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What I use - Desktop

Jun 03, 20253 min read

June 2025

My current desktop setup consists of Windows 11 - I know, I know - I use my work laptop for everything. If WSL didn’t exist (with a Quake-style dropdown terminal), I wouldn’t. This is a beast of a machine and I like using it a lot, despite the obvious.

My workplace is small enough that we don’t have any sort of lockdown in place, and for that I am eternally grateful. I think it’s a blessing and a curse though - work/life separation can be more difficult.

In terms of blessings, I can change whatever the hell I want. I haven’t gone so far as installing a window manager for Windows - I know they exist - but I’ve hacked the hell out of Windows 11 to make it remotely usable. I do also try to steer clear of registry hacks.

Projects that have made this possible include:

I won’t worry about listing the apps I use for work here - we use the full MS suite along with Adobe (shudder) - just the ones I use for personal. I will link any FOSS apps that I recommend.

See also: What I use - LAN for some overlap, but also what I use as Docker webservices, which I tend to access from this PC.

Basics

  • Web browser - Firefox
    • All modern browsers suck, particularly with out-of-the-box defaults. It’s not like they all suck equally, though. (I have to spend 20 minutes in the settings before I can even bear to open a new tab in Edge.) I use Firefox (as opposed to something like Ungoogled Chromium) for a few reasons - 1) it still supports Manifest V2, 2) it’s the only real competitor to the WebKit / Blink engine, 3) it’s still mainstream enough to get consistent updates and not risk it being out of date or the project being abandoned.
    • Extensions: uBlock Origin, Vimium, Request Control, RSSHub Radar, Linkwarden
  • Email - Thunderbird
    • Just because I use it doesn’t mean I like it. It’s better than signing into Google in the web browser though.
  • Task management - Todoist desktop app
    • This might be the most difficult one to replace.
  • Notetaking - Obsidian desktop app
    • For a long while I was under the false impression that this was FOSS. Unfortunately I was mistaken. It’s better than a lot of alternatives, however.
  • Hotkeys - PowerToys
    • Would not be able to use Windows without this.

Core utilities

  • Terminal - Windows Terminal Preview
    • Surprisingly usable.
  • Password management - KeepassXC
  • VPN - Tailscale / WireGuard
    • I’d like to replace Tailscale with Netbird at some point
  • File sync - Syncthing
  • File sharing - LocalSend
  • Messaging - Signal desktop app

Misc utilities

  • PDF viewer - Okular / SumatraPDF
  • Image viewer - Honeyview
  • Screenshots - Flameshot
  • Printing / Scanning - NAPS2
  • Music - Spotify / Jellyfin desktop app (mostly Spotify)

And I still use the Office suite for everything related to spreadsheets and documents.

WSL - Debian

  • tmux
    • Good approximation of a window manager in a Quake terminal
  • lf
    • Visual representation of file structures when I get tired of lsing
  • zsh
    • zoomer shell
  • neovim
    • Do I even need to put this? Probably not.
  • qrencode
    • When I don’t feel like opening LocalSend to send a link to my phone

EOF

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