Setup
This article is heavily inspired by The Setup, a series of interviews with influential people on the web about what hardware and software they have and how they use them to get their work done. Acknowledging that I’m just a nobody, I would like to share what I have and how I use them.
Hardware
My first computer was a Mac. A lot ask me why I picked a Mac over the other. If I remember correctly, I did not care at all what other people have. Instead, I was hooked on and fascinated with what I saw at a store, iMac G3/400 DV SE. That was in 2000. Since then I have been using Mac exclusively. I try to be as simple as possible and own and use as few things as possible. My current main and only computer is a 13-inch MacBook, I bought it at online Apple Store with Built To Order. I chose Solid State Drive (SSD) over Hard Disk Drive, and a US-keyboard layout over Japanese one. I’m impressed and content with SSD performance. Making clone backups with SuperDuper! has never been faster. For instance, Smart Update with SuperDuper! of the entire disk that includes my FileVault encrypted home folder takes less than 20 minutes. In addition, booting the system takes less than 30 seconds. As a result, my Mac launches faster than my iPhone though I rarely turn off my iPhone. I hook up the MacBook to a Dell’s 24-inch display at home. Being connected, the MacBook lid is kept closed. I use them with Apple Wireless Keyboard and Logitech VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks. Not exactly hardware, but I always buy AppleCare Protection Plan. AppleCare for notebooks is global, and the premium support from Apple runs 3 years. I have three LaCie external hard drives for data storage and backup. That is it. I don’t own any other computers.
I have an iPhone 3G, but I’m not a heavy user.
Software
I write code, blog posts, email and love letters in TextMate. TextMate is an amazing text editor and a platform for many different solutions with a vibrant and supportive community. When I ssh into other boxes, I use vim. But I found that ExpanDrive can mount remote drives on Finder, thus allowing me to use TextMate to edit remote files. I keep my code and writing on GitHub, and I use GitX for visualization and committing. In Terminal I use zsh. I’m not entirely convinced, but many suggest that I use GNU Screen, so I’m playing with it now. I maintain Windows, CentOS and Ubuntu on VMWare Fusion, thus being always a few clicks away from the three OSes. The performance of the OSes are outstanding thanks to the speed of SSD.
I back up with SuperDuper! almost daily and weekly. SuperDuper! is the only app I call “a must-have for every Mac owner”. I also use Dropbox for backing up some casual stuff. Yes. I do encrypt files before the backup. I use OS X’s Disk Utility or BetterZip for compression and encryption.
I use Yojimbo for item collection. NetNewsWire has been my best friend over the years. LaunchBar replaced the position of Quicksilver a while ago, and I never regret it. TextExpander has saved many hours of typing and my everyday typos. What I do in my life is neatly organized in The Hit List. iStat Menus monitors health of my Mac 24/7. 1Password generates, organizes and maintains most, though not all, passwords.
Firefox is my browser of choice. I use it with Vimparator, enabling vim-like keyboard navigation on the web.
The only third-party essential app for my iPhone is WriteRoom. I sync the notes in WriteRoom with SimpleText.ws.
Dream Setup
The annoyances I face are frequent needs of changing batteries of the wireless keyboard and mouse.　The keyboard needs three AA batteries while the mouse requires two AAA batteries. Although both keyboard and mouse show a low battery alert, I don’t want to worry about the stock of fresh batteries at home. I will invest on rechargeable batteries like eneloop.
With the adoption of FireWire 800 for Apple notebook lineup, I would like to switch my old FireWire 400 harddrive to a FireWire 800 compatible drive. Currently I’m using a 6-pin to 9-pin converter, which is hideously ugly.
With respect to software, I am, with many others, waiting with bated breath for TextMate 2.0. But I can keep enjoying learning more about TextMate rather than spending time on complaining for unknown release schedule.
I use Mail along with SpamSieve. I’m dissatisfied with current options for email for many reasons. But I’m thrilled with the recent initiative of the Letters project, which addresses issues I concur with.
On the road I wish I could sync my The Hit List data with my iPhone. The Hit List for iPhone is in the pipe, and I am certain that the release of the app will impact my workflow drastically.
I cannot stop thinking about my dream setup, but admittedly I doubt that I’m using everything I have most effectively. Learning more about scripting, especially AppleScript, is more meaningful to improve my productivity than burying myself in dreaming.
