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7.0 KiB
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Here is a list of notable equipment and tools I use. The purpose of this list is to remind myself to be intentional about the things that I surround myself with and utilize on a daily basis.
Last reviewed: 2024-09-20
Hardware
Devices
- Computer: Custom-built desktop machine (Built in 2024)
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7900X3D 4.2GHz 8-Core
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB
- RAM: 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5-6000
- Phone: iPhone 11 (Purchased in 2019)
- E-reader: Kobo Clara (Purchased in 2023)
Workspace
- Desk: Custom-built sit-stand desk (Built in 2022)
- Tabletop: Custom walnut tabletop (54" length x 30" width x 1-1/2" thick with rounded corners) from Atelier East-End Mtl
- Legs: Apex Pro from Deskhaus
- Chair: Herman Miller Aeron (Purchased in 2023)
- Add-on: Headrest for Aeron Chair from Atlas Headrest
- If the Aeron did not exist, I would have purchased the Embody.
Peripherals
- Monitors: Using a stacked dual-screen setup
- 34" 21:9 IPS 180Hz (Purchased in 2022)
- 24" 16:9 IPS 60Hz (Purchased in 2020)
- Keyboard: Custom mechanical keyboard (Built in 2024)
- PCB: Wooting 60HE (Purchased in 2023)
- Case: Tofu60 Redux
- Switches: Geon Raw HE (50g, factory lubed)
- Keycaps: PBTfans X-Ray set designed by Mod Musings
- Mice:
- Logitech G PRO X Superlight 2 (Gifted in 2023)
- Logitech G604 (Purchased in 2020) — Used exclusively for playing FFXIV because that game has way too many short cooldowns to be mapping only on the keyboard.
- Logitech MX Master 2S (Purchased in 2021) — Used exclusively for work purposes.
- Microphone setup:
- Audio interface: Elgato Wave XLR (Purchased in 2022)
- Microphone: Audio Technica AT2035 (Purchased in 2018)
- Boom arm: RODE PSA1 (Purchased in 2017)
- Headphone setup:
- Headphone DAC/Amplifer: FiiO K5 Pro (Purchased in 2024)
- Headphones:
- Recently, I purchased a bunch of IEMs that were on sale at Linsoul and am currently using whatever I open first. Turns out I prefer using IEMs over headphones.
- Previously, I used the Audio-Technica ATH-M50X headphones (from 2014–2024) until it died.
- Speakers: Kanto YU2 (Purchased in 2023)
Software
General
- Operating system: Fedora KDE
- In 2024, I switched over from Windows 11 to using Linux on my personal computer. Surprisingly, the transition has been smooth sailing with some minor audio/video issues that were easy to fix.
- Alternatives I've tried: Arch Linux, Solus, Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Windows 11/10/8/XP/1998, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, etc.
- Browser: Mozilla Firefox
- Hardened for my daily usage.
- Sometimes I use Brave if I need to use a Chromium-based browser.
- Password Manager: Bitwarden
- RSS feed reader: CommaFeed
Communications
- Email: ProtonMail
- Alternatives I've tried: Fastmail, Gmail, Hotmail
- Chat: Discord
- I don't like how reliant gamers have become on Discord for communications.
- However, I also don't miss the days of having to install Ventrilo, Mumble, TeamSpeak, Skype, RaidCall, Curse Voice, etc. on your computer because different teams and friend groups used different voice programs.
Productivity
- Calendar: ProtonCalendar
- Notes: Capacities
- I've tried and used an unbelievable number of note-taking applications over the years.
- Capacities has been the only app that has made sense to me in terms of linking relevant notes together. It also checks the boxes for features that I am looking for in a note-taking application.
- Alternatives I've tried: Obsidian, Logseq, Standard Notes, BookStack, Joblin, Notion, Simple Note, TiddlyWiki, GitBook, Notational Velocity, Evernote, OneNote, etc.
- Kanban: Trello
- Budgeting: You Need A Budget
- I like budgeting using the envelope system.
Development
- Font: Hack Nerd Font
- Theme: Ayu Dark
- Tabs: 2 spaces
- Terminal emulator: Konsole
- It comes with the KDE desktop environment.
- I don't use the terminal enough to develop a personal preference.
- Editor: Visual Studio Code
- It works and does what I need it to do out-of-the-box.
- Alternatives I've tried: Neovim, Sublime Text, Atom, Brackets, Notepad++, Notepad, etc.
- Repository: Gitea
- Currently, I am using a self-hosted Gitea to store my project repositories.
- Also using GitHub to mirror my project repositories.
Paid Subscriptions and Services
Here are online subscriptions and services that I pay for:
| Subscriptions and Services | Annual USD | Monthly USD | Monthly CAD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitwarden | $10.00 | $0.83 | $1.13 |
| Hover (for domain names) | $54.97 | $4.58 | $6.23 |
| Proton (Mail Plus) | $47.88 | $3.99 | $5.43 |
| Discord (Nitro Basic) | $35.88 | $2.99 | $4.07 |
| PikaPods (for hosting web apps) | $84.00 | $7.00 | $9.42 |
| Ghost(Pro) (for managing this website!) | $108.00 | $9.00 | $12.24 |
| You Need A Budget | $109.00 | $9.08 | $12.35 |
| Video streaming (various) | $180.00 | $15.00 | $20.40 |
| Totals | $629.73 | $52.48 | $71.27 |
For PikaPods, I have a couple web apps deployed using their managed services:
- Gitea for my personal project repositories.
- CommaFeed for reading RSS feeds.
- Navidrome as my personal music streaming service.
- Umami for collecting and analyzing visitor metrics.
For video streaming, I rotate through a number of services and only subscribe for a month at a time to watch what I want. In some months, I don't have an active subscription running, so this number is a little inflated.
For 2025:
- I intend to stop using YNAB because its subscription cost has significantly increased over the years and no longer feels worth it to me. Currently, considering using Actual which would only slightly increase my PikaPod costs for an additional managed web app.
- Consider whether Ghost(Pro) is worth it.
Otherwise, I am quite happy with how much I am spending on my online subscriptions. It could be better, but I am satisfied that it is below $100 CAD per month.