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

Nobody asked but here are 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

  • 16” MacBook Pro, M2 Max, 16GB RAM (2023)

    Macbooks have great hardware and software that is hard to beat for laptops. I am still using macOS 15 as macOS 26 still has a ton of issues and I don't like liquid glass either.

  • Dell 27" QHD Monitor

    Really nothing special. I find that 1440p is the minimum resolution for a good display experience. At 27" 1440p is sharp enough but a 4k monitor might be in my future at some point.

  • Keychron Q1 Keyboard

    I’m a big fan of custom keyboards, and I use them whenever I can. The Q1 isn’t the fanciest custom keyboard out there but I’ve done a few things with it to make it sound and feel nicer. I used the force break and tape mod’s to eliminate some of the ping that early Q1 models had.

  • Razer Orochi V2 Mouse

    I love the Razer Orochi. It’s the mouse I use the most because it is lightweight, ergonomic, and portable. It has a fantastic pulling rate and feels great to use with the 2.4GHz dongle. I also think the design is fantastic.

Development tools

  • Zed

    Zed is a minimalistic text editor that I use for my development needs. It's lightweight, fast, and has a clean interface. I find it easy to navigate and use, and it's perfect for my minimalistic setup.

  • Ghostty

    Ghostty is lightweight and fast. It is much better than the built-in terminal and has runs smoothly in rendering benchmarks. It's also highly customizable and has built in features that I enjoy using.

  • Chrome

    Google Chrome is still the most popular web browser so it’s what I use to test my web apps most of the time.

  • WSL 2

    I use WSL 2 when I am stuck with Windows primarily because Linux is much more powerful for development than Windows.

Design

  • V0

    I used to use Figma as just a design tool and a virtual whiteboard for basically everything. Collaboration features was the real hook. However, in recent months with Figma changing their pricing model, and the rise of AI tools, I no longer use Figma for hardly anything.

Software

  • Mac Mouse Fix

    It’s no small secret that macOS is terrible with mice. I’m not sure if Apple is trying to sell more Magic Trackpads or something but the default mouse experience is pretty terrible. Luckily Mac Mouse Fix exists and fixes pretty much any issue I have with how my mouse behaves.

Productivity

  • Raycast App

    Raycast is a lot more than just better spotlight app. I enjoy using it for it’s amazing extensions and shortcuts. I haven’t used it for any AI tools yet but I enjoy the productivity aspect of it.

  • Notion Calendar

    I like notion calendar because it syncs with my Google Calendar and it can run in the background to make sure I don’t miss any events.

  • Cal.com

    Amazing open source tool for scheduling meetings while protecting my calendar and making sure I still have lots of time for deep work during the week.

  • Affinity

    Remember when Adobe Photoshop was a one time purchase? Now it’s crazy expensive. I don’t need photo editing tools that often anymore but when I do I reach for Affinity. I have really enjoyed using it so far and it's free with some paid feature add ons.