Uses

My desk setup

My desk setup

This page has everything I use, both hardware and software-wise, to be a productive internet person (job titles are so passé). If you decide to make your own uses page on your site, consider adding it to uses.tech created by Wes Bos.

My primary work machine is a Mac so most tools and software listed here are macOS specific. I also want to make note of my “dotfiles” macOS bootstrapping scripts available here https://github.com/brandonb927/dotfiles.

Code Editor #

Desktop Apps #

Development #

  • Docker - development tool for running code inside a “virtual machine”
  • Insomnia - a beautiful REST client
  • iTerm2 - a terminal that is 100x better than the default Terminal.app
  • Keybase - securing files and messages with PGP, encrypted chat, among other features.
  • Ngrok - when you need to expose a port to the internet from your local network, ngrok should be your tool of choice

Security #

Productivity #

  • Aerial Screensaver — Beautiful FullHD and 4K video screensavers
  • Alfred — because Spotlight search is ok, but not great
  • Flux - reduces the strain of your screen on your eyes at night, backed by science!
  • Plex Media Player - I have a Plex server at home and I use plex on all my TVs and devices
  • Spotify - I have a HUGE Spotify library and I need to rock out sometimes
  • Steam - I have a rather large Steam library and sometimes I like to play my games
  • Sync - Dropbox alternative with end-to-end encryption
  • Bartender - hides apps in your menubar and allows for a hotkey to show them
  • iStat Menus - a menubar app to show stats about your system
  • Kap - a beautiful minimalist screen recorder
  • Rectangle - My window manager of choice in macOS (previously used Spectacle)
  • Stay - I’ve never been happy with macOS window management when plugging a display into my computer, this allows you to store window locations on a per-display configuration basis

macOS Maintenance #

  • AppCleaner - sometimes you just gotta delete every trace of an app that is installed
  • DaisyDisk - when you want to visualize your disk space, this is the app you want to use
Desk setup overhead ❤️

Desk setup overhead ❤️

Office/Desk Setup #

Keychron K2 keyboard, RØDE NT-USB-Mini microphone, Logitech MX Master 2S mouse

Keychron K2 keyboard, RØDE NT-USB-Mini microphone, Logitech MX Master 2S mouse

I have an APC 11-outlet 2880 joules surge protector mounted on the underside of the desk which is then attached to an APC 600VA UPS battery backup and surge protector on the floor.

In my 12U network rack I have (in order from top to bottom):

Throughout my office and the house I have a few IoT devices: some TP-Link HS105 wifi outlets, a few Sonoff DIY smart switches, and two Echo speakers which are basically used for two things: turning the smart switches on and off, and setting cooking timers.

Photography #

The Milky Way taken July 18th 2020

The Milky Way taken July 18th 2020

The comet NEOWISE taken July 17th 2020

The comet NEOWISE taken July 17th 2020

I also have some of my shots from Flickr over on my photos page if you’re curious!

Amateur Radio #

In my truck I currently run a Kenwood TM-V71A 50W mobile transceiver connected to a Comet CA-2X4SR dual band 40” antenna. At home I have a few Baofeng handheld transceivers with 14” Nagoya whip antennas.