Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.
I get asked a lot about the things I use to build software, stay productive, or buy to fool myself into thinking I’m being productive when I’m really just procrastinating. Here’s a big list of all of my favorite stuff.
Workstation
- 16” MacBook Pro, M1 Max, 64GB RAM (2021)
I recently switched to a MacBook Pro from a Lenovo X1 Carbon (gen 6) which was running the Ubuntu LTS. While I miss the docker performance the MacOS ecosystem is alot more pleasant to work in for me.
- LG Ultragear 32" 4k Nano IPS 144hz
This monitor is my latest upgrade to my work and gaming station. Moving to a full 4k monitor has been a treat and the higher refresh rate is something else entirely. This monitor provides a bit less horizontal space and a bit more vertical space.
- Caldigit TS4 Dock
With my recent monitor upgrade I lost the native monitor thunderbolt support. This dock was a bit pricey but provides a much better experience with all the ports a boy could want, including a 2.5gb ethernet port.
- GMMK Pro
I had this keyboard on my wishlist for a long time and it was totally worth it. I have the white ice colour with the default aluminium backplate, with Invokeys Blueberry Chiffon Switches. These switches recently replace the Glorious Panda factory lubed switches which were failing at an alarming rate.
- Logitech MX Master 2S
I've had this mouse for yeaaaaars and it's still working great. I will likely upgrade to the MX Master 3S if/when it starts breaking down.
- Herman Miller Mira 1
If I’m going to slouch in the worst ergonomic position imaginable all day, I might as well do it in an expensive chair.
- Autonomous.ai Smart Desk Pro
DigitalOcean was kind enough to offer us a work-from-home stipend to enhance our home offices and this was the desk frame I chose to use with my existing Ikea kitchen counter desk top.
Development tools
- Neovim
I switched to Neovim from VSCode this year after learning the VIM motion key bindings. The support for VIM motions in VSCode just wasn't good enough and I wanted bit more flexibility with my environment. I'm still getting things just right but so far I'm very happy with the switch. I am a bit sad I'm missing out on things like Copilot X but thats a small problem. As a bonus I've noticed a significant boost in performance when working with our massive Go monorepo at work. Here are my dotfiles.
- iTerm2
I’m honestly not even sure what features I get with this that aren’t just part of the macOS Terminal but it’s what I use.
- TablePlus
Great software for working with databases. Has saved me from building about a thousand admin interfaces for my various projects over the years.
- DigitalOcean App Platform
All of my web based projects (and some not web based) are hosted on App Platform. As one of the original devs on the platform I focused on building a platform that would satisfy people like me and it does that very well.
Gaming
My office workstation and gaming systems are shared some some components like keyboard and monitor are not listed here but are present above.
- Computer
- CPU
- Intel i9-11900k
- Motherboard
- Asus Rog Strix Z590-E
- GPU
- Asus Rog Strix GeForce RTX 3080 V2 OC Edition
- PSU
- Asus Rog Strix 1000W Gold
- Memory
- 2x G.Skill TridentZ RGC Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3600
- Case
- Fractal Meshify 2
- Logitech Pro Gaming Mouse (wired)
I bought this mouse back in 2018 and it's been an absolute boss. I immediately noticed an improvement in my competiveness and over all enjoyment with FPS games.
- Arctis Pro Wireless
After my 7 year old Steelseries headset had an unfortunate run in with my office chair I decided to invest in another Steelseries.