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

I get asked a lot about the 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

  • Mac Mini M2 (16GB RAM)

    I was using an Intel-based 16” 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 Pro Display XDR (Standard Glass)

    The only display on the market if you want something HiDPI and bigger than 27”. When you’re working at planetary scale, every pixel you can get counts.

  • AZIO FOQO Pro

    I love the feel and the clicklynees. I buy these any time I see them go up for sale.

  • Glorious Model D Gaming Mouse

    Something about the light weight of the mouse keeps me loyal to the model D. Great if you also play computer games.

  • Autonomous Ergo Chair

    If I’m going to slouch in the worst ergonomic position imaginable all day, I might as well do it in a nice chair.

Development tools

  • VS Code

    I love the environement and all the community extensions. Im a big fan of its dark theme.

  • iTerm2

    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.

  • NoSQL Workbench

    Great software for working with dynamodb databases. Has saved me from rebuilding about a schemas for my various projects over the years.

Design

  • Figma

    We started using Figma as just a design tool but now it’s become our virtual whiteboard for the entire company. Never would have expected the collaboration features to be the real hook.

Productivity

  • Notion

    Using a daily notes system instead of trying to keep things organized by topics has been super powerful for me. And with Notion, it’s still easy for me to keep all of that stuff discoverable by topic even though all of my writing happens in the daily note.

  • Focus

    Simple tool for blocking distracting websites when I need to just do the work and get some momentum going.