The Software and Hardware Brad Used in 2018 (Premium)

As 2018 comes to an end and we take a look back at the past 12 months, one thing I like to do is to document the tools used in the previous year. And for 2018, things changed a bit from 2017 but not in a way that dramatically changed my workflow.

The outline below is the hardware, from personal to work, that I used as well as the software that helped me efficiently work throughout the year. None of these products are concrete and each has their own flaws but as the year comes to an end, these are the tools that I am using every day.

Personal Tech:

iPhone Xs
Apple Watch Series 4
Air Pods
Personal email Outlook.com/OneDrive

For Notes

OneNote for longstanding projects or press events
For writing, started using SimpleNote

Peripherals

Cooler Master MK750 - Blue Switches
Logitech MX Master Pro
Logitech C920 - will replace with Microsoft's upcoming 4k webcams
Blue Yeti Pro microphones

PCs:

Primary Laptop: Surface Book 2
Primary Tablet Surface Go w LTE
Primary Desktop - 7900x, GTX 1080 - 32gb of RAM - this is my video editing machine
Podcast Box: 6700k GTX 1080, 32gb of RAM

Software:

Chrome browser
1Password
Grammarly
Audacity
Handbrake
ShareX
Xsplit
Voicemeter Banana
Adobe Premiere Elements
Adobe Photoshop
Skype/Teams
Groupy by Stardock

Gaming:

Xbox One X
Elite Controller

Camera:

Canon Eos M6
22mm f2 prime lens

Looking back, the biggest change I made this year was switching to1Password from LastPass and possibly a new keyboard. For someone who makes a living writing words, I am extremely particular about the peripherals I use and finding the right keyboard was a trip down trial and error alley. I also 'downsized' the camera I use for press events as the benefits of a huge DSLR versus the compact size of a mirrorless camera is shrinking; traveling with less bulky equipment is much preferred.

In 2019, I would not be surprised to see if I change my writing app. SimpleNote is fine but it's not an ideal solution - I'd prefer to save each draft to OneDriver rather than all notes saving as a large export. And once Microsoft releases their new webcams, I am almost certain I will switch to those as well.

I'm curious what everyone else is using. If you have a favorite app or services that you can't live without, make sure to let me know in the comments.