quick, silly one: Just a normal day in cultivator training.
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20240416_2
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20240416
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Hard- and Software 2024
Last week I picked up my new PC and thus spent some time to set up the new system. I figured this might be a good time to mention the software I use.
Hardware
Wacom Cintiq 24 HDT – It’s already several years old and the exact model I have is not available anymore. While I sometimes ponder upgrading to the even larger ones I don’t really need it.
Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard – Bought this when I was still dealing with constant wrist pain issues. I only use the Keyboard, not the mouse. It took a bit to get used to it, but I find it much more comfortable than a regular, flat keyboard.
Mouse – I have several mice that I rotate through depending on how I feel.
- Logitech G400S – The main mouse I use and have been using for years
- Evoluent Vertical C Wireless – I like this one for it’s sturdyness. Unfortunately the mouse wheel on mine squeaks, which is rather annoying.
- Anker Vertical Wireless – I use this one mainly when I feel the wrist is already taxed. The Anker mouse is very light, which I usually don’t like.
- CSL TM137G – Ok mouse, similar to the Anker mouse. The first one I bought. It doesn’t get as much use time as the others.
Corsair Void Elite Wireless Headset – Since I don’t have to deal with much background noise anymore I like using this one over my Noise cancelling headphones. Good sound, comfortable, good microphone.
Logitech Brio 400 camera – good image quality, responsive, inbuild lense-cover for when you’re not using the camera
Software
I’ll start with work-related software and then move on to system related software.
Adobe Photoshop – Self-Explanatory
Lazy Nezumi – Photoshop extension which among other things allows for line smoothing. Still better than Adobe’s inbuilt option, in my opinion.
Lasso Draw – Photoshop extension which among other features allows to auto-fill selections upon closure.
Adobe Bridge – I actually only use it to ensure IPTC-Core meta data is correctly assigned to my psds and jpgs.
Clip Studio Paint – Depending on what I need o draw i still prefer to use CSP over Photoshop. Especially for the many ruler-options.
Edrawmind – For when I want to create mindmaps for projects I will never pursue. Fun exercise though.
Faststone Image Viewer – I’ve been using Irfanview and Xnview in the past, but I experienced performance issues with both. So far I don’t have these issues with Faststone
Microsoft 3D-Viewer – Double-click on any stl and “quickly”(depending on your model of course) open it without having to launch it in your dedicated 3D-software. I also often use it to open a 3D model as reference when doodling with pen & paper.
Pureref – Great to quickly compile extensive reference and mood boards.
Blender – 3D Software, I mostly use it for quick blockouts that I draw over.
PDF-XChange Editor – An alternative to Adobe’s Acrobat.
Sevdesk – SaaS for writing invoices.
Beyond Compare – Software to compare and sync files and folders. I use it to back up my data. I used dedicated backup software in the past, while the incremental backup structure leads to smaller files, when I actually had to make use of backups I found it easier to navigate through a 1to1 copy of my folder structure than browse through the increments.
One Commander – I prefer using this one over the Windows Explorer. Windows Explorer now has tabs, but since I often access files from multiple folders I prefer using OnceCommander’s customizable viewer.
OBS – Software to record/share your screen. For streaming on twitch for example.
DaVinci Resolve – Video editing software
CrystalDiskInfo – To check SDD and HDD-health
Free Download Manager – As the name implies.
7-zip – free file un-/packing software. Nothing special.
Eartrumpet – Useable volume sliders! Windows volume sliders are ok, but Eartrumpets sliders are better by far and also easily allow for controling volume per application.
Wiztree – Get an overview of what uses up your drive space quickly. Much quicker than WinDirStat or DiskTreeSize in my experience.
Veracrypt – For additional data encryption
Tresorit – European alternative to Dropbox. I prefer using that over Dropbox even though it’s a bit more pricey.
Lastpass – Password manager
Thunderbird – Been using Thunderbird for my e-mails for years. I’m used to it.
Musicbee – My music-player of choice
YT-DLG – A GUI for a youtube-downloader. I saw last week that you can even install it from the Microsoft-store. Great for when you need/want to download videos from the web.
Video Lan VLC – video player
Fontbase – Windows Font manager. I used FontExplorer for years until Monotype stopped all Windows Support for it. I only switched to Fontbase relatively recently.
Rainmeter – Small software that allows for Customization of your Desktop. It’s open source and the user experience leaves room for optimization, but there are plenty of youtube-tutorials for it. I have a big clock visible on my desktop, day and date and weather information & forecast. I also have a couple of icons on the desktop to show CPU/RAM/GPU usage and Network usage.
Office 365 – Excel, Word, Powerpoint get regular use. As does Task Planner, ToDo and OneNote, and Sticky Notes.
Microsoft Powertoys Run – Microsoft Powertoys is an extensive suit of tools aimed at power users that should come pre-installed in my opinion. I’m by now means a power user, I almost only use “Run”. It allows me to hit ALT+Space in any applicaton, opens up a “search bar” and allows me to start any application from it. Great for when I already have both hands on the keyboard.
Eset Internet Security – Software Firewall
Windows 11 Pro
Special mention:
Hall of Framed – A website showcasing the best of the in-game photography community. I get my desktop backgrounds from there most of the time. Currently Witcher 3 visits my desktop once again.
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20240415
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20240414
I found a neat Photoshop extension only yesterday. It’s called Lasso Draw, I’m sure some of you already know of it. It instantly fills the area upon closing the selection. It also offers additional modes. It’s quite handy.
You can get it on gumroad: https://kritskiy.gumroad.com/l/lassodraw
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20240411
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20240410
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20240406
Behold the Freelapeede! Frog + Eel + Centipede
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20240405
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20240404