Inspired by others who’ve written something similar, I thought I’d have some fun and write down the tools and setups that I’m use at the start of 2013 and then take a look in 2, 5, or 10 years to see how those setups change over time. I want to look back and say, “Oh ya!! Remember when I used to run that software? What a blast from the past!”
Computers
I’ve got a few computers spread around the important places I work.
Day job workstation: Custom Built
- Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2 GHz (6 core, hyperthreaded)
- 32 GB RAM
- 240 GB SSD
- 27″ Monitor, 24″ Monitor
- Microsoft Natural Keyboard
- Logitech Performance Mouse MX
Day job primary laptop: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch
- Intel Core i7 3667U 3.2 GHz
- 8 GB RAM
- 240 GB SSD
- 14″
Day job backup laptop: 2011 MacBook Pro
- I don’t know the specs and it’s too far away from me as I write this to look up.
Startup laptop: Asus Zenbook UX31E
Startup table: Microsoft Surface RT 32 GB
Phone: Nokia Lumia 900. I’m also testing a Nokia Lumia 920 for work.
Accessories: Wacom Intuos 4 Medium
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Real Life Tools
I carry around a few Moleskine notebooks for different purposes. One for sketching, one for writing, one for product ideas. I write down all this stuff using a Pen Type A which was actually the first project I backed on Kickstarter. My bag has a section stuffed with drawing tools (pencils, markers, templates, etc.) for product sketching and drawing for fun. I carry all this around in a Timbuk2 Laptop Messenger (before they put in the carry handle).
Writing Software
- Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 – This is what I use all day every day for my primary software development needs. I’m grateful that I have access to such a powerful and comprehensive tool without having to drop my own money.
- Visual Studio Add-Ins
- Visual Studio Web Essentials — I discovered this while at the Build conference in 2012 and have come to depend on it daily. One of my favorite features when prototyping a web page is the inclusion of Zen Coding. And I use the LESS editor constantly.
- ReSharper — The first time I saw this in use on stage during a presentation I knew I had to have it. I only know a little of the available features but I’m so dependent on the ones I do know, without them I feel stupid. I ran into some JetBrains folks once at a store in Seattle. The only thing I could think to say was, “I love ReSharper!” They sort of nodded and I slinked away.
- Productivity Power Tools — A lot of the features available in this add-in are already part of ReSharper, so I don’t use a lot of it. However, a couple I do use all the time are column guides and align assignments.
- TypeScript — Hopefully you’ve heard about TypeScript by now. I’ve started using TypeScript for my JavaScript development. Not exclusively, but I reach for it more often than not.
- NuGet Package Manager — This almost seems like a requirement these days. NuGet has significantly reduced the amount of time we spend dealing with external reference updates.
- Sublime Text 2 — I use this when I want to feel like the cool startup kids and use a simple but powerful text editor. I use it for PHP development and quick inspection of code files.
- SQL Server Management Studio — Since I’m also the database guy at my office, I spend a fair amount of time in this tool checking up on the database servers, querying data, and performing updates. Lately, I’ve started using Visual Studio 2012′s SQL Server Object Explorer for quick and dirty database work.
- Fiddler — I always reach for this tool when I have no idea what’s happening on the wire.
- JSFiddle — This is a fun site to use when trying to share code and ideas with others.
Design
Sometimes, you just need to do the design work yourself. When I do, these are the tools I reach for:
- Illustrator CS6 — I’m an average student of Adobe Illustrator. But I know my way around and can do some good damage.
- Photoshop CS6 — Again, I know enough to be scary. I’ve written some Photoshop automation scripts in my day, so I like to think I’m more than just a novice.
- Photoshop Lightroom 4 — My wife and I use this to manage and edit all our photos
- Blend — Blend is a tool provided with Visual Studio to design interfaces for Windows 8 and Windows Phone apps. At least, that’s what I use it for.
- Infragistics Indigo Studio — This is a free tool that allows you to easily create software interaction designs without the need to recreate screens over and over. Lots of built in templates and animations.
- Storyboard for Power Point — Part of Visual Studio Premium or Ultimate is the ability to create storyboards using Power Point. Essentially it’s a set of template shapes that you can combine with the built in animation features of Power Point to create (and easily send to people) screen interaction mock-ups.
- Kuler — There’s color theory, but I can never remember it. I use Kuler to help me pick out color palettes for use in my designs.
Source Control
- Team Foundation Service — This is the free Team Foundation Server product run by Microsoft. It’s free for up to 5 users. The full integration of bug tracking, source control, continuous integration, and project management makes this useful tool for my teams.
- GitHub – I use GitHub for posting all of the code samples I write for my blog. I’ve contributed to a few projects, but I don’t yet use any private GitHub repositories.
Productivity
Like so many, I have the GTD fundamentals solidly imprinted in my brain. I’ve never been dogmatic about those and for the most part am not a zealot. But I use them when I need them.
- Trello — I use Trello for personal task management and work task management that doesn’t involve my software team.
- Team Foundation Service — Again, since we use TFS, sprint planning and management, progress reporting, and bug/feature tracking take place inside TFS.
Browsers
- IE10 — This is the browser I spend the most time in lately. It’s HTML5 and CSS3 compliance are top notch. Since I use Windows 8 exclusively and try to stay in the Metro environment as much as possible, this is the browser of choice.
- Chrome — But, I prefer the developer tools in Chrome. When I’m developing software, I tend to use Chrome as my debugging platform. It used to be that if you debugged your site in Chrome, it would be wrong in IE. But since IE10 came around, it’s safe to use Chrome without fear that it won’t work in IE.
