Xovee's Handy Tools

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Over the years I tried a lot of stuffs -- followings are the ones I like:


Software

Tool Choice
Browser Mainly Safari and sometimes Chrome on Windows.
Calendar Google Calendar
ChatBot OpenAI ChatGPT
Cloud Storage Google Drive (also use its Desktop version for local file sync) and iCloud (mostly for photo sync).
Code Editor Visual Studio Code and PyCharm (students and faculty can apply for free professional version).
Email Gmail and sometimes Outlook.
Finance Manager Wallet by Budgetbakers
Language Assistant ChatGPT, Google Translate, Grammarly, Linggle, and Youdao. Alternatives: Ludwig and Academic Phrasebank.
LaTeX Editor Online: Overleaf; Local: VS Code.
Literature Search & Track Google Scholar and DBLP, for computer science field.
Multimedia Player PotPlayer (Windows) and IINA (MacOS)
Note-taking Apple Notes; Local markdown files synced with Google Drive.
Password Manager Bitwarden
Programming Mostly Python and somtimes JavaScript.
Reference Manager Zotero
Todo Todoist, Apple Reminder
Visualization Matplotlib with Python for general purpose, ECharts for web, and Omni Graffle (only support Apple devices) for academic drawings .
VPN Astrill, this is my referring link. Normally its expensive, but during Black Friday you can expect $200 for a two years subscription.

Hardware

Device Using & Used
Smartphone iPhone 14 Pro Max (2023, current)iPhone 11 (2019) iPhone 7 (2016) Mi 4C (2016) iPhone 5s (2014) Nokia Lumia 920 (2012)
Laptop MacBook Air M2 15-inch (2023, current, 16GB, 512GB) MacBook Air M1 13-inch (2020, 8GB, 256GB) Lenovo Z51-70 15-inch (2015, i7-5500U, R9-M375, 8GB, 1TB)
Desktop Homebuilt (2018, current, continually updated, R7-1700 + B450M, GTX 1050 Ti, 16GB, 512GB+1TB)
Lenovo Desktop (2006, forget the exact model, one of the HomeJoy (家悦) series with a 2 cores CPU)
Wearable Devices Apple Watch Series 9 (2023, current) Fitbit Alta (2016) Fitbit Charge (2015)
Tablet Computer iPad Mini 3 (2015)
Earphones Earpods (2023, current) Beats urBeats3 (2020, current) Airpods Pro 1 (2021, retired) AKG K3003 (2019, lost it at the airplane from Abu Dhabi to Beijing) Airpods 2 (2019) Vsonic GR09 (2018) Airpods (2017) Ecci PR200 MK2 (2016) Mi In-Ear (2015) Earpods (2015) Logitech UE 900 (2013, love it, but lost it) Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic (2012, I like it!)
Headset Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless (2022, current) Sennheiser MOMENTUM 2 Wireless (2016) AKG K450 (2015)
Media Player iPod Classic 6 (second-hand, 2013) iPod Nano 6 (2012) iPod Touch 4 (2012) iPod Shuffle 4 (~2010) iPod Shuffle 2 (second-hand, ~2009) ONDA MP4 with 3 inch screen (~2009) Cheap MP3 bought from a grocery store (~2008)
Keyboard Logitech K120 (current, 2020) Cherry MX Board 8.0 (2018) Logitech K120 (2016) Cherry MX Board 2.0 (2015)
Mice Logitech G Pro Wireless (current, 2021) Various models of DAREU EM915/925 (2015)
Video Game Console Switch (2021, current) Xbox One X (2018, current) Xbox One S (2017)