Uses

Upd: 

One of my favorite websites is usesthis.com: I like reading about the tools people use to get through their day to day. This page outlines a few details around my own setup.

I didn’t bother carefully arranging my desk so here’s a snapshot of my messy workspace in the middle of some work.

desk

#Hardware

  • Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 9
  • Custom PC with Ryzen 3600 cpu
  • MacBook Air M1
  • iPad Air
  • Logitech MX Ergo trackball mouse
  • Apple Magic Trackpad
  • Corne-ish Zen keyboard
  • Ferris Sweep keyboard

#Note on keyboards

I’m experimenting with keyboards and layouts a lot lately. I’ve had a bunch of various keyboards over the last couple years, but prefer the low-profile Choc switches by Kailh (the Purpz version).

My layout has been slimming down in size since I started experimenting. At the moment I’m using a 34 keys layout (and it actually works well). Current configuration lives here.

#Software

I use macOS for work, while Linux is my preferred OS for personal computering needs. Even though I’ve been a macOS user for 15+ years, I like Linux more these days.

Linux setup is barebones: I don’t use a full-fledged desktop environment. A tiling window manager, a fast terminal and a browser – that’s all I need.

I do all text editing and coding in Kakoune, which is a terminal-based text editor and my favorite piece of software.

Some terminal windows running in Sway on my laptop

Here’s a list of essential pieces:

#Terminal

  • Fish : shell
  • Kakoune : text editor
  • kks : a small Kakoune companion I wrote

#Linux

Looks like Firefox is the only “GUI program” that I use here. I spend most of my time in the terminal.

#macOS

Naturally, more GUI-centric.

  • Firefox : good web browser
  • WezTerm : good terminal
  • Figma/FigJam : UI design tool
  • yabai : tiling window manager (I mostly use stacks)
  • Itsycal : tiny menubar calendar with Vim keybindings and Zoom join buttons
  • Maccy : lightweight clipboard manager
  • Syncthing : macOS has a simple menu bar app
  • Velja : a nice utility to control where links open
  • Shottr : small and fast screenshot tool
  • Spaceman : shows macOS spaces in the menu bar (good yabai companion)
  • AltTab : Windows-style window switcher
  • MonitorControl : makes controlling external displays more reliable
  • Claquette : good screen recorder

Current desktop configuration lives in a GitHub repo.