobo and/or Apple when I can (generally, when they are on sale).
- Kobo Ebook app.
- Libby Public library service app to borrow ebooks and audio books.
- Mela For recipes.
- Notes General lists and notes for daily life, syncing across all my Apple devices.
- Sibley V2 Absolutely fabulous U.S. multimedia bird field guide
- Scrivener
- Seatowers Solitaire game derived from the OS 9 Seahaven Towers game.
iPhone SE 2nd Gen 2022 Red 128 GB
Mostly I use my iPhone for photos, messaging, podcasts, phone calls, audio books, ebooks, and music.
iPhone Software
Home
- 2 HomePod Minis Gen 1 I actually have two pairs; one is for my Mom, but I need to set them up again after making some furniture changes.
- Apple TV 2023 4k WiFi + Ethernet 128 GB
- Sony Bravo KDL 32 TV Given to me by a neighbor; no idea how old it is.
Works with Apple TV.
- Apple Watch SE Gen 3 (GPS, 44mm) Midnight Aluminum Case
- OUHENG Watch Band Retro Brown Leather/Silver
- GE LED+ Backup Battery LED Light Bulbs, A21 Rechargeable Emergency Light and meross Smart LED Light Bulb, Smart WiFi LED Bulb
Audio
I’ve been relying iTunes since it was in Beta, and then Apple Music, and streaming and licensed downloads from Freegal for over a decade.
I bought a 5th generation iPod Mini from a neighbor who had never used it. I sent the iPod off for a new battery. It works well both as an iPod and as an FM radio.
Copying songs from my Mac to my iPod revealed that Apple had eaten files from some of the CDs I bought and ripped. A few tracks and albums I paid Apple for were also removed for what seem to have been licensing issues.
I bought a few used CDs of the music I most love. That led me to purchase other audio hardware.
- Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra Bluetooth Headphones (until I find out if I can wear Apple AirPods Pro 3).
- Syitren R300 CD Player Portable Bluetooth Desktop Retro CD Player This Syitren CD player was a spontaneous purchase based on a lower price and this Wirecutter review.
I’ve been quite impressed with the Syitren CD Player 300. The look, ease of use, and sound quality are more than adequate for my current needs. It works very well with the DOSS SoundBox speaker. In the future I may take advantage of the optical output.
- DOSS SoundBox Ultra Bluetooth Speaker with 2.1 Channel Audio To use with the Syitren R300 CD Player. This Bluetooth speaker can pair with a second speaker. The sound is better than I expected.
Services
- iDrive Backup services.
- DropBox Upgraded to a paid plan because of recent file syncing issues wit iCloud.
- iCloud 200 GB plan
- Apple Music annual subscriptio.
- omg.lol Site status page, basic Weblog hosting and other services, and a kind community.
- Pika.page
I’m moving sites from WordPress. Pika.page sits on top of Markdown and has the basics for simple, uncluttered Websites and blogs.
- Posthaven.com
Posthaven is another basic blogging platform that’s Markdown (and HTML) friendly and I’m moving a few Blogger and WordPress.com sites to Posthaven.com.
E-readers
I can no longer reliably read printed books, so I pay close attention to e-readers. I wanted to move away from Amazon and my 2017 Paperwhite. I tried a Kobo Colour Libre and hated the muddy text. I was given a Kobo Libre 2 for Christmas.
- The really cool thing about the Kobo Libre and Libre Colour is that both support the new & well-designed Kobo remote for turning pages. The Kobo Remote is a game changer for me.
Links may be affiliate or referral links.