Web Sites
- Buffer – Buffer lets you write pithy status updates for your social networks when you come up with them, but have them show up when your readers are online. I like to share links on Twitter from Google Reader using an IFTTT recipe that connects to Buffer. Did you follow that?
- IFTTT– I’ve started to use If This Then That (IFTTT) to automate parts of my online life. For example, since I work in an office with no windows, I set up a recipe in IFTTT to send me a text message when its starts snowing. There’s lots of options, so check it out.
- Readability — I use Readability to send long form content to my Kindle. I like the format they deliver and they have good integration with a lot of software.
- Outlook 2013 — This is running in the background at all times. The complete integration of Mail, Calendaring, and Lync make this a no brainer.
- Windows 8 Mail App — I’m not super pleased with this app but I use it on my Surface as Outlook is not available on Windows RT (and even if it was, it’s not touch friendly).
- Windows Phone — Given the speed of this app and the excellent text prediction and correction, I often just pick up my phone to check and respond to email, even when there’s a computer right in front of me.
Blogging
- OneNote — I use OneNote to write drafts, snippets, and future plans of blog posts. I love that it’s an offline tool and that it syncs across my devices. So, I can write an idea while on my Surface sitting in bed at night and then fill it in later on my Zenbook at Starbucks. Writing offline is good for the soul and keeps you focused.
- Sublime Text 2 — I used to use Sublime Text 2 for writing because of its Markdown support. I could write in Markdown syntax and Sublime Text would compile that to HTML that I would drop in WordPress. I haven’t done this much lately as there’s no Metro version of Sublime Text.
- WordPress 3.5 — I’m writing this in the full screen writing mode in WordPress 3.5. I love the simplicity of it and how the UI disappears. This is especially the case when using IE10 Metro. No chrome is a beautiful thing.
Communication
- Skype — We use Skype to keep in touch with my family who don’t live in the area. We prop up the kids and let them stare into the camera while my dad tries to make them laugh.
- Lync — At work, this is an indispensable tool. My interns don’t work in the same building as I do, so when they have problems, they can’t just come over and show me. We use the screen sharing feature often to do joint debugging.
Backup
- SkyDrive — For the most part, my wife and I use SkyDrive for our file storage. At least, for the files that we need access to and care about. With the small size of the SSD on my Zenbook, I depend on SkyDrive to expand what’s available to me at any time. I’m a SkyDrive Insider so of course I’d have this on here.
- Amazon Glacier — I’m starting to use this to do cold storage of files that I don’t need quick access to. It’s $.01 per GB per month, so it’s very cheap. It’s my 3rd location in case the other two backup locations die.
Miscellaneous Software
- Sysinternals — I’m a big fan of the work the Sysinternals folks have done with their tools. I uses various Sysinternals tools to debug problems on people’s computers, see what’s going on on my computers, and dig into process internals.
- SnagIt — I love SnagIt for taking screen shots. It’s got a great toolset for marking up those screen shots and includes a solid organizer.
- Camtasia — I use Camtasia at work for making videos of various processes. Write ups are good, but sometimes it’s good to hear it directly in the developer’s voice.
- LastPass — I just started using this to track my passwords. In the past I avoided online password managers because, well, what if that service goes down or gets sold to someone else? For now, I’ve put that aside and decided to improve my password security. It’s free unless you want some of the fancier features (mobile access, for one).
Entertainment
- Xbox 360 — The Xbox 360 has become the place we go to entertain ourselves. We cancelled cable many months ago and as such have replaced it with various apps for the Xbox 360.
- Kinect for Xbox 360 — The primary use for the Kinect in my house is the voice command. When you’re sitting on the couch trying to feed an infant, the ability to just tell the Xbox what you want is nothing short of magical.
- Hulu Plus — Once you get used to watching TV shows a day later than they’re normally on, Hulu is a good deal. I just wish that all the shows were available on the Xbox (I can’t watch the ones marked “Web Only”). Also, I really need CBS to put their modern shows on there (i.e. How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory)
- Netflix — Netflix is seemingly always on at the house. Whether it’s Angelina Ballerina for my daughter or The League for my wife and I, we stream a lot of video.
- Xbox Music — I’ve subscribed to the Zune Pass since its inception. As such, I’m still a subscriber now that it’s called Xbox Music. I love that the playlists are synced from my Windows 8 computers, to the Xbox, to my Windows Phone.
- Xbox Video — For those shows that aren’t available on Netflix, Hulu, or live on the air, we turn to Xbox Video to purchase TV shows. Sometimes we rent movies.
- Media Center — We have a computer that runs Windows Media Center. It used to be the hub of all our entertainment until I cancelled cable. I also didn’t like maintaining the computer.
- Ceton InfiniTV HD Tuner 4 — This is a really great HD cable card tuner. My house only had enough signal to drive 3 tuners, so I sort of missed out on the full experience. But in its heyday, this card was the workhorse of our incessant content consumption.
Miscellaneous
- Fitbit One — I’ve owned a Fitbit since the first release. I’ve also run a few through the washing machine. But I’m really happy with the latest incarnation, the Fitbit One.
- MyFitnessPal — This piece of software has amazed me with its incredible database of foods for calorie tracking. It does a bidirectional sync with the Fitbit software.
- Kindle Paperwhite — I’ve had a Kindle ever since version 2. I traded in my Kindle Touch for a Paperwhite and am super happy with the latest version. I hate reading long form writing on LCD monitors, whether it’s a computer or a tablet. I love the e-ink on my Kindle and wouldn’t have it any other way.
So that’s what I’m rocking right now. I’m sure I’ve missed something but let’s check back in a year to see what’s changed.
Image Credit: Woodworking Exhibit by Velo Steve (CC BY-SA 2.0)