Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.

I get asked a lot about the things I use to build software, stay productive, or buy to fool myself into thinking I’m being productive when I’m really just procrastinating. Here’s a big list of all of my favorite stuff.

Workstation

  • 16” MacBook Pro, M2 Max, 32GB RAM (2023)

    I was using an Intel-based 16” MacBook Pro prior to this and the difference is night and day. I’ve never heard the fans turn on a single time, even under the incredibly heavy loads I put it through.

  • Apple Studio Display (x2)

    I’ve been using these for years after they discontinued the Thunderbolt displays. I much prefer a dual display setup to the ultrawide monitors available today.

  • Apple Magic Trackpad

    Something about all the gestures makes me feel like a wizard with special powers. I really like feeling like a wizard with special powers.

Development tools

  • (Neo)Vim

    I don’t care if it’s missing all of the fancy IDE features everyone else relies on, Neovim is still the best text editor ever made.

  • Tmux

    I’ve tried a bunch of different terminal multiplexers over the years including the built in functions of Kitty terminal. There is something about the similarites between it and (Neo)Vim including the custom keybindings I use that make it perfect for me.

  • Postico

    Great software for working with databases. Has saved me from building about a thousand admin interfaces for my various projects over the years. Also I have a thing for native mac apps.

Design

  • Affinity Designer

    I do a lot of work with vectors and svg. This program has come a long way and finally became my replacement for Illustrator recently.

Productivity

  • Things

    Everything I need to manage my professional and personal projects. The minimal design makes it fast and easy to use but it has all the features I need to make it a powerful productivity tool.

  • Magnet

    Effortlessly resize windows on my mac. Makes it easy to compare lists and use screen space effectively and efficiently.

  • Cleanshot X

    A powerhouse replacement for the built in utility that feels even more Apple-like than the original.

This Blog

  • NextJS

    Because my blog obviously needs the performance.

  • tailwindcss

    I'm a fan of utilities