---
layout: default
title: Uses
meta:
  site:
    name: 'Cory Dransfeldt'
    description: "I'm a software developer in Camarillo, California. I enjoy hanging out with my beautiful family and 4 rescue dogs, technology, automation, music, writing, reading and tv and movies."
    url: https://coryd.dev
    logo:
      src: https://coryd.dev/assets/img/logo.webp
      width: 2000
      height: 2000
  language: en-US
  title: 'Cory Dransfeldt • Uses'
  description: 'Software, tools and services that I use regularly.'
  url: https://coryd.dev/uses
  image:
    src: https://coryd.dev/assets/img/pages/uses.jpg
---

<h2
  class="m-0 text-xl font-black leading-tight tracking-normal dark:text-gray-200 md:text-2xl mb-2"
>
  {{ title }}
</h2>

Software and services that I use for work and my own enjoyment.

{% image 'https://coryd.dev/assets/img/pages/uses.jpg', 'My desk', 'border border-blue-600 dark:border-blue-400 rounded-lg overflow-hidden [&>*]:w-full', 'eager' %}

<h3 className="text-xl font-extrabold leading-9 tracking-tight text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100 sm:text-2xl sm:leading-10 md:text-4xl md:leading-14">Computer setup</h3>

- Midnight MacBook Air (2022 - M2)
- 27" Dell Monitor
- Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID + number pad
- Apple Magic Trackpad
- Homepod Mini for audio
- Raspberry Pi for Homebridge

<h3 className="text-xl font-extrabold leading-9 tracking-tight text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100 sm:text-2xl sm:leading-10 md:text-4xl md:leading-14">Desk and chair</h3>

- My desk is a custom made corner desk I bought on Etsy years ago. It's sturdy, has tons of storage and finally arrived with a chip on the surface to add some character after the first one got lost by the freight company on the journey from Michigan to Los Angeles. I probably _wouldn't_ repeat the experience, but I do love the desk.
- [Herman Miller Aeron chair](https://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/office-chairs/aeron-chairs/): it's pretty comfortable and makes swiveling around my corner desk easy.

<h3 className="text-xl font-extrabold leading-9 tracking-tight text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100 sm:text-2xl sm:leading-10 md:text-4xl md:leading-14">macOS + iOS</h3>

- [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md): fast, flexible and extensible plus it keeps all of your notes as markdown files. It's one of those rare apps that can be as simple or as absurdly powerful as you need it to be.
- [Fantastical](https://flexibits.com/fantastical): the best and most powerful calendaring app for the Apple ecosystem, bar none.
- [Plexamp](https://www.plex.tv/plexamp/): Plex's music player that, while not native, is feature rich and, through it's platform, supports both Last.fm and ListenBrainz.
- [Mona](https://mastodon.social/@MonaApp): endlessly configurable and yet still easy to use I enjoy Mona's take on Mastodon and use it as my go-to client across all of my devices.

<h3 className="text-xl font-extrabold leading-9 tracking-tight text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100 sm:text-2xl sm:leading-10 md:text-4xl md:leading-14">iOS</h3>

- [FontCase](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fontcase-manage-your-type/id1205074470): for managing/installing fonts.

<h3 className="text-xl font-extrabold leading-9 tracking-tight text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100 sm:text-2xl sm:leading-10 md:text-4xl md:leading-14">macOS</h3>

- [Chrome](https://google.com/chrome/): as time goes on I find I tend to need less customization and more that just _works_. To that end I've been using Chrome with a minimum of extensions (Readwise and 1Password). It syncs nicely to iOS and I block adds via nextDNS.
- [Gmail Desktop](https://github.com/timche/gmail-desktop): yes it's Electron, but it's thoughtfully developed and built (be sure to opt into the latest beta updates ahead of the next major version).
- [Alfred](https://www.alfredapp.com): I like Alfred for it's flexibility, a few added niceties that Spotlight doesnt support (like quick access to system commands) and the fact that it hews quite nicely to native platform expectations.
- [Rectangle](https://rectangleapp.com): to quickly move around/organize/snap application windows. Using a Mac without it now feels like it's broken.
- [Keyboard Maestro](https://www.keyboardmaestro.com): an endlessly flexible app that I underutilize for quick macros and keyboard shortcuts in a number of different apps.
- [Bartender](https://www.macbartender.com): used to hide or conditionally show menubar items.
- [AirBuddy](https://v2.airbuddy.app): finer-grained control over AirPods and other wireless devices.
- [Meta](https://www.nightbirdsevolve.com/meta): the _best_ utility for tagging and organizing music files on macOS.
- [Permute](https://software.charliemonroe.net/permute): a useful utility for quickly converting files to different formats.
- [SoundSource](https://rogueamoeba.com/soundsource): a handy utility for better, more granular control on macOS.

