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What I use

Inspired by /uses, this is a non-exhaustive list of the tools and technologies that I use daily.

This website

This website is a standard Next.js app, with a custom MDX layout. Nothing fancy. Thanks to static site generation, this all works without JS, but I can still write in MDX and use React components, which is nice because it gives me a place to experiment with JS playthings.

Mac

  • Webcam: Sony a5100 Mirrorless DSLR, with a 35mm f/1.8 lens
    • I used to use it for streaming, now it just brightens Zoom meetings.
  • Elgato Key Light
  • Desk: Bestier 55" Standing Desk
  • Headset: AirPods Pro
  • Keyboard: Apple Magic Keyboard
  • Mouse: Apple Magic Trackpad
  • Monitor: MSI MAG274UPF
    • It works great for my needs: It's 27", 144 Hz, 4K, HDR, and $370. Can't complain.
    • Would like to get a Studio Display, but

Windows

  • Microphone: SAMSON Q2U
    • With the help of a DAW, it sounds quite good. I would like to upgrade to a Shure SM7B, though.
  • Desk: Realspace 65" Desk with Hutch and wireless charging
  • Headset: AirPods Pro
  • Keyboard: Logitech G613 Mechanical Keyboard
  • Mouse: Logitech G Pro X Superlight
  • Monitor: MSI MAG274UPF (same as the Mac)
  • Speakers: Bose SoundLink Mini II

Hardware

  • Work computer: Macbook Pro 16" (2021, M1 Pro)
    • 32GB RAM, because Docker.
    • 1TB SSD, because I don't want to worry about making space during normal everyday use.
  • Home lab:
    • RTX 3090 Ti
    • GT 730
    • 80GB DDR4 ECC RAM
    • 2TB Samsung 990 Pro NVMe SSD
    • Gigabyte B550 (AM4 motherboard)
    • Ryzen 9 5950X CPU
    • 2 x 18TB Toshiba MG Series HDD
      • They're loud, but they make for a nice little ZFS pool.

Backup Strategy

I use a combination of both local and remote backups.

  • I have a ZFS pool running in my home lab, which I use to store all of my data mirrored across two HDDs.
  • My Mac backs up to a Time Machine volume in that ZFS pool; the home lab presents itself as a Time Machine target.
  • I use BackBlaze to backup my entire Mac to a remote server.
  • My ZFS pool is also mirrored to a remote ZFS pool, at zfs.rent.

So that's 1 local backup and 2 off-site backups. Prior to having this setup, I did lose data, and swore to myself that it would never happen again.

Software

  • IntelliJ IDEA Mac/Windows/Linux
    • I've used it for 10+ years. It's extremely powerful, but a bit slow.
    • I use the One Dark Vivid theme.
  • Zed Mac/Linux
    • Extremely fast, and AI tooling (similar to Cursor). It's unbeatable, and I only go back to IntelliJ when I need to do something that Zed can't do (the intelligence of IntelliJ is far superior).
  • Docker Mac/Windows/Linux
    • Duh. Everything I do gets containerized.
  • TablePlus Mac
    • The best DB GUI I've ever used. Sadly, the Linux version is nowhere near as good as the Mac version.
  • Transmit Mac
    • It's not often I need to FTP/SFTP, but when I do, I use Transmit.
  • Tailscale
    • VPN for everything. All of my devices and servers are connected to Tailscale, which means I can access any of their services from anywhere without opening ports or making them web-accessible.
  • NextDNS
    • Block ads, block trackers, and block malware, for all devices on your network. Hooks up with Tailscale so it's applied to all of your devices automatically.
  • iTerm2
    • I've been looking into Warp for a while, but iTerm's been more than good enough for me.
  • Homebrew
    • Does anyone still develop on macOS without Homebrew? I don't know.
  • Eagle
    • My inspiration library. I store a UI/UX designs here, and use the app when I need to find inspiration for my own work.
  • Obsidian
    • I use it for my personal wiki, and for my notes on projects.
    • I used to use Notion, but it was too slow and clunky. Obsidian also works off of plain markdown files, so I'm not locked into a proprietary database, like I was with Notion.
  • Linear
    • The best app for project management, by far.
    • It's a shame; when I found Linear, I was in the middle of working on a project management tool that worked -just- like it. So I had to toss that idea out.
  • BBEdit
    • I have it open 24/7 for scratch files / loose notes. I Cmd-N and start typing. It's fast and no frills.
    • Every now and then I'll go through all the untitled notes and process whatever's on them.
  • Raycast
    • My macOS launcher. I almost exclusively use it to launch apps, and only got off Spotlight because would sometimes take a while to show me the first result.
    • Its functionality is completely wasted on me.

I'll add more here as I think of more things I use.