> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://birchtree.me/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Tech That Runs My Life - URL: https://birchtree.me/blog/the-tech-that-runs-my-life/ - Published: 2015-10-12T14:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2015-10-12T14:00:00.000Z - Author: Matt Birchler - Tags: opinion, tech, #Import 2023-06-01 22:41, #Import 2025-03-29 19:29 Am I an Apple fanboy? God, I hope not! In the interest of figuring this out, I started to do a mental inventory of the tech and services from the big three tech companies (Apple, Google, and Microsoft) that I use to manage my life. What I found was that while Apple does dominate the tech hardware in my life, it’s actually Google who owns most of my mission—critical services. I ultimately don’t know what this says about me and my technological loyalties, but I found it interesting to build this overview. This is an extremely subjective list, and is only intended to spark conversation. What do you agree with? Which ones of these should I kick to the curb? [Let me know!](http://twitter.com/mattbirchler?ref=birchtree.me) ## Apple ### OS X and iOS These are my main operating systems, and they treat me well. I have a Windows 10 partition for those times when I need Windows (which is literally never in the past 5 years…I should just get rid of it) and an Android phone I dabble in Android from time to time, but for the work that I do, these are the best platforms for managing my digital life. ### Apple Watch I know that smart watches are a controversial product right now, but I adore them. And since I’m using an iPhone, it’s really my only option. I think a great many things about this product can get better, but I’m on board. ### Apple Music Curation, curation, curation. [Apple Music](http://www.apple.com/music/?ref=birchtree.me) does a better job of putting music in front of me that I want to listen to than any other music service I’ve used (and I’ve used them all). ### iCloud Drive This service does a lot. Photo Library, Notes, Reminders, and Keychain all run through this service. It also acts as a great way for apps with iOS and Mac versions to sync content between devices rather seamlessly. I pay $2.99/month for 200GB of storage. ## Google ### Search There is no better search engine out there. Period. I totally understand using [something else](http://duckduckgo.com/?ref=birchtree.me) because you’re not comfortable with Google’s all-seeing eye, but no other search engine gets me the results I’m looking for as well as Google does. ### Gmail There is no better email service out there, as far as I’m concerned. Their online interface is solid (although I hate the new optional Inbox interface) and sync works wonderfully across devices. Yes, they’re looking through my messages to serve ads, but I’m okay with it. ### Calendar and Contact sync I know that no matter what device I’m using, I’ll be able to sync my Google calendars and contacts to it. It’s also never burned me in the past, which is a huge deal. ### Google Docs This is more for work, but there doesn’t seem to be a better service for sharing documents between a bunch of people. Office is supposed to be good too, but I honestly don’t have enough experience with it to make the call. Google Docs is a little rough around the edges, but it gets the job done. ### Google Photos There are so many good things about Google’s still-new [Photos](https://photos.google.com/?ref=birchtree.me) service. Search is a killer feature, as the service “just knows” what’s in my pictures. Again, this is a little creepy, but it’s so useful. Don’t worry though, I have all my RAW photos backed up independently from Google just in case. ### A parade of temporary Android phones I like to listen to podcasts as I fall asleep (weird and likely bad for my sleep, I know) and the cheap little Moto E is perfect for that. It’s basically a Pocket Casts device, and it does a great job of running that one app. Additionally, I’ve used numerous flagship Android phones over the past 3 years to satisfy my curiosity with “the state of Android”. [My favorite](http://www.birchtree.me/blog/htc-one-review?ref=birchtree.me) has been the HTC One M8, which is right up there with the iPhone 5S for my favorite smartphone design ever. ## Microsoft ### Outlook (iOS) I really adore this app. It’s the only one that lets me keep up with all the email I get on a daily basis. It’s Apple Watch integration is fantastic, letting me process email from my wrist and filtering out things before I ever see them on my phone. Priority Inbox is a godsend too, separating out just the emails I actually want to see first. And it’s [free](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-outlook/id951937596?uo=4&at=10l8rH&ct=fnd&mt=8&ref=birchtree.me) and supports basically every email service. ### Windows 8 at work I am waiting for the IT crew to let me upgrade this to Windows 10 ASAP. In the meantime, I’m enjoying windows snapping, which I don’t think I could do my job without. ## Other ### Slack Let me be the 10 millionth person to shout it from the rooftops: [Slack](https://slack.com/?ref=birchtree.me) is amazing for team communication. I work with about 30 other people and Slack is basically our only form of communication. Text messages, Twitter, email, and chat rooms all in one = **drool**. And my god, the custom emoji are…well, let’s just say they’re something special. ### OmniFocus You can run your entire life through [this app](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/omnifocus-2-for-iphone/id690305341?uo=4&at=10l8rH&ct=fnd&mt=8&ref=birchtree.me) if you want. I use it as a super-charged Reminders app, and it speaks to it’s quality that it is just as good at managing a big project as it is at reminding me to get a haircut every 4 weeks. ### Fastmail I don’t like to rely on Google for all my email, so I maintain a [Fastmail](http://fastmail.com/?ref=birchtree.me) account. My account expires in a few weeks, and I’m honestly considering letting it go.