Apps, Tools, and Gear I Use (2021 edition)

This page is somewhat inspired by Wes Bos' Uses page. Keep in mind that
I'm mostly doing Frontend development and I'm also a nomadic worker. In other words, I'm 100% remote and I travel. A lot.

Hardware

• MacBook Pro M1 (13-inch)
• No extra screen. I've found myself more focus with only one screen
• Roost Laptop Stand
• Keychron K3 Mechanical keyboard and a Magic keyboard 2 (when I travel)
• Magic Trackpad 2 and a G403 HERO Mouse
• Notepad where I write my daily MIT
• OnePlus Nord (and an old Huawei as a backup)
• Sony MDR 1000X. A noise-cancelling headphone with 2 modes: wired or wireless (bluetooth). I also have some Airpods.
• Travel&daily bag is a Minaal Carry-on 2.0 (with packing cubes). I love it!

I travel too much to have a proper desk! ;)

IDE

• VS Code is my favorite text editor so far.
• The theme I use is Material Theme which I customized.
• Full list of plugins that I Can't Live Without.

All of my config files (VS Code settings, bash aliases, git config...) are accessible on [my dotfiles GitHub repository (https://github.com/maxpou/dotfiles).

Browser

My main browser is Brave. I also use the following extensions:

• uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger to preserve my privacy on the internets
• Grammarly
• React and Vue.js devtool extensions
• Accessibility Insights and axe for Accessibility audits
• LastPass for password management
• Pocket (Save to Pocket)

Terminal & Command Line Apps

I mostly use my terminal in VSCode. Otherwise, I use iTerm. My terminal theme is
powerlevel10k.

This is the list of plugins/apps I use:

• Zsh with Oh My Zsh. Oh My Zsh is a framework for managing zsh configuration.
• Lighthouse (CLI) - Auditing, performance metrics, and best practices for Progressive Web Apps.
• Hub - a wrapper for Git command (Git+Hub=GitHub).
• gtop - an alternative to activity monitor.
• Tree - to generate a tree (like the Tree Windows command).
• Bat - the cat command on steroids.
• n - a super handy tool for node version management.

I also use Vim from time to time.

Desktop Apps

I have a very minimalistic approach when it comes to my dock. If I don't use an app -at least- once
a day, I remove it from the dock.

I also use these applications:

• Giphy Capture is my go-to screen recording app when I need to share something with my colleagues. I found it simple to use.
• CrossOver - to run Windows App on Mac (it's a paid product).

Note: I now use Slack in my browser (so Grammarly can proofread my messages)

Blogging

My website (maxpou.fr) is made with Gatsby.js. I use these services:

• Grammarly - Helps me to remove typos / proofread my posts
• Google Docs - Helps me to remove typos / proofread my posts
• Hemingway - "Hemingway App makes your writing bold and clear"
• Squoosh - Image compression
• Remove.bg - Remove background on png
• Keynote (Apple) - To draw schemas
• Plausible - For ethical analytics
• GitHub - Where I host my code and run CI/CD pipelines

Gaming

• I play mostly Age Of Empire 2 DE on my MacBook (thanks CrossOver)
• For other games, I rely on Cloud Gaming platforms such as GeForce Now, Stadia and XCloud
• Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 is my controller. A bit pricey, but very comfortable.