products i use

i am very cautious about what i consume and whom i spend time with. this goes back to the same “5 chimps theory” — environment shapes behavior.

i apply the same thinking to products too. there are infinite things you can buy, and that loop never ends. the hedonic treadmill keeps moving.

“consumerism is a perfect form of slavery.” — prof. jiang

i try to stay minimalist and only keep tools that are genuinely useful and essential.

desktop apps

• FreshRSS — rss feeds instead of addictive social media scrolling.
• VS Code — my primary code editor.
• Cursor — prototyping and vibe coding
• Chrome — primary browser for me
• Brave — secondary browser with free tor service
• Figma - for designing
• Cold Turkey Blocker — blocks distracting websites completely and shut down your computer [my fav]
• Cold Turkey Writer — forces deep focus while writing.
• IINA — clean and lightweight video player for mac.
• LocalSend — for local file transfer
• Onlyoffice — managing and editing or file extension.
• Zoom — for online meeting
• OBS — recording videos and streaming.
• Books — default mac app for reading
• Notion — notes taking

website :

• LeetCode — for dsa problems
• GitHub — code storage and version control.

mobile apps

• NewPipe — youtube without distractions, ads, or recommendations.

browser extensions

• OneTab — converts messy tabs into a clean list.
• Unhook — declutter youtube
• YouTube Shorts Blocker — blocks shorts completely.
• YouTube Playback Speed Control — handy speed control
• Temp Mail — temporary emails for signups.
• Minimal Theme for Twitter — declutter twitter.
• Keepa — amazon price tracking
• Fake Filler — fake data for testing forms quickly.
• Bitwarden — password manager

physical products

• MacBook Air M2 — primary work machine.
• BenQ GW2790 27" - secondary monitor
• Redmi Note 9 — simple phone that still works well.
• Portronics wired earphones — cheap, reliable, no charging needed.
• Syvvo tripod
• Boya M1 mic
• Casio F91W — minimal and timeless watch.
• Casio AE3000W — practical everyday digital watch and more rugged and waterproof.
• Ray-Ban RB8301 — daily wear glasses.