In the spirit of Uses This.
Hardware
My main computer is a *checks unit* Beelink SER 5700 mini PC. These little machines are serviceable for my modest needs, packing a Ryzen chip in a laptop motherboard. And more importantly, it’s small and quiet! (sitting on my desktop, this is crucial) Since I do no computer gaming these days, it is plenty.
Peripherals are an uninteresting corporate headset and a no-name ergonomic vertical mouse. So far pricy headsets have been a bigger miss for me. Given my massive potato-head, they never sit comfortably. I’m happy and proud with my keyboard, a first gen Ultimate Hacking Keyboard.
In our network there is also an off-the-shelf 8TB NAS that’s been running for close to a decade. It does the job, keeping documents & photos & media, but I can’t really recommend the model/brand in good faith.
My phone is a Pixel 6a running GrapheneOS. Very happy with the configuration. Only wish it had a headphone jack and a second SIM slot.
I alternate reading physical books with my e-reader, a Kobo Aura H20 from around 2015. Would like to upgrade to a newer model without blue light backlight, but it is hard to justify the upgrade. Plus, there is the nostalgia factor; I’ve been through a lot with this unit.
Once every blue moon I fire up my Nintendo Switch OLED for some gaming (mostly Nintendo titles).
Garmin Watch Instinct Solar: unless you are a heavy runner or biker, this thing is not for you. I figured out way too late that I don’t need or benefit from having a smartwatch, unfortunately.
Software
There is a healthy mix of Windows and Linux boxes on my day-to-day computing needs (these days Pop OS privately, Windows11 at work).
A font to recommend for general use is Cascadia Code; it is crisp and easy to read for me. I really like it, and install it on all my main systems.
My browser of choice is Firefox, with Container Tabs, uBlock Origin and Unhook extensions. Seriously, personal filter rules just rock, and any other internet experience is a living nightmare… Brave comes up as an secondary browser on occasion (for testing, or when things don’t work properly on Firefox.)
I use VS Code or VSCodium with vim key bindings as my editor of choice. Notepad++ also comes up for quick and dirty notes (it just works). The programming languages I most reach to for personal projects are C and Python, and I’m starting to dabble into Rust in my (limited) free time. bash, git, Jupyter and docker are on the heavy rotation.
My email client of choice is good ol’ Thunderbird. Although since I use but the most basic features, almost any client would work for my case. KeyPassXC as a password manager. And Syncthing for backing up my phone’s contents to my PC is great.
For media and entertainment I use VLC and Plex for video. Calibre (+ DeDRM tools) to keep the reading habit live and active. This helps me put ebooks purchased at Amazon into my Kobo reader. And Spotify (see below) or Youtube for audio and music.
My philosophy when it comes to the smartphone, is to have it as dumbed down as possible (no social media like Reddit, Twitter/X, etc.), and I love me GrapheneOS’s features to achieve that. Browsing happens on Brave since it is superior to Firefox in terms of security in mobile, unfortunately. Signal: for communication with parties that have access to my phone number. On occasion I donate to them, I believe they are doing good work, and it is the lesser evil.
Other things on my phone’s rotation and worth mentioning are NewPipe (a superior client to Youtube, requires no login, and you can directly download a video or audio!), Organic Maps (FOSS app for driving and finding places), KeePassDX (client for managing my passwords on the go), Catima (to keep customer loyalty cards at hand when shopping) and Lotus (for playing Magic the Gathering in person.)
Things I want to get rid off but miserably failed:
- WhatsApp: have to reluctantly keep it very active, its network effect is too big at this point. It is a pity, because it has gotten worse over the years in terms of privacy and features.
- Spotify: they have me kidnapped in their walled garden. Their discovery has been rather atrocious for me in the last few years. But having a family plan means we keep using it heavily.
Misc
For my workouts, mainly based on lifting weights, I can vouch for two unconventional items. Wrist straps and wide grip plastic aids. These are good tools for helping vary the grip control, strengthen the forearm, and more.