Software I Recommend

A list of some software that has brought me significant benefit. I focus on items that might not be universally known to those who could benefit from them, so no VSCode or Homebrew.

1. Zotero: open-source citation manager

   Zotero has made my research process so much smoother. Its browser integrations let you add an entry for a source and autopopulate bibliographic fields with a single click, it automatically saves article PDFs for later offline viewing, and it integrates with Word and Google Docs to generate in-text citations and bibliographies that automatically update. You can create folders and sub-folders to organize your sources, you can share libraries of sources with others, and Zotero can automatically route your browser through your institution’s proxy to enable more seamless access to subscription resources. Having used Zotero since the middle of high school, a side benefit is being able to scroll through my library and see all the things I’ve researched over the years. Never hand-compose another citation!

2. Rectangle: macOS window positioning and resizing with keyboard shortcuts

   One of the few things I’ve preferred about the Windows user interface over macOS has been built-in keyboard shortcuts to position windows. Rectangle brings that to Mac. It sounds like a small thing, but it makes a huge difference to be able to instantly make a window occupy the left half of your screen, or the right two thirds, or to move it to your second monitor and make it full screen.

3. Amphetamine: macOS menu bar keep-awake utility

   A successor to the classic Mac app Caffeine, Amphetamine’s core feature is the ability to toggle whether your computer automatically sleeps after a certain time with a single click to the menubar, but it also offers the ability to disable sleep for a certain amount of time or until a file has downloaded, reenable sleep if the battery gets too low, etc. Don’t let the name deter you as it once did Apple; this is a mainstream, widely lauded app.

4. NeverSSL.com: helps get you to the Wi-Fi connection page

   Certain Wi-Fi networks hijack the DNS process to redirect you to their connection pages, blocking any other connections until you click through that page. Even if you’re not using a custom DNS configuration, this process can fail when your browser tries to use HTTPS. This website only uses HTTP, increasing the likelihood that the network will be able to redirect you to its connection page. Next time you’re on a Wi-Fi network that might have a connection portal and can’t seem to get to the Internet, try going to neverssl.com.

5. HapticKey: adds haptic feedback to the MacBook Touch Bar

   If you’re on a relatively new MacBook, did you know that your trackpad is deceiving you? Just like the home button on relatively new iPhones (well, the ones that still have home buttons), the clicking sensation you get when you press on the trackpad is not from pushing down on some mechanical switch, it’s simulated by a vibration motor. On such an iPhone, you can demonstrate this by trying to press the home button while the phone is off and feeling nothing; the MacBook by default maintains the illusion even when it is otherwise off unless the battery is very dead, but you can try pressing on the trackpad with something that isn’t your finger. Anyway, HapticKey triggers the vibration motor when you press on the Touch Bar in an attempt to add haptic feedback up there as well. It’s not perfect, since the vibration motor is integrated into the trackpad, but it’s better than nothing.