As a follow up to my post last year on the state of my digital subscriptions, it’s time to review and re-think what I am paying for. I am always looking for the best software for my workflow so I am constantly tweaking. Now, a lot of this is me wanting to test the new, shiny toys out there. Some of it is the developers changing something or raising prices. Either way, it’s time to review.
Must Have
Apple One- Apple bundles six software services into one monthly price. Most of these services are used heavily while the others are meh, but saves money. Another benefit: I can share this subscription to 5 family members or friends. I have one spot left hint, hint.
Adobe Lightroom – So essential to my photography workflow that I just can’t quit it even after several cancellations. A week later I resubscribe. Nothing can replace it for me just yet. I wish I could just use Apple Photos and be done with it but then Adobe includes website hosting for my portfolios. Smart move, Adobe.
VSCO- Visual Supply Company for social photography networking. They also have amazing film emulations. The write-up is here.
Flickr- The grandaddy of photo hosts. This is where I send my processed images to stay in the cloud since 2005. The social aspect is still one of the best communities after all this time.
Feedbin- Why go to a website to catch up on news when you can have it come to you? One of the best RSS feed readers out there.
Day One – A long-time user of this brilliant journaling app. I canceled this last year, but then renewed it out of a desire to digitally journal instead of pen and paper.
Formula 1- Annual subscription to view 24 races from around the world. Worth it.
MLS Season Pass- free subscription to major league soccer courtesy of T-Mobile & Apple.
MLB Season Pass- free subscription to major league baseball courtesy of T-Mobile & Apple.
Netflix- free subscription courtesy of T-Mobile.
Changed
Ghost- After 15 years of self-hosting my website with WordPress, I decided to host with the Ghost. So far so good but how the hell does the comment/feedback section work? I miss out on members posting because of a lack of notifications.
Unsubscribed
WordPress- If you change your focus from personal blogging to business website hosting, well, expect me to change and look elsewhere.
Disney+ – Now that I’m all caught up on the Star Wars Mandalorian series, it’ll be a long time before Disney cranks out anything new.
Mylio- A brilliant photo archive organizational tool but once everything was organized, was it worth $10 monthly? Nope.
Readwise- I love the premise of this software. It can sync everything you highlight on your Amazon Kindle or a web article. It will also sync your notes. But, I wasn’t using it enough to justify the $10/mo price and went back to using GoodLinks instead.
Conclusion
I want to be mindful of the money going out the door and receiving value for it so I think a periodic evaluation is worth it. Not to mention I like to look back on those previous posts throughout the years to see what sticks and “what was I thinking?” Take this example of software I no longer use from 2012: https://cdcomarchives.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/top-10-android-apps/
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