Maxime Brown

I tried learning DaVinci Resolve and gave up. CapCut makes sense immediately. The 'script-to-video' AI feature is a bit gimmicky, but the core editing tools are solid. It exports fast and quality is good. It's not for feature films, but for YouTube and social content, it's the best tool right now.

In an age of data harvesting, Signal is a breath of fresh air. It's end-to-end encrypted by default, open-source, and run by a non-profit. It does one thing—secure messaging—and it does it perfectly. The voice and video call quality is also excellent. I've moved all my important conversations here.

I was skeptical about AI headshots, but I needed a LinkedIn update quickly. Aragon delivered results in about 30 minutes. Out of the 40 generated images, about 5-6 were absolutely perfect and looked exactly like me, but better dressed. It saved me $300 on a professional photographer. Highly recommend for a quick, professional fix.

The transcription quality is great. However, the 'OtterPilot' bot that joins meetings can be intrusive. People sometimes feel uncomfortable being recorded by a bot. I wish there was a more discreet way to record. Also, the new pricing limits on how many minutes you can upload are frustrating.

We were paying a fortune for Optimizely. We switched to GrowthBook (self-hosted) and it has been amazing. It has all the features we need—feature flags, A/B testing, and a great stats engine. Because it's open source, we have full control over our data. The integration with our data warehouse was straightforward.

We use 1Password at work and it's fantastic for sharing vaults between teams without exposing actual credentials. The CLI tool is a godsend for our devops workflows. However, for my personal use, I find it a bit expensive. The mobile app is generally good but can sometimes be slow to unlock on older phones. The browser extension is very aggressive about popping up, which can be annoying, but at least it's reliable.

The integration with our applicant tracking system (ATS) is seamless, and the ability to build talent pipelines and projects is essential for long-term strategic sourcing. Our account manager is also very helpful. It's more than just a search tool; it's a full recruiting platform.

My feed is mostly ads, Reels I don’t care about, and posts from strangers in groups I barely use. Seeing content from actual friends requires digging. I understand they need to monetize, but the experience feels noisy and low quality now. If it weren’t for a few essential groups, I’d delete my account.