Software That Changed Me

I remember using my dad's computer at work. It was a desktop PC with Windows 95. I was fascinated by opening the programs in the start menu one by one. This curiosity stayed with me as I grew up. I learned to code and make websites. Over the years, I kept trying new software with the same excitement as when I was young. I was always eager to find something new and useful. Here's a list of some software that I find really interesting.

Google Maps

What a revolution when Google Maps was released! While I first used Google Earth for fun as a kid, Google Maps became my go-to app as soon as I turned 18 and acquired a smartphone. It made me live spontaneously, just being able to call a friend and say "where are you? I'm coming". No more need to plan your trip in advance, you can just go and find your way on the go.

I'm still amazed by how accurate it is, its search engine, and the amount of data it has. It's definitely the Google product I'd find hardest to replace.

Here's a video from 16 years ago showing how Google Maps looked back then:

Dropbox

During my student years, Dropbox was my go-to for storing work. It was easy to use, convenient, and free. What else could you ask for?

Today, for privacy reasons, I've moved away from Dropbox. I now use kDrive, which is derived from Nextcloud. But I still remember the good times with Dropbox.

Shazam

Not the most useful app, but what a wow effect. Always good to keep installed on your phone, you never know when you will need it.

Yuka

Probably the least famous on the list, so I'm going to explain it a bit more. Yuka is an app that allows you to scan the barcode of a product and get a rating based on its composition. It's a great way to know what you're eating, or how good (or bad) the sunscreen you're putting on your skin is. Originally from France, it is now available in many countries, currently expanding in the US I believe.

What I find remarkable is the significant social impact a small company can have, fighting against an industry that is not very transparent about what they put in their products. With a simple app and word of mouth, they managed to get some big companies to change their recipes.

Telemedecine apps

I'm not going to name one in particular, but that was a life changer. Being able to get a consultation with a doctor in minutes, wherever you are, is a great improvement in our lives.

Firefox

Any browser serves as an entry point to the internet. Internet Explorer was the first one I used, but Firefox has a special place in my heart. It was my gateway to the open-source world. And to coding as well, as I began creating my first websites by inspecting the source code of sites I liked. After almost 20 years of using Firefox, I have no plans to switch.

Excel

I know, Excel may not be exciting, but its impact is huge. From formating simple tables to running entire businesses, its versatility is impressive.

I was too young when it was released, but I can imagine the revolution of spreadsheets when it came out. This TED talk with the co-developer of VisiCalc is pretty interesting:

And, this ad from 1990 is pretty cool to watch:

Today, I use Excel very rarely. LibreOffice is just easier at importing CSVs (seriously, Excel, why is it so hard to import a CSV?). And online tools like Airtable, Notion and Google Sheets are just more convenient for many tasks.

WhatsApp, Signal, social medias

I'm not going to talk about them, but I think it is worth mentioning how much they changed our lives.

I'm sure I forgot some program or app. I also could have talked about OS, or development tools, but that's for another time.

If I need to find a similarity between all these programs, I would say that they are all easy to use, or at least easier than the competition. For sure, nothing annoys me more than software with a bad user experience. I'm sure I'm not the only one. 🙂