Toolbox
Machines
- MacBook (primary machine): 13″ white plastic MacBook with a Core2 Duo (2.4GHz, 2MB L2), 2GB RAM, 160GB disk. Runs Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. I bought this because I love Apple computers (though I detest the iPhone and iPod). Also, programming for the Mac is fun.
- Dell Vostro 1520: 15″ with a completely black body. Core2 Duo (2.4GHz, 2MB L2), 4GB RAM, 320GB disk, nVidia 9300M. Runs Haiku and
Lunix Linux. Unlike Dell’s consumer machines, the Vostro is a no-frills work computer. It’s built to stand the test of time, which is why I chose it over Dell’s consumer offerings.
- Custom Built PC: this one is pretty modest. Core2 Duo (2.0GHz, 1MB L2), 1GB RAM, 250GB disk, nVidia 8600GT. My family uses this machine for some light work and (occasionally) gaming, so it has to run Windows. It also has a relatively untouched
Lunix Linux distro installed on a partition.
Tools
- Mozilla Firefox: works on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Haiku. What else could you ask for? I mean, I love WebKit as much as the next guy, but I just can’t do without my extensions.
- Vim/MacVim: small, fast, portable, works fine for everything I want to do. Moreover, Emacs gives me RSI. Modal editors FTW!
- XCode: I think XCode is a great IDE. It also works very well with external tools, which means I can use MacVim for editing my code.
- Git: fast, easy version control for all kinds of documents.
- Python: yes, I count Python as a tool. It has saved my neck more than once. Don’t leave home without it.
- GMail: what can I say? I just prefer using webmail over desktop clients.
- Songbird: Since iTunes is utter shit, and there are no native media players for Mac OS X, I have to be content with Songbird. It’s also faster and more responsive than iTunes (not that being faster than iTunes is an achievement ; Windows Vista on a 486 is likely to be faster than iTunes).
Operating Systems
- Mac OS X: beautiful outside, UNIX inside, OS X is the perfect combination of power and usability. I use this for everything – code, web, movies, games, cold-zone organic agriculture. I love this OS because it does everything Linux does, with 200% less hair fall.
- Haiku: small, fast and lightweight. Haiku is the OS I’ve been looking for. It has a feature set that is unrivaled in the desktop OS world: file system queries, metadata everywhere, pervasive multithreading, advanced window management and workspacing. I’ve contributed code to the Haiku project, and I plan to contribute more in the future.
- Linux: I have a love-hate relationship with Linux. I run it because (1) it’s the mainstream UNIX all the cool kids are using and (2) there is no OS as customizable as GNU/Linux, period.
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