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Ask HN: Examples of reliable software you enjoy using

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Re: Ask HN: Examples of reliable software you enjoy using

#311

Post by tdy721 »

mbreedlove wrote: post #168
mangeletti wrote: post #160

Alfred ( https://www.alfredapp.com ) Alfred is absolutely the most game-changing app I've ever been introduced to. I only use it for finding files, searching, opening a page by direct URL, defining words, calculator, translation (via Google), launching apps, and quickly jumping to apps that are already open. It's probably saved me hundreds of hours in clicking around, etc. I've never purchased the paid version (been…

I've installed Alfred before but just kept using Spotlight. I never saw why it amazes so many people. What does it do that Spotlight can't?

It can be "taught" to do things. If you want to open something with 1-2 letters you can just repeat yourself a few times (2-4?) and it will learn and remember. Spotlight just does not do this.

Re: Ask HN: Examples of reliable software you enjoy using

#312

Post by scholia »

pcunite wrote: post #106

FileSearchEX, a file search tool for Windows 10 that is so beautiful in its simplicity, astonishingly quick, and priced like ya stole it. You'll be driven to madness when you don't have it with you.

Not heard of it before (I'll go and get it) but have you compared it with Search Everything? https://www.voidtools.com/

Maybe the names should be the other way round because Search Everything just finds filenames while FileSearchEX searches file contents too.

Re: Ask HN: Examples of reliable software you enjoy using

#313

Post by tdy721 »

mangeletti wrote: post #160

Alfred ( https://www.alfredapp.com ) Alfred is absolutely the most game-changing app I've ever been introduced to. I only use it for finding files, searching, opening a page by direct URL, defining words, calculator, translation (via Google), launching apps, and quickly jumping to apps that are already open. It's probably saved me hundreds of hours in clicking around, etc. I've never purchased the paid version (been…

I activate Alfred with my caps-lock key. That way spotlight is still in the usual place. It take a key-mapping app called Seil to make it work, but it's really great.

Sometimes I think Chromebooks stole my idea. :p

Re: Ask HN: Examples of reliable software you enjoy using

#314

Post by anoonmoose »

This might sound nuts, but if you're using LabVIEW to control National Instruments hardware, and you don't write bad code, you've got a surprisingly fast and powerful system available at your hands. You can measure, drive, control, whatever verb for whatever piece of equipment you're using, with surprising speed, accuracy, and reliability.

It's a pretty expensive stack for doing some pretty particular weird stuff but I kind of love using it. I would at least say that the prices for the hardware aren't too much higher than the competition, and the software side is way way better than the competition. I have never met a person not employed by NI who liked NI software AND equipment as much as I do. Honestly, I don't think I've ever talked to someone who used it the way I do, though...

Swear I wasn't paid to write this. Figured people might have written this stuff off a long time ago and I wanted to toss some respect its way.

Re: Ask HN: Examples of reliable software you enjoy using

#315

Post by DavideNL »

mangeletti wrote: post #160

Alfred ( https://www.alfredapp.com ) Alfred is absolutely the most game-changing app I've ever been introduced to. I only use it for finding files, searching, opening a page by direct URL, defining words, calculator, translation (via Google), launching apps, and quickly jumping to apps that are already open. It's probably saved me hundreds of hours in clicking around, etc. I've never purchased the paid version (been…

+1 for Alfred. Must have. A few workflows i use:

- FastDiff (quickly diff selected finder files) - Hash - https://github.com/BigLuck/alfred2-hash - Menu Bar Search - https://github.com/ctwise/alfred-workflows/tree/master/menu-... - Recent Items - http://www.alfredforum.com/topic/713-recent-items-42-for-alf... - Strip clipboard text formatting - https://github.com/notDavid/alfred-workflow-stripClipboardFo... - Transmit - https://github.com/ramiroaraujo/alfred-transmit-workflow - Tunnelblick - Synonyms - https://github.com/notDavid/alfred-workflow-synonyms

Re: Ask HN: Examples of reliable software you enjoy using

#316

Post by statictype »

blakeyrat wrote: post #310
repeek wrote: post #208

1Password on Mac - phenomenal UX, all around joy to use Not as pleased with the Windows version, but it's serviceable

Starting from the top, I think you're the first person to mention user experience. Man, this topic has done nothing but remind me how far I am outside the "software development mainstream". Vim? Git? Are there seriously that many developers who enjoy using such unusable software?

Good UX for power-user tools is different from good UX for casual-user tools.

Vim is highly usable as a power-user tool. Its logical and has a few primitives that can easily be chained and built-up into larger features.

Re: Ask HN: Examples of reliable software you enjoy using

#319

Post by xupybd »

nulltype wrote: post #202
wintermute42 wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll give you the first 2 at least. On another note, having an impoverished type system isn't much of an ideology..

Or it's proof of the strength of their convictions that they can have an impoverished type system despite all the pressure to have an enriched one.

Convictions won't solve the problems that generics could...

Re: Ask HN: Examples of reliable software you enjoy using

#320

Post by greggman »

BruceEel wrote: post #89

Glad to see you folks coming up with many examples. For me it's more like a journey of constant sorrow, i'm hardly put coming up even with one example, but maybe: - übertime on iOS = i hate time tracking, this rock solid app makes it bearable. - Brief (under DOSBox) just to remind myself that good, reliable, general-purpose text editors did exist at some point...

I was a Brief (by Underware) user and back in 93 when I started using Windows for Workgroups I found Slickedit which has a Brief emulation mode. I'm still using it and still using all the brief key bindings

(can't say it's totally stable though)

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