What I use!

I have no idea if you folks will find this interesting, enjoy!

My business situation is unique in both professional and personal ways. I run a small, fledgling wholesale plant nursery nestled in the beautiful foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, near Sacramento, CA. It’s nothing like Sacramento and not even under its influence. I encourage folks to visit nearby Placerville. Lake Tahoe is only about 40 minutes away, and land here is still reasonably priced. Rush hour traffic? You’re looking at seeing maybe 0-10 cars on local roads between 3-7 pm, Monday through Friday.

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it highlights what I enjoy using and rely on frequently—often daily. This is **desktop PC-centric**, not smartphone-oriented:

1. Typora (recommended by Paul): I love it. I’m using it right now. It feels like a cross between just typing and watching my sentences and ideas flow out of my mind in WordPad or NotePad, but with far more capabilities. I can add images and make other custom adjustments that make it a joy to use. The $14.99 price was a bargain. It’s different from MS Word and has its quirks, but it quickly becomes a very effective tool. And yes, the spellchecker works! I’d love to discuss the benefits of paying a flat fee for something instead of having a subscription, which also applies to the Affinity programs I use daily.
2. Affinity Photo 2/Designer 2/Publisher 2: I was able to upgrade from just Affinity Photo to the full suite of these programs for around $60. This upgrade has significantly enhanced my ability to design and publish professional images, illustrations, and drawings.
3. ChatBots (OpenAI ChatGPT, MS Copilot, and Brave’s Leo): I subscribe to all three. Yes, three might seem excessive, but I need to conduct intricate and detailed research on plants. I have a vast amount of information to categorize and synthesize into useful, digestible bits. I also need well-crafted written descriptions and more. I can tell when they hallucinate, stretch, or exaggerate information, so I use all three to cross-check and verify details quickly. By bouncing information between them and reinserting matters, I effectively eliminate hallucinations.
4. Photoroom (online): Recently, I was able to retouch 450 images and remove blemishes quickly. I use it as needed, and I totally recommend it.
5. Google Workspace. This has been a pleasant surprise. Using Google Workspace with my Hover-registered domain offers several benefits. First, it allowed me to create professional email addresses with my domain name. The Google Workspace Admin Console provides a user-friendly dashboard for managing these accounts. Additionally, integrating with Gmail (for me and my partners) ensures a familiar and reliable email interface. This combination enhances professionalism, eases management, and provides a comfortable user experience. I’m still learning all it can do for my business.
6. MS Designer: While I’m using it less than I did a few weeks ago, I still enjoy inputting information and seeing what it generates. It’s a fun tool to experiment with.
7. FotoSketcher: I love taking photos and turning them into abstract or realistic drawings or illustrations. This free, capable program is a favorite of mine. I even donated $20 to the developer because it’s such a nice tool. While I’m used to doing this on my Android phone, nothing beats seeing images on a large desktop screen.
8. iHeartRadio: I’m so glad this is available on my PC. I listen to podcasts, radio, and music with headphones, and it’s a joy. It’s like having my old-time radio back.
9. Brave Browser: I really love Brave and use it 98% of the time. I don’t use Chrome at all.
10. Proton Pass (Plus): This is a great password manager. I totally recommend it.
11. pgAdmin 4: This tool manages (administers and develops the platform for PostgreSQL) my PostgreSQL database. It’s extremely capable, and I love it. PostgreSQL and pgAdmin are a wonderful combination.
12. GlassWire Premium: GlassWire is a lightweight, unobtrusive firewall that runs seamlessly in the background, offering robust, effective protection without the bloat—security you can trust effortlessly.