My desk setup

Uses

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Inspired by Wes Bos and uses.tech, this is a living document that outlines all of the hardware, software, and other gadgets that I use in my day-to-day setup.

Hardware

  • Personal - 2020 M1 MacBook Pro 13’ - despite the stupid touch bar this is the best computer I’ve ever had. I like the slightly smaller form factor and the battery life and performance are incredible.
  • Work - 2019 Intel MacBook Pro 16’ - really struggling at this point but I keep putting off the upgrade because… reasons.
  • Tablet - 11’ iPad Pro (First Gen). Getting a little long in the tooth, but usually just a media consumption device for me.
  • Phone - iPhone 14 Pro Max - this is also happens to be my favorite phone of all time. The max is large, but still practical (for me anyway) and with the Peak Design Everyday Case it really feels like all screen.
The most accurate representation of my software config now lives in my dotfiles repo. An out of date long form version is also archived in Documenting My Mac Setup

Apps and Utilities

I keep a relatively stock Mac config so I can wipe my machine easily, but can’t live without the following:

  • Unclutter - Keeps the digital mess hidden away.
  • Chrome - primary browser for work machine, secondary for personal.
  • Arc - primary browser for personal machine, secondary for work.
  • Notion - Migrated from Evernote in early 2023 due to frustrations with the Evernote apps. Also use for task management for work.
  • Things I use it to follow some form of GTD for personal tasks.
  • YNAB - changed my life financially
  • Bartender - hide menu bar clutter
  • Oh My ZSH - terminal themes and other niceties
  • Raycast - highly configurable alternative to Spotlight. Complete tasks like launching your next Zoom meeting or creating a Jira ticket with just a few keystrokes.
More of the software I rely on is captured in the brewfile in my dotfiles repo.

IDE

In 2020 I made the switch from PHP Storm to VS Code. The only thing I miss from PHP Storm is the merge conflict resolution tool, which is much better than VS Code. Hopefully that will change eventually.

Desk Setup

  • Electric Standing Desk - Standing in the morning and sitting in the afternoon helps me avoid wrist issues. Need to be better with this - have been sitting too much lately.
  • Headphones - god help me, I love my Air Pods Pro Max. Use them for conference calls every day.
  • Rain mStand - keep the lapptop screen level with my secondary monitor.
  • LG Monitor - Pretty Basic and issued by work, but I like it.
  • Magic Trackpad 2 (taught myself to use a trackpad left handed due to RSI issues) and Magic Keyboard.
  • 8Bitdo NES Mechanical Keyboard - impractical in a bunch of ways, but I love it and stuck with it.

Office Setup

Question Block opened

Coffee

Dueling subscriptions from Driftaway and Five & Hoek. I really enjoy coffee.

Video Games