At the start of the year, I was publishing my list of currently used apps, with a note about what I’d like to get rid of. Let’s check in to see what happened in the mean time:
Mail #
TODOs: Consolidate archive. Consider moving to Thunderbird completely.
Didn’t happen. I’m still using Mail a lot. Not having Fastmail’s comfortable foreign-account handling, I actually managed to move a lot of forum & shop accounts to my main email address.
I also have to do way too much work email in Outlook. Yikes.
TODO: Give Thunderbird another try. Maybe do some “pleasurable” email from a command-line client on my tilde.club account?
Notes #
TODOs: Look up a good tagging scheme. If that fails, move to something only slightly more complex. Emacs org-mode is out, but its HOWM or Deft might suffice.
I’m better with putting things in nvAlt, and found that tags I’ve added clash a bit with the regular search. I wouldn’t mind a separate tag search…
I wrote about textpod recently, and I’m putting more and more stuff into it. I hacked it to have a slight Swiss International Design look, and got some ideas for further enhancement. Once my new home server is up and running, I’ll put it on there.
I’m currently not that interested in maximalist Emacs, and HOWM almost looks that way (same as org-mode, eglot or the fifteen packages you need for minibuffer completion)
TODO: Work on Textpod. Either hack nvAlt or try Emacs/Deft.
Photos #
TODOs: Get more Smart Media Cards for the really old digicam. Look at tools like Immich for hosting. Or in the spirit of old-fashioned digicams, hack something together (static, preferably).
I got a film camera instead (Smart Media cards are expensive), although I still don’t do enough photographing, and too much of that with a smartphone.
As for putting them on some site, this will be task for copyparty soon!
TODOS: Make sure that all cameras I own have film or media cards and/or batteries. Move photos to network storage. Take more photos!
Cloud Storage & Backups #
TODOs: Get SyncThing working again. Build a NAS w/ Tailscale.
TODOs: Improve on the Hetzner backup, dedicated backup drives for NAS
SyncThing is working again, but see copyparty above, I like that more for selective file transfers.
NAS is currently a work in progress, after a long hiatus.
RSS #
TODOs: Try getting back to WeLoveRss or build my own version.
I’m back on WeLoveRss and even found its developer! Looks like it’ll stay for a while, and while it doesn’t have the perfect “flow”, its simplicity and availability beats other solutions.
Bookmarks & Read It Later #
TODOs: Look into integrating notes, bookmarks and read-it-later a bit more. A bookmark web app is on my list for relatively short CRUD apps for learning new languages and frameworks, so something might come out of this within the year.
Textpod does a lot of that for me. Some minor enhancements would be enough to satisfy my needs here.
*TODO: Integrate Raindrop bookmarks into textpod? *
Word Processing & DTP #
TODOs: Try the offline version of Typst to replace LaTeX for some purposes, especially more “formulaic” RPG documents with lots of tables, asides and other layout elements.
I did a lot of RPG work with Affinity Publisher and like that I can do some creative layout tinkering there. Typst would be nice, but it’s currently missing a use case
TODO: Find a project that could use Typst and do it with that.
Finances #
TODOs: I plan on getting my long-term finances improved in 2025, so there might be something here. I would assume I’ll just look at Emacs modes here.
Oh boy, I had that planned? Oops.
TODO: Do something achievable first. Like importing monthly bank statements into a CSV file…
Music #
TODOs: Centralise music library, rip CDs that aren’t yet. Use my iPod more, use the Tangara once it arrives a lot.
I did get to use my Tangara, but not as often as I wanted. I’ve put some audiobooks in my server, so that I’m not using Audible anymore.
TODO: Create “ripping station”. Utilize upcoming NAS. Listen to music with copyparty and Tangara.
Movies & TV #
TODOs: Make it so that the [Youtube] RSS entries are downloaded automatically to a NAS (right now I don’t want to do it with all of them, as my poor desktop system has a way too small SSD). Watch less Netflix & Prime. Read more books.
I did actually read more books! Not enough, but it’s a start. I’m using an old scratched iPad Mini, as syncing with Apple Books (own collection, no subscription) is just too easy.
I cut down on YouTube channels, and currently just get my updates via an RSS reader and watch them selectively. Better than an ever-increasing list of to-watch episodes.
Podcasts #
TODOs: Listen to fewer podcasts, read more books.
Again, I do read more books, and listen to more audiobooks. Unsubscribed to a few podcasts already.
TODO: Unsubscribe even more podcasts. iPhone/Podcasts app is fine for the rest.
Well… #
A lot of TODOs haven’t been handled, even with ¾ of 2025 done. But I also saw that my needs have changed a bit. My big current item is getting a local server in the apartment ready. I’ve mentioned copyparty a few times, and it’s going to be one of the major aspects of this. I can manipulate files with it, it can provide file shares, it can show images, play music, and all that without the over-engineering look and feel that something like Nextcloud does come with.
Also: focus media consumption. TV series < movies < audiobooks < real books.