Technology I Use

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:

1. Raspberry Pi Zero: Used in a Keybow mechanical keyboard.
2. Raspberry Pi Zero: Hooked up to the Pimoroni Grow HAT. This HAT lets me keep tabs on the moisture levels in my desk plant.
3. 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.