Technology I Use
Written by James. Published on under the Technology category.

Every so often I like reading about what technology other people use. I often do this when I am considering an upgrade or a change to part of my setup (which happens to be the frame of mind I am in right now). I wanted to take some time to share the technology that I use on a daily basis or at least frequently. Without any further ado, let's begin.
Computer Setup
I use an Apple M1 Macbook Air (2020) for my daily tasks. I got this computer in January, 2020. Prior to that, I used a HP Pavilion 14 (model ce3012na) laptop. The HP laptop has 8GB of RAM and is just powerful enough for most of my needs. [1]
I do not use the laptop as a laptop regularly. Instead, I have the laptop hooked up to an external monitor that I use when I am working.
I use an Acer 27 inch monitor (pictured above). I like having the additional screen real estate that an external monitor affords because I often need to have multiple windows open on screen at once. For example, if I am coding I often have Visual Studio Code on one side of the screen and part of my browser visible.
Here are the other parts of my computer setup:
- Microphone: Blue Yeti
- Keyboard:
- Keychron K2 (Cherry MX Blue switches) [2] (former)
- Logitech G Pro TKL (GX Blue switches)
- Mouse: Steelseries Rival 310
- Webcam: Logitech StreamCam
- Headphones: Apple Airpods
Raspberry Pi
I own three Raspberry Pis:
- Raspberry Pi Zero: Used in a Keybow mechanical keyboard.
- Raspberry Pi Zero: Hooked up to the Pimoroni Grow HAT. This HAT lets me keep tabs on the moisture levels in my desk plant.
- Raspberry Pi 4: Used for computing projects.
I like having one Raspberry Pi free for use at any time. While I don't work with a Pi regularly for projects, when I do get an idea I like to have a Pi ready to go.
I also own an Adafruit thermal printer which hooks up to my Pi. You can learn more about why I have this printer and what I have done with it in my Thermal Printer Project blog series.
Software
Here are some pieces of software I use regularly:
- Operating System: Ubuntu
- Browsers: Firefox (primary), Chrome (for testing)
- Terminal: Default Ubuntu terminal (no custom theme used)
- Code Editor: Visual Studio Code (previously Sublime Text)
- Markdown Editor: Typora
- Music: Spotify
Phone
I use the iPhone 11.
Watch
I use the Apple Watch SE.
Vinyl Music
I use the Audio Technica AT-LP60X turntable to play vinyl records. The turntable is connected to a set of JVC XS-D629BM speakers.
Site Technology
This website is built with HTML, CSS, and a tiny bit of JavaScript. JavaScript is mainly used to render comments in my blog posts and to power the coffee ratio calculator.
I use my own static site generator called letsjam to power this blog. I have written more extensively about how this blog works in a blog post.
I use DigitalOcean to host my blog.
[1]: Although I do admit that sometimes I wish I had a supercomputer at home(!). [2]: At first I was not found of the loud sound the blue switches make. I now love them.
Read more content like this
Check out the other posts I have written related to this article.
- My Website Hosting Journey
- My First French Press Brew
- Setting Up My Raspberry Pi
- Going back to the Aeropress
- The Coffee Dictionary Book Review
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