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+---
+title: "Things I use and recommend"
+date: 2022-09-28T20:47:00+02:00
+draft: false
+---
+
+#
+
+
+I use a lot of software, most of it free and open-source.
+I've tried to use much more, but it didn't always go so well,
+so I've made a list of the programs I like enough to recommend.
+Such a list has been on my website for a long time already;
+this is its official publication.
+
+Last updated on 2022-09-28.
+
+
+## General
+* [Neovim](https://neovim.io/):
+	A modernized fork of the venerable [Vim](https://www.vim.org/) text editor.
+* [restic](https://restic.net/):
+	Good command-line backup program.
+	You'll need to provide your own storage.
+* [Syncthing](https://syncthing.net/):
+	Synchronizes folders across devices. Decentralized and easy to set up.
+
+
+## Desktop
+* [Arch Linux](https://www.archlinux.org/):
+	The distribution that, for me, delivers the best cost-benefit ratio.
+	I'm not a big fan of [systemd](https://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/)
+	or [glibc](https://www.gnu.org/software/libc/),
+	but the fantastic package manager and the huge repositories
+	make Arch Linux unbeatable for working techies' day-to-day computing.
+* [i3](https://i3wm.org/) and [Sway](https://swaywm.org/):
+	Lightweight window managers.
+	Once you go tiling, you can never go back.
+* [Firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/):
+	Web browsers suck.
+	This ones sucks the least, and is developed by Mozilla,
+	who still seem to care about privacy and security, and
+	who created the [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/) language.
+	Firefox has all the necessary modern features,
+	and provides an excellent curated set of add-ons.
+	+ [uBlock Origin](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/):
+		The best adblocker out there. It's free *and* open-source!
+	+ [HTTPS Everywhere](https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere):
+		In today's world, this should be included in all browsers.
+		The fact that it's rule-based is unfortunate, but hey, it works.
+* [Thunderbird](https://www.thunderbird.net/):
+	Email clients suck, just like email itself.
+	This one just sucks less, since it's also made by Mozilla.
+* [Alacritty](https://github.com/alacritty/alacritty):
+	Simple, lightning-fast terminal emulator with
+	extra goodies like 24-bit colours
+	and live configuration reloading.
+* [pass](https://www.passwordstore.org/):
+	Password manager for techies.
+	It's simple, secure, and extensible.
+	However, I don't think I'll ever understand how to properly manage [GnuPG](https://gnupg.org/) keys,
+	so I gave up and switched to KeePassXC instead.
+* [KeePassXC](https://keepassxc.org/):
+	User-friendly open-source password manager.
+	It stores everything in a local encrypted database file,
+	which is your responsibility to back up and sync.
+* [EasyEffects](https://github.com/wwmm/easyeffects):
+	Real-time audio effects on Linux.
+	I use it to tweak my headphones' response according to the awesome
+	[AutoEQ](https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq) project's data.
+* [Anki](https://ankiweb.net/about):
+	Flashcard studying software,
+	with a big [library](https://ankiweb.net/shared/decks/) of community-made decks.
+	Frankly it's not very user-friendly, but it does the job.
+* [Veusz](https://veusz.github.io/):
+	Fantastic plotting software,
+	and one of the most underrated open-source tools that I know of.
+	It gives beautiful plots, can handle *huge* data files, and,
+	because its files are just plain Python,
+	you can automatically generate plots with a bit of scripting.
+* [KLayout](https://klayout.de/):
+	Open-source chip layout editor, with advanced scripting functionality.
+	I would've liked some more keyboard shortcuts by default,
+	but at least I can make my own.
+
+
+## Server
+* [Alpine Linux](https://alpinelinux.org/):
+	Minimalist distribution powered by
+	[BusyBox](https://www.busybox.net/) and [musl](https://musl.libc.org/).
+	It has a large-enough selection of both cutting-edge
+	and stable packages to be practical.
+* [nginx](https://nginx.org/):
+	Fast, secure and popular HTTP server,
+	and a breeze to set up.
+* [OpenSMTPD](https://opensmtpd.org/):
+	Email SMTP server by the venerable [OpenBSD](https://www.openbsd.org/) project,
+	and the only one of its kind that nails the setup experience.
+* [Dovecot](https://dovecot.org/):
+	One of the, if not *the* most popular email IMAP server.
+	And for good reason: it's fast, secure, and a pleasure to set up.
+* [Rspamd](https://www.rspamd.com/):
+	Spam filter for email.
+	To be honest, I haven't looked into this one much.
+	It has lots of advanced features that I barely understand,
+	but still seems to be the most modern and usable spam filter out there.
+* [Zola](https://www.getzola.org/):
+	Straightforward static site generator written in Rust.
+	The only thing it's missing is some kind of LaTeX formula support,
+	which is why I migrated to Hugo.
+* [Hugo](https://gohugo.io/):
+	Another good static site generator, although not quite as nice as Zola in my opinion,
+	since Hugo's template language is a bit messed up. It still works well though.
+* [cgit](https://git.zx2c4.com/cgit/about/):
+	JavaScript-free online Git frontend,
+	perfect for private setups.
+	If you need something more advanced like user accounts,
+	[Gitea](https://gitea.io) is a good choice too.
+* [acme.sh](https://github.com/acmesh-official/acme.sh):
+	Straightforward tool to manage TLS certificates
+	issued by [Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/).
+
+
+## Android
+* [LineageOS](https://lineageos.org/):
+	Had enough of vendor-specific crap in Android?
+	This open-source distribution has good hardware support
+	and enough momentum to be the *de facto* standard version
+	of Android for tinkerers.
+* [microG](https://microg.org/):
+	Takes the Google out of Android
+	by reimplementing proprietary libraries.
+	It works very well; the only problem I've experienced is
+	that push notifications take longer to arrive than usual.
+	Installation is tricky, but they offer
+	a [custom LineageOS](https://lineage.microg.org/) to make it easy.
+* [AdAway](https://adaway.org/):
+	Effective system-wide adblocker
+	that should work for all your apps.
+* [Aegis](https://getaegis.app/):
+	Secure open-source 2FA authenticator app.
+* [Insular](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.oasisfeng.island.fdroid/):
+	Isolates untrusted apps in an Android Work Profile.
+* [AnkiDroid](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.ichi2.anki/):
+	Good mobile frontend for [Anki](https://ankiweb.net/about).
+
+
+## Services
+* [Gandi](https://www.gandi.net/):
+	European domain registrar with the motto
+	"No bullshit since 1999". They provide an honest,
+	high-quality service at a competitive price.
+	This statement is not sponsored.
+* [Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/):
+	Provides free TLS encryption certificates
+	to anybody who asks politely, thereby making
+	online security more accessible for small sites like this one.
+