Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.
I like to nerd out about anything that solves pain points. I mean, it's why I'm a software engineer, right? I'm always looking for ways to improve my workflow and productivity. Here are some of the tools I use to do that.
Workstation
SFF-DEV
Workstation specifically built for dev. Prefer compact builds and used to run full-size gaming PCs. Best thing about building is selecting the best fits for workloads! Paired w/ a 27″ QHD IPS productivity monitor from Dell, and does a bit of VR sometimes (CV1, awaiting Quest 3). Settings are non-OC and optimized for stability, because crashes are the worst and computers are F A S T these days even w/o OC. Specs: Win11 & WSL2+fish shell, RTX 4060, i5 14600KF, 2x16GB DDR5@7200mhz CL34, 2TB 990 Pro, in a NR200 cooled by Phantom Spirit 120SE. Yeah, hit diminishing returns ages ago, so I'm not upgrading anytime soon unless AI compute workloads become mainstream. Priorities w/ this build were: Best-in-class perf for dev through RAM, SSD, and single-threaded CPU.
Nuphy Halo75
Sleek, minimalist 75% layout keyboard. Quickly became a staple at my workstation, blending style and efficiency seamlessly. Its top-notch build quality right out of the box offers a premium, sturdy feel easily ranking it as one of the top, if not the top, prebuilt mechanical keyboards available to date, even surpassing most customs. The standout feature is its Baby Kangaroo switches—comes prelubed—providing a symphony of tactile, quick, and satisfying feedback with each keystroke, snappily enhanced by a unique dual spring design. They're THE tactile switch—countless convert hit counts on linear gang. A muted 'thock' sound profile adds to the overall delightful typing experience, making it a favorite among keyboard enthusiasts. Feel aside, results matter and I type accurately, faster compared to traditional MX blues/reds.
Swiftpoint Z
That's a futuristic mouse. Something about it makes you feel great. Admittedly, the best use I've gotten out of it is quick macros for renaming files. But it's a comfortable mouse with all the bells and features I want without an intimidating or bulky design. Don't be tempted to buy it, because it's out of stock everywhere. Awaiting 2nd gen preorder.
Herman Miller Cosm
New, sits well, and looks great. Not meant for extended hours but perfect for me because I like to get up and ponder from time to time. As with all the Herman Miller line of products, ergonomic and built like a tank.
Development tools
Visual Studio Code
The defacto editor for web development. I use it for everything from writing this site to my day-to-day work. Performant and magical, just the things I love, with lots of keyboard shortcuts to improve flow. And great integration with WSL. I use the Material Icon Theme extension and the default Dark+ theme. Oh, and GitHub Copilot is pretty cool. Hah, I'm joking, that's the understatement of the year. Please spare me AI overlords. Look, I'm using it write now!
Windows Terminal
I’m honestly not even sure what features I get with this that aren’t just part of the Command Prompt but it’s what I use when I'm not in the VSCode terminal. Also it looks great. I always appreciate a good, modern UI.
Replay.io
Ever heard of time-travel debugging? It's a thing. I use it all the time. It's a Chrome-based browser that records your actions and lets you replay them. It's great for debugging and testing. I use it for everything from testing my site to going through my work's web app flow. It's a must-have for me, and it's free. But being real, it's the share features that I use the most. I can share a recording with a teammate and they can see what I'm seeing. It's a great way to communicate and collaborate. I've used it for everything from explaining a bug to a teammate to showing a teammate how to use a feature, and even to demonstrate PoCs. It's a great tool enabling a futuristic workflow. I'm not affiliated with them, I just love it.
Design
Figma
Who doesn't love Figma? It's a great tool for designing and prototyping. I use it for all my UI work. I'm not a designer, but I like to make things look nice. The collaboration features are the real hook. I still want to try FigJam for virtual whiteboards. After the acquisition, I just hope Adobe keeps them doing their thing.
Productivity
PowerToys
The newest kid on the block. Application launcher, window manager, and more. I use it for the window manager and application launcher, which has VSCode and Windows Terminal integrated into it. I know I'm underusing the entire thing, but I'm still getting used to the full suite of features, and it's already doing a great job.
Mem
Using a notes system with search as its main priority instead of trying to keep things organized by topics has been super powerful for me. And with Mem, it’s still easy for me to keep all of that stuff discoverable by topic even though all of my writing happens sporadically. It does that by using AI to automatically connect related notes together. It's collaborative, and it's like bringing the power of Google to my notes.
SavvyCal
Great tool for scheduling meetings while protecting my calendar and making sure I still have lots of time for deep work during the week. It's Calendly, but better.
... A host of other project management tools
I only get to use what my company uses, but I've used a lot of them. I've used Trello, Notion, ClickUp, Linear... To name a few. I especially like when any of them have a Kanban or documentation capabilties. Though for personal use I prefer Mem for notes and TickTick for task management.