Solid Windows Apps
I wanted to make a Windows version of Craig Mod’s “well-crafted piece of macOS software” list, but for Windows. Windows has a reputation for having rough software that’s often ridiculed. I stopped using macOS because I fell in love with touch-based Windows PCs this decade, specifically the Surface line. And while it was a rocky transition, I’ve learned to love so many Windows apps. I’m sure some of these are also on the Mac, but here’s a list of what I feel would make any Windows PC sing:
- Typora, a great markdown and plain text editor. I wrote this post with it.
- Calibre, for everything ePub, PDF, CBR, and mobi.
- Advanced Renamer. Just a swiss army knife of batch file renaming. I’ve been using it for years and it’s still teaching me new tricks.
- Affinity Suite. Especially on a Surface, where the pen support is fantastic. They run cooler than equivalent Adobe apps too.
- ScreenToGif - a super easy (and fun?) recorder/gif editor that I use all the time.
- Ditto clipboard manager. I tried a few of these and stuck with this one and I just never thought about it ever again.
On top of those, I feel like Microsoft themselves have some of Windows’ best apps (I know that sounds obvious, but it just isn’t true on the Mac side anymore).
- OneNote has been my best buddy for almost ten years.
- Visual Studio Code, for when you need more organization and text help than Typora (I use both everyday).
- Photos is underappreciated. It’s ability to just let you point at a folder and work in it for a while is great. The built-in video editor is an excellent fast option.