2023 started with a change in sector, I am now a tech lead for Beyonic a product of MFS Africa, with a change of tech stack to Python, Angular, Microservices. Outside work I dabble in PHP development with Laravel and I am in love with TailwindCSS. I am looking to get further into data analytics with R/PowerBI in 2023
Note – This was inspired by Wes Bos, who I am huge fan of! This list will be a living document that I will update whenever anything changes!
The previous editions are:
- 2022 – What I Use – My Tools of Trade – 2022 Edition
- 2020 – What I Use – My Tools of Trade – 2020 Edition
- 2019 – What I Use – My Tools of Trade – 2019 Edition
2023 Workspace Setup
My current hardware is focused on reducing clutter by reducing the number of accessories that I use, while improving my productivity and working in a more healthy manner.
Hardware
My primary machine is a 13″ 2022 M2 based Macbook Pro with 16GB RAM and 1TB HDD covered with a brown colored case for scratch protection. I have to say that I am in love with this tiny machine, getting used to a small screen after years with a 15″ however the all day battery and no fans is a big plus
With only 2 USB-C ports, thankfully I had purchased a Caldigit TS4 hub, which enables me to have a single Thunderbolt 4 cable from my laptop into the hub, with all of 18 ports for all my needs.
I switched to a Logitech MX Vertical mouse, for improving my erogonomics, and I totally love it replacing the MX Master 3 that I had before with the same 70 day charge. I have kept the Gimars Large Smooth Superfine Fibre Memory Foam Ergonomic Mouse Pad Wrist Rest Support . I am using RGB backlit Keychron K3 with Gaeton brown switches (which are very quiet)
My default screen is a Lenovo G34w-10 34-Inch WQHD Curved Gaming Monitor an ultra-wide which is now my primary monitori, gives me the equivalent of 2 full screens side-by-side with a VIVO 32 inch Desk Converter, Height Adjustable Riser, Sit to Stand Dual Monitor and Laptop Workstation with Wide Keyboard Tray which provides me with a standing desk option, helps break the monotony of sitting all day
I maintain my laptop in clam-shell use using JARLINK Vertical Laptop Stand to help save space on my desk. My day-to-day audio accessory is a Skull Candy wired heaphones, as my Samsung Galaxy Buds+ failed to live up to the promise, so I am still experimenting in this area
One of the most important tools anyone who sits for long is the chair they use, as they spend majority of their time in it. I cannot find the make and model of the one that I use photos below, however pairing with Lifelong Wheels was the best decision I ever made
Power supply is erratic and is disruptive, my current hack is to use an inverter and a 200mAH dry powder battery which can support my Internet router, TV for about 8 hours of use, as well as about 5 charges from from 10% to full for my laptop which is about 3-4 days of working. The long term plan is to have a copy of this backup for my workstation
Software
- As a software developer my primary tool is an IDE, the Jetbrains suite of IDES
- Pycharm is now my primary IDE
- Webstorm for front end development
- Data Grip for database management (MySQL and PostgreSQL)
- Fleet for lightweight editing
- Looking to Aqua for QA related tasks
- iTerm2 as my Terminal despite MacOS default shell changes, I have maintained bash as my default shell
- HomeBrew for package management, my primary installtion tool for both command line and gui tools
- Parallels for running Windows virtual machines when needed
- Firefox for all browsing needs and Firefox Developer Edition for web development – I dumped Google Chrome, only use it when I meet a service that does not work on Firefox
- Cloud storage – OneDrive for office work, Dropbox for personal use with Google Drive for backup (currently subscribing for 200GB plan)
- Communication and collaboration tools are Office 365, Microsoft Teams and Slack – its amazing the simplicity of fewer tools
Utilities
I have added this section for the tools that simplify a lot of my day-to-day activities, they are tiny tools in the Unix style with a big impact so I figured I should highlight them separately
- Alfred for opening apps (not yet grown to the worflow stage) so using the free version
- Caffeine for keeping the laptop awake when I need to especially during long processes
- Magnet for sizing different screens when in use
- RDM for changing resolutions as I take screenshots for documentation
- Typora for Markdown editing
- Clippy for managing my clipboard
Do let me know if you found this useful and please share how you are setup