<h3 className="text-xl font-extrabold leading-9 tracking-tight text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100 sm:text-2xl sm:leading-10 md:text-4xl md:leading-14">Dev tools</h3>

- [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com): the reigning industry standard for web development work.
- [iTerm2](https://iterm2.com): a more configurable terminal than the one macOS ships with. I've used it for a long time now and it's still my go-to.
- [Catppuccin](https://github.com/catppuccin): nearly as ubiquitous as Dracula but lighter and more playful, I've started using this theme wherever I'm looking at/reading/writing code.
- [Mono Lisa](https://monolisa.dev): a relatively new find, I've been enjoying how pleasant and readable this font is (and have even gone so far as to install it on iOS via [FontCase](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fontcase-manage-your-type/id1205074470)).

<h3 className="text-xl font-extrabold leading-9 tracking-tight text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100 sm:text-2xl sm:leading-10 md:text-4xl md:leading-14">Services</h3>

- [Gmail](https://www.google.com/gmail/about): it's exceedingly well established and Google's apps are so ubiquitous that it's hard to avoid.
- <a class="plausible-event-name=NextDNS+referral" href="https://nextdns.io/?from=m56mt3z6">NextDNS</a>: a privacy-focused, set it and forget it DNS service. I use their security features on my home network and a profile with strict ad-blocking rules on all of my devices.
- <a class="plausible-event-name=DNSimple+referral" href="https://dnsimple.com/r/3a7cbb9e15df8f">DNSimple</a>: a robust, user-friendly DNS provider and registrar. I moved my domains here after my old provider was acquired.
- <a class="plausible-event-name=bunny+referral" href="https://bunny.net?ref=revw3mehej">Bunny.net</a>: a powerful and affordable CDN. I use it to serve assets on my personal site (most notable my now page — raw assets are fetched by Eleventy and then optimized to webp).
- [Plausible](https://plausible.io): powerful, well-designed and privacy-respecting analytics.
- <a class="plausible-event-name=Feedpress+referral" href="https://feedpress.com/?affid=34370">Feedpress</a>: they've been around for a while now and don't change much (nor do they need to), but look no further for reliable, helpful feed analytics.
- [IVPN](https://www.ivpn.net): my VPN of choice for browsing outside of my home network. Privacy-focused and trustworthy.
- [Kagi](https://kagi.com): search that's actually helpful and ad-free. It's lenses feature and the ability to up/downvote and block results from different sites are indispensable.
- [Readwise Reader](https://readwise.io/read): an impressive RSS reader that handles all the functionality you'd expect from a read it later app beautifully. It's as powerful as it is flexible.
- [Todoist](https://todoist.com): the task manager I always return to for it's flexibility and endless integrations.
- [forwardemail.net](https://forwardemail.net): a simple and reliable service for forwarding and routing emails from a few of the domains I own.
- [Last.fm](https://last.fm): as it turns out, the best music recommendations still come from dedicated fans.
- [Trakt](https://trakt.tv): my preferred TV and movie tracking service — it has a strong community (and isn't owned by a private equity firm).
- [The Storygraph](https://thestorygraph.com): an excellent, focused and community driven book tracking app. All it needs is RSS/Atom feeds and/or an API.
- [Slack](http://slack.com): I have a family Slack set up to avoid group text messages and am in a few other community Slacks.
- [Discord](http://discord.com): I don't _like_ Discord but, for better or worse, it's where some communities I frequent are.
- [Backblaze](https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-backup): a set it and forget it remote backup solution. I have it pointed at the external storage volume I have velcroed to the back of my monitor.

Check out [uses.tech](https://uses.tech) for more lists like this one.
