Matthew Dean

Recommendations

Apps

App Development

Visual Studio Code - Edit and run code
Sublime Text - Edit text files
SWI-Prolog - Run Prolog code
Vim - Edit text on the command line on UNIX and macOS
Windows Subsystem for Linux - Run a GNU/Linux environment on Windows without virtual machine overhead

Communication

Discord - Chat with others
Apple Messages - Send and receive text messages on your Mac

Data Management

yt-dlp - Download videos from YouTube.com and other video sites
Mp3tag - Edit audio file metadata
MusicBrainz Picard - Tag music files
Rufus - Create bootable USB drives
Handbrake - Convert video files to other formats
Rufus - Create bootable USB drives
DB Browser for SQLite - View and edit SQLite database files
WinDirStat - Visualize filesystem usage on Windows
Ninite - Install and update all your programs at once
SDelete - Securely delete files on Windows
dupeGuru - Find and delete duplicate files in a system

Data Storage

Dropbox - Store data in Dropbox's cloud
Backblaze - Back up your data easily and securely
VeraCrypt - Securely store your files on virtual encrypted disks

Image Editing

Paint.NET - Edit images and photos on Windows
LightShot - Take screenshots effortlessly

Learning

Spotify - Listen to music and podcasts
Goodreads - Share and receive book recommendations
Feedly - Stay up to date with web content
Libby - Borrow ebooks and audiobooks from your library

Lego

Bricklink - Buy and sell Lego sets and parts online
Bricklink Studio - Create Lego 3D models

Privacy

uBlock Origin - Block ads in web browsers
Mullvad VPN - Access the Internet privately from anywhere

Productivity

News Feed Eradicator - Remove addictiveness of social sites
Obsidian - Create your own knowledge base
f.lux - Adjust screen display colors to help you sleep
Google Keep - Take notes and lists
Tailscale - Simply connect your devices with a virtual private network
VLC media player - Play almost any video, audio, or image file
Rectangle - Arrange macOS windows with drag & drop or shortcuts

Shopping

eBay - Buy and sell products online
Splitwise - Split expenses with friends

Virtualization

VirtualBox - Run an operating system inside a virtual machine

Web Browsing

Mozilla Firefox - Visit websites
Earth View from Google Earth - See a beautiful image from Google Earth on blank tabs

Web Debugging

cURL - Transfer data via command line or library
Fiddler - Log and modify HTTP(S) traffic with a Windows GUI
mitmproxy - Intercept HTTP(S) traffic from the command line
Nmap - Understand networks and their security

Web Hosting

PuTTy - Run interactive command-line sessions on remote computers
WinSCP - Copy files between local and remote computers
Let's Encrypt - Generate SSL certificates so visitors can securely access your site
Caddy - Serve websites with automatic HTTPS
nginx - Serve websites and services
Jekyll - Create static websites
DigitalOcean - Serve websites from a virtual environment
Plex - Stream from your media server

Windows Debugging

Process Explorer - See which Windows program has a particular file or directory open
Process Monitor - Observe realtime access to the Windows filesystem
Autoruns - Manage which Windows programs launch at startup

Games

Arcade

Joust (1982) - Ride a flying ostrich into battle against buzzards and dragons solo or with a friend
Killer Queen (2013) - Fight to victory alongside four other players! Win by defeating their queen, collecting enough berries, or riding the snail to your own side.

Board

The Settlers of Catan (1995) - Populate an island by building settlements and trading resources
Terra Mystica (2012) - Transform and take control over a fantasy world
Chess - The classic two-player strategy game

Video

Kingdom: Two Crowns (2018) - Build a kingdom by recruiting subjects, constructing fortifications, and fending off monsters
Limbo (2010) - Manuever obstacles and dodge monsters as you wander through a dark and eerie landscape
Firewatch (2016) - Explore the scenic Wyoming wilderness while a mystery unfolds
Cuphead (2017) - Run and gun your way through a 1930s-era cartoon adventure
Minecraft (2011) - Collect, craft, and build in a world made of blocks

Movies

Campy

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Tremors (1990)
Mars Attacks (1996)

Comedy Drama

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

Crime Comedy

Fargo (1996)

Emotional

Millennium Actress (2001)

Existential

Manchester by the Sea (2016)
It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)

Imaginative

Brave Little Toaster (1987)
The Dark Crystal (1982)
Chicken Run (2000)
A Grand Day Out (1989) - Cinematic debut of Wallace and Gromit

Podcasts

Behind the Scenes

HBO's Chernobyl Podcast (2019) - The making of HBO's Chernobyl series
HBO's The Last of Us Podcast (2023) - The making of HBO's The Last of Us series
LEGO Bits & Bricks (2020-2022) - The LEGO Group's long, rich history in digital play and video games

Business

Acquired (2015-) - Stories about companies, their business strategies, and how they developed

Investigative Journalism

Missing Richard Simmons (2017) - A famed fitness guru disappears for mysterious reasons
S-Town (2017) - A man reports corruption in his Alabama town

True Crime

Swindled (2017-) - Well-researched stories of corruption and negligience
American Scandal (2018-) - Thrilling stories of greed and corruption

Shows

Anthology

Love, Death, & Robots (2019) - Short stories brought to life with breathtaking animation

Crime Drama

Better Call Saul (2015) - Up-and-coming lawyer fights to succeed in this Breaking Bad prequel
Fargo (2014) - Small town murder anthology based on the 1996 film of the same name

Fantasy

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019) - Inhabitants of a fantasy kingdom discover a terrible secret threatening their survival
Arcane (2021) - Steampunk adventure set in the world of League of Legends
Primal (2019) - A Neandethal and a dinosaur team up to survive
Samurai Jack (2001) - Time-travelling Samurai warrior makes friends on his quest to vanquish evil

Historical Drama

Chernobyl (2019) - Gripping retelling of the 1986 nuclear accident and cleanup efforts

Sci-Fi

Scavengers Reign (2023) - The stranded crew of a space freighter learn to survive on a beautiful yet deadly planet

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