Uses

A non-exhaustive list of things I use day-to-day I think is worth sharing. Other people have posted similar pages.

Software

Operating system

  • macOS
  • Linux1
    • Arch Linux for high-contact devices (desktop & laptop VMs)
    • Debian for servers (where things have to be stable)
  • Windows

macOS is my primary daily-driver. It’s a nice middle ground between the UNIX machinery I’ve gotten used to on Linux, and the wide software support Windows has.

I’ve also been using Linux on-and-off since roughly 2011. I’ve become increasingly familiar with the way it works over the years and decided to take the full plunge as the daily driver on my desktop in August 2025. Haven’t had any issues so far.

Windows is well… Windows. It’s been getting worse to use from 2022 onwards, so it only gets booted up a couple times per month at most.

Linux desktop environment

When I need to use my desktop (Linux), my go-to desktop environment is KDE. It retains the desktop metaphor and way of working I had become accustomed to ever since I started using computers, and everything tends to be fairly well integrated.

Also, honourable mentions to GNOME, XFCE, Niri and i3, where I’ve also spent a good amount of time.

Development

Editors & IDEs

  • Visual Studio Code — the default
    • (also toying around with AI-integrated forks, like Cursor and Kiro)

  • vim — the default (terminal)
    Learnt it for the lols when I was ricing, and has now ended up as the default while I’m operating the command-line. Haven’t gotten to the point where I use vim bindings everywhere yet.

  • IntelliJ IDEA and friends — Java, Rails and C# projects
  • Visual Studio — Windows C# projects
  • GNOME Builder — Desktop Linux projects
  • Xcode — macOS/iOS projects

SDK managers

Game development

Design

Graphics

CAD

Hardware

Computers


Mercur (desktop)
Pământ (laptop)
Model (custom built) MacBook Pro
OS Arch Linux macOS
Windows 11
CPU AMD Ryzen 7 5700X Apple M4 Pro
RAM 64 GiB 24 GiB
GPU AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (integrated)

I initially built the desktop in 2019 to have a solid workstation to use at home and access while I’m at uni, upgrading it over time. The guiding principle for part choices initially was “it should run Linux well”, and has been triple-booting Windows 10, macOS2 and Arch Linux for most of its life.

Laptop-wise, I’ve sprung for a last-gen MacBook Pro. They’re quite honestly the best laptops on the market3, as my needs for a laptop have outgrown my previous set up.

Previously, I used a Lenovo ThinkPad. If you don’t need a lot of performance, and have given yourself a tight budget, it’s worth squeezing the life out of an old business laptop, with a screwdriver, some patience and a few spare parts on hand.

I’ve stopped using Windows for the most part. There is still the occasional need to boot it up for games that require spyware4, or to work on CAD models my laptop won’t run5.

Onto peripherals:

  • Keyboard: Logitech G512 Carbon Lightsync — I found to prefer clickier mechanical keyboards, and tend to use 102 of the 104 keys PC keyboards have had since 1995.
  • Mouse: Logitech MX Vertical — Most mice I’ve had in the past are too small for my hands, this one was the first comfortable one I’ve had.
  • Camera: a crappy 1080p one I got my hands on in early 2020.
  • Microphone: Logitech Blue Yeti USB — Been told too many times I sounded as if I’m speaking into a can.
  • Displays: 2× DELL P2214H (1920×1080 @ 60Hz) — 1080p is all you need6. Fairly cheap7, too.

Homelab


Marte
Ceres
Model (custom built) HP Proliant DL20 G9
OS Debian (todo)
CPU AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Intel Xeon E3-1240 v5
RAM 32 GiB (todo)
GPU AMD Radeon RX 580

I’m working on building out my homelab to store personal data and library8, and plan to also add capabilities for running development tools remotely, play around with cloud tooling, and just toying around with networking.

Marte was built with components that had been rotated out of my desktop when they were upgraded, with the GPU used for video transcoding and AI inference tasks.

Ceres (currently not in use) is a proper server with its only shortcoming being having 2.5” (laptop-sized) drive bays instead of the more common 3.5”. I plan for it to be a dedicated NAS once I get an array of SSDs to use with it, leaving Marte to be an application server.

Services

Here are some services I use and get a lot of value from:

  • Proton9 — email, cloud storage, VPN proxies
  • Bitwarden — (mostly) open source and good value for $10/year
  • Vultr9 — web hosting

  1. some people may want it to be called GNU/Linux or GNU+Linux, but I’m not into the libre purism schtick. ↩

  2. man… the Hackintosh days… ↩

  3. as of May 2026, in my opinion ↩

  4. also known as “kernel anti-cheat” ↩

  5. my fault, probably. I’m an amateur when it comes to 3D modelling. ↩

  6. not really, a HiDPI display (4K/2160p) would be nicer. These are ex-lease. ↩

  7. roughly NZ$100 each. ↩

  8. collection of software, games, books, and media ↩

  9. this is a referral link. ↩ ↩2