Favorite Software Applications

A personal, non-exhaustive list of software that stood out in recent use—productivity, creation, and tools that feel well-designed. (Inspired by sourcetms; updated for 2025–2026 context. Your mileage will vary.)

Writing and notes

• Obsidian — Local-first markdown, backlinks, and graph. Good for long-term knowledge bases and research.
• Notion — Flexible docs and databases. Strong for teams and shared wikis; templates and integrations are plentiful.

Development

• Cursor — AI-native coding with strong codebase awareness. Fast iteration and agent-style workflows.
• Raycast — Launcher and automation on macOS. Extensions and scripts replace a lot of context-switching.

Design and reference

• Figma — Standard for UI design and handoff. Collaboration and components scale well.
• Pinterest / Cosmos / Mobbin — For saving and discovering UI and design patterns. Taste-building and reference.

Communication and scheduling

• Cal.com — Open-source scheduling. Self-host or cloud; fits a "own your stack" mindset.
• Telegram — Fast, multi-device messaging. Good for groups and low-friction coordination.

Browser and research

• Brave — Privacy-focused browser with solid defaults. Less noise from ads and trackers.
• Perplexity — AI search that cites sources. Useful for quick research and comparison.

Misc

• Screen Studio — Polished screen recordings for demos and tutorials.
• Warp — Modern terminal with good UX and AI assist. Makes CLI work less painful.

What makes these "favorites" is a mix of reliability, clarity of purpose, and either a great default experience or room to tailor. Omissions are many—this is a snapshot. For a more tool-heavy list, see Stack.