Apple Mail (macOS)★★★★☆No-nonsense but full-featured email application for macOS that works well with multiple IMAP accounts and Gmail.
Arc (Web Browser, discontinued)★★★☆☆An interesting experiment in finding different ways to use the web, on the idea that people don’t want to use it more, they want to use the web less to accomplish what they want.
BBEdit★★★★★Text editor for macOS that’s powerful enough to handle multi-megabyte files and still light enough to jot down notes.
Brave (Web Browser)★★☆☆☆A privacy-focused browser, but for every cool privacy feature there’s something else that makes me want to firewall the application away from my system.
Dia (Browser)★★☆☆☆An AI chatbot masquerading as a web browser, or the other way around. You can use it without the AI features, but that just leaves you with a stripped-down Chromium skin.
Dillo (Web Browser)★★★★☆Ultra-minimalist and super-fast browser for web documents (not applications). You won’t be logging into Gmail with it, but it’ll load a Wikipedia article incredibly fast.
DuckDuckGo★★★★☆A private-ish search engine that’s also serving less slop than Google. Disposable email aliases are convenient. The browser extension and standalone browser block known trackers, and the Android app can block trackers in other apps too.
Ecosia (Search)★★★☆☆Non-profit search provider that uses renewable energy and partners with environmental organizations. AKA “the search engine that plants trees.”
Firefox★★★★☆I still have a soft spot for Firefox. At times it’s been the best web browser on Windows and Linux. It’s still good, has a solid extension ecosystem, and serves as an important bulwark against one company dominating browser tech.
Fluent Reader★★★☆☆A simple, no-nonsense, modern-looking RSS/Atom newsfeed reader for Windows, Mac and Linux. Optionally sync with multiple services, but I’ve had issues with Nextcloud.
Google Chrome★★★☆☆There was a time when Chrome was the fastest web browser available. It isn’t anymore, and over the last few years it’s felt less like a user agent and more like a Google agent.
iCab★★★☆☆This macOS-only WebKit browser is just OK, but with so many other browsers trying to grab your attention and data, sometimes ‘just OK’ is what you want.
Jellyfin★★★★★Great for playing music across my local network, doesn’t phone home to a cloud or try to upsell subscriptions.
KeePass Password Managers★★★★★KeePassXC, its browser extension, and KeePass2Android are a nice, clean set of apps to manage your passwords on your OWN desktop and mobile devices, auto-fill websites and apps, and sync over your own server or cloud provider.
Kobo (eBook store and readers)★★★★☆A solid alternative to Kindle, from the eBook selection through apps and hardware. The app works well on my eink tablet without too much tweaking, though it still wants to sell me more books before I can open the one I want to read.
Kristall★★★★☆Cross-platform desktop browser for the small internet, including Gemini, Gopher and Finger. A little faster than Lagrange, but fewer features and hasn’t been updated in a while.
Lagrange★★★★★Lagrange quickly became my favorite Gemini client on the desktop with its clean and convenient UI, stability and speed across platforms. And the mobile version works well too.
LibreWolf★★★★☆Customized Firefox, with an eye toward security and privacy. Follows the stable release channel. Works well most of the time, but privacy features can break some sites.
Manyverse★★★★☆Takes the pain out of setting up and running SSB. Unfortunately it doesn’t overcome SSB’s inherent challenges of discovery, data size or multiple devices. (So far?)
Microsoft Edge★★☆☆☆Once you turn off all the Microsoft specials, it feels usable again – but then, it’s just another Chromium skin.
Microsoft Outlook (Desktop)★★★☆☆I won’t say I’ve never liked Outlook, because the macOS version has been pretty decent for a while now (if a bit of a resource hog), but the Windows versions have always been awkward, cluttered, and quirky.
NetNewsWire★★★★★Clean, stable, fast, free, no-clutter and no-nonsense RSS/Atom newsfeed reader for macOS and iOS.
Opera (Web Browser)★★★☆☆Opera used to be one of my favorite browsers back in the day, but its current incarnation just doesn’t appeal to me. I much prefer Vivaldi, which is a spiritual successor to the original.
Orion Browser★★★★★A Mac-native WebKit browser from Kagi that’s more advanced than Safari, slightly cleaner than Arc or Zen, and can run Chromium/Firefox extensions. I may be sticking with this as my main web browser on macOS.
Parallels★★★★☆A virtual machine application for macOS that makes it easy to install a Windows, Linux or macOS guest. Downside: annual subscription.
RSS Guard★★★★☆A solid cross-platform feed reader that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. Extremely capable and customizable. Syncs with multiple services.
Safari (Web Browser)★★★★☆Dependable web browser built into macOS. Not much in the way of bells and whistles, but it does offer the usual bookmarks, autofill, reading mode, private windows, etc. And it’ll install PWAs on a desktop.
SeaMonkey (Internet Suite)★★★☆☆The old Mozilla Suite lives on! Featuring web, email, news, an HTML editor, IRC client and more. Recent work has mostly been to keep it working and backport security fixes, so web app compatibility lags way behind even the ESR Firefox.
Sequel Ace★★★★★An unapologetically macOS application and a powerful database manager for MySQL/MariaDB. This and its predecessor Sequel Pro are the only database GUIs I’ve actually liked.
Thunderbird (Email and Calendar)★★★★★Stable, capable desktop email application, works well with multiple accounts including Gmail, Nextcloud, easy to set up and use but with advanced settings when you need them. FLOSS.
Tor Browser★★★★☆When you really want (or need) to stay private while using the web, Tor is the way to go. Just keep the drawbacks in mind when you do.
UTM★★★☆☆A simple application wrapped around macOS’ built-in virtualization and emulation capabilities. Fewer bells and whistles than the commercial options, but works better for some purposes.
Vivaldi (Web Browser)★★★★★Spiritual successor to the original Opera browser, this ultra-customizable web browser can open into a full suite for email, calendar, feeds and more – but only if you want it to.
VMWare Fusion★★☆☆☆VMWare Fusion worked great on my Intel-based MacBook for work for years. But since Broadcom bought the company, I can’t even find it.
Waterfox★★★★☆A Firefox fork aimed at improved performance and privacy, without sacrificing usability. Also available on Android.
Web Browser RecommendationsVivaldi, Orion, Waterfox and Zen are my current favorites. I want to like Firefox, but I’m not so sure about Mozilla these days. Safari’s OK. LibreWolf and IronFox are good for everyday privacy, Tor for advanced scenarios. Falkon and Dillo are good for slow hardware.
Whalebird (Mastodon client)A simple desktop app for Mastodon and (most) compatible Fediverse servers. Fast, runs on multiple platforms.
Wine and Crossover★★★★☆THE major compatibility tool for Windows apps on Linux or macOS, including SteamOS. And a commercial distribution with installers and support.
Zen Browser★★★★☆Similar to Arc, Zen has a non-cluttered design that stays out of your way. Unlike Arc, it’s built on Firefox, runs on more platforms, and doesn’t require you to log in just to use it!