Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend

Things I use to build software, stay productive, or buy to fool myself into thinking I'm being productive when I'm really just procrastinating. Here's a big list of all of my favorite stuff.

Workstation

  • 13” MacBook Pro, M1, 16GB RAM (2020)

    I was using an Intel-based 13 MacBook Pro prior to this and the difference is night and day. I've never heard the fans turn on a single time, even under the incredibly heavy loads I put it through with our various launch simulations.

  • Apple Magic Trackpad

    Something about all the gestures makes me feel like a wizard with special powers. I really like feeling like a wizard with special powers.

  • Herman Miller Aeron Chair

    If I'm going to slouch in the worst ergonomic position imaginable all day, I might as well do it in an expensive chair.

Development tools

  • Visual Studio Code

    I don't care if it's missing all of the fancy IDE features everyone else relies on, VS Code Text is still the best text editor ever made.

  • iTerm

    I'm honestly not even sure what features I get with this that aren't just part of the macOS Terminal but it's what I use.

  • Sequel Ace

    Great software for working with databases. I've tried a bunch of a different ones and this is the one I keep coming back to.

  • Insomnia

    it's a great tool for testing APIs. I use it for testing our own APIs and for testing third-party APIs we integrate with.

Productivity

  • Alfred

    It's not the newest kid on the block but it's still the fastest. The Sublime Text of the application launcher world.

  • Arc

    a browser that's built for work. It's like a stripped down version of Chrome that's optimized for getting things done.