While this year is still is challenging, it was marginally better than last year and we have so much to be thankful for. As a quasi-tradition for being in tech, here’s the list of technologies that I am grateful for this year.

Visual Studio 2019
We finally moved from Visual Studio 2013 to Visual Studio 2019 after several thwarted attempts. The difference is night and day. We are far more productive and spend less time wrestling with the tool and more time getting our work done.

Apple Watch
My wife got me a 3rd generation Apple Watch last year. Since biking wasn’t much of a choice to do around, Apple Watch allowed me to stay conscious in being fit despite the lockdowns and restrictions.

I just got my 365 Move Goals badge!

Apple AirPods
I am a big fan of wearable computing since Windows Mobile era. I early adapted one of those dorky-looking Bluetooth headphones. I also had a Bragi—which I love but it didn’t really find its way to my routines. AirPods has become indispensable both in my work and personal communication routines. It made daily calls and meetings a little easier; it’s one less thing I had to wrestle with.

Microsoft Teams
We are now perpetually working from home thanks primarily because of Microsoft Teams. It replaced a lot of our onsite office workflow and it replaced them reliably—team communication, project workspace, issue tracking, etc. 

Office 365
This was included in my previous list but it is worth mentioning again specially with Teams. Office 365 integrations with a lot of apps made our migration from office work to remote work easily and reliably. 

Zwift
While I still use Strava for my cycling activities, Zwift has replaced it as my primary way to record my cycling activities—at least while pandemic isn’t over. I have a few gripes about it (no family bundle, Apple Watch issues, etc), but it really made me stick with indoor cycling all through out the pandemic. 

I won’t forget to mention technology categories that I am just as thankful. Video Calling platforms which kept us in touch with friends and families. Streaming Video apps that entertained us while we deal with the stress and anxiety of the pandemic. Lastly, of course, is the Internet—a lot of us take for granted how it changed and is continuously changing our lives. Imagine how this pandemic would’ve turned out to be without it. We would’ve lost our minds. 

Here’s to hoping that 2022 wouldn’t be a marginal progress. Cheers!