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    Software Essentials 2021
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    Software Essentials 2021

    Category
    Tech Writeup
    Published
    2021

    This post contains a list of useful software I use, along with download links. Expand the toggles to see more information about a specific piece of software.

    Productivity

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    GifCam - Lightweight Gif Recording

    Link: http://blog.bahraniapps.com/gifcam/#download

    • Incredibly lightweight
    • Basic Editing features
    • Super fast framerate presets/customisation
    • Quickly draw selection with Ctrl +D (requires window focus, not global shortcut)
    • Consider ShareX as an alternative if you need a more complete solution
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    Everything - Lightning Fast global search

    Link: https://www.voidtools.com/downloads/

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    Todoist - Cross Platform Todolist

    Link: https://todoist.com/downloads

    • Basically a fancy to-do list
    • Calendar View
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    • Works with Alexa/Siri
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    • Tagging/Reminders
    • Kanban-style project boards (also offered by Notion)
    • Set task priorities
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    • Timestamps recognised in your task title
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    • Two-way calendar sync
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    PowerToys - Window Management + Global Colour Picker

    Link: https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys

    Main features I use are "Colour Picker" and "Fancyzones

    FancyZones

    • Improved version of the Windows Snap feature for managing multiple windows.
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    • Create seperate layout preferences for different monitors
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    💡
    Pro Tip: Get rid of the bleed, it looks fucking dreadful

    Colour Picker

    • Ctrl + Win + C to turn your mouse into a global colour picker that copies the hex value directly to your clipboard
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    Alexa - Voice

    Link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/alexa/9n12z3cctcnz

    • Full use of a virtual Alexa device
    • Syncs with timers, notifications, doorbell alerts, etc
    • Control Smart lighting
    • Send announcements + call requests to any existing alexa devices
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    FileZilla Client - FTP

    Link: https://filezilla-project.org/download.php

    • Just an FTP client init
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    Sublime Text - Text

    Link: https://www.sublimetext.com/3

    • Super lightweight
    • Suport for portable edition
    • Code styling support for all major coding/markup languages
    • Vast amounts of custom plugins
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    Winrar - .zips (cooler than 7zip)

    Link: https://www.rarlab.com/rar/winrar-x64-601.exe

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    Elgato: Streamdeck - Macro Shortcuts - ❗ Requires hardware

    Link: https://edge.elgato.com/egc/windows/sd/Stream_Deck_4.9.4.13228.msi

    • Don't be fooled by the name, this lil USB device is the perfect macro hub
    • Smart lighting control
    • Music control
    • Global time for different regions (good for those working remotely across countries)
    • Open URLs
    • Stock prices
    • Shit loads of other integrations
    • Decent API, I hardcoded a "producitivty" mode that toggles access to social media sites
    💡
    Freebie! Here's a download for all of the icons I made for this setup
    StreamDeckIcons.part1.rar3072.0KB
    StreamDeckIcons.part2.rar1939.2KB

    Repository for the plugin I made: https://github.com/LiamSorta/Productivity-Toggle-Plugin

    Very messy, not commented, no setup instructions, sorry!

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    GOXLR - Audio/Mic Hub - ❗ Requires Hardware

    Link: https://www.tc-helicon.com/product.html?modelCode=P0CQK

    • Support for XLR microphones
    • Preamp + Interface in one package (cheaper AND better)
    • Control different audio streams with sliders, this box has changed my life
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    Creative

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    Unity - Game Engine

    Link: https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download (Hub recommended)

    • Sick game engine, you already know 😎
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    Visual Studio - Programming

    Link: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/

    • Download the community version
    • Rider is better tbh (https://www.jetbrains.com/rider/) but costs £££
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    Github Desktop - Not arsed with CLI

    Link: https://desktop.github.com/

    • You'll still need the CLI for some things, but 99% of the time the desktop client is just a much better experience imo
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    Photoshop - Photo Editing

    Link: https://creativecloud.adobe.com/en/apps/download/creative-cloud

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    Premier Pro - Video Editing

    Link: https://creativecloud.adobe.com/en/apps/download/creative-cloud

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    OBS - Screen Recording

    Link: https://obsproject.com/download

    • Not worth paying for Xplit
    • Actually installs 64 bit by default 🎉
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    Audacity - Audio Editing/Recording

    Link: https://www.audacityteam.org/

    • Quickly record/edit audio
    • The patent on the MP3 format expired in 2017, so no need to hook up the libraries yourself anymore 🎉
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    Canon Utilities EOS 3 - Type-C Importing - ❗ Requires Hardware

    Link: https://www.canon.co.uk/support/consumer_products/software/eos-utility.html?os=windows 10 (64-bit)&language=

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    Elgato: Cam Link 4k - DSLR as Webcam - ❗ Requires Hardware

    Link: https://edge.elgato.com/egc/windows/spotlight/1.7.4/4KCaptureUtility_1.7.4.4808_x64.msi

    • If you have a Canon camera, there is a free utility that doesn't require a capture card, slightly lower fidelity but still really good: https://www.canon.co.uk/cameras/eos-webcam-utility/
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    Elgato: Control Center - Keylight controller - ❗ Requires Hardware

    Link: https://edge.elgato.com/egc/windows/eccw/1.1/ControlCenter_1.1.4.792_x64.msi

    • Control for keylights
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    Casual

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    Discord - Chat & Communities

    Link: http://discord.com/download

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    Discord PTB - Business Acc

    Link: https://discordapp.com/api/download/ptb?platform=win

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    Slack - Chat & Communities (but not as good as Discord)

    Link:https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/downloads/windows

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    Battle.net - Games

    Link: http://battle.net/download

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    League of Legends - Game

    Link: https://signup.euw.leagueoflegends.com/en/signup/redownload

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    Steam - Games

    Link: https://store.steampowered.com/about/

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    LINE - Chat

    Link: https://line.me/en/

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    Audible/Kindle - Books

    Audible: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/audiobooks-from-audible/9wzdncrfj1cr

    Kindle: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/amazon-kindle/9wzdncrfj2jf

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    Spotify - Music

    Link:

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    Razer Synapse - Macros+Colours - ❗ Requires Hardware

    Link: https://www2.razer.com/eu-en/synapse-3