That Amazing Programmer

Uses

This is a list of the tools and gear I use most often. Things change, so this list will too.

Any link to Amazon is an affiliate link, so heads up!

Make sure to check out Wesbos' uses.tech for a list of everyone's /uses pages! That's what inspired me to remake my Tools section into a uses page.

Editor, IDE, & Terminal

  • My main daily driver is Visual Studio, as much of what I do is .NET related.
  • I use Visual Studio Code for everything else, including what you're reading right now!
  • I use Windows Terminal to keep all of my command-line tools in one place. It's really nice to be able to switch from PowerShell to my WSL2 Ubuntu instance in a single tool.

Desktop Apps

  • I use Espanso for my most common responses and for remembering dice roll commands in my gaming group's Discord server. One day I might try using it for code snippets.
  • I don't like updating my apps manually so I started using Chocolatey as my dedicated Windows package manager. It handles most of the apps on my machine, other than my development tools from Microsoft.
  • I like to keep things organized so I use FileJuggler to keep filetypes in their respective folders. It's much more powerful than that, but I haven't found the need for the more advanced settings.
  • I like to keep the ToDoist desktop app pinned on my taskbar so it's always top of mind.
  • I really like using the Notion desktop app, even though it's a memory hog, because it keeps me out of a browser.
  • I use Snagit to quickly grab images and make videos for blogging or slide decks.

Backup Strategy

  • I backup my computer and laptop locally every day using Active Backup for Business to my Synology DS920+ with four 4TB Seagate IronWolf Pro drives.
  • I use different backup solutions like Google and Dropbox, but not their desktop apps. I let Synology's Cloud Station download everything to my NAS then setup a two-way sync to my devices. That allows me to maintain a central backup, and get around things like the account limit in Google's desktop app.
  • I backup the system images and other import files remotely using Synology C2 Backup.

Recording

Cameras and Lighting

  • My webcam is a Logitech HD Pro c920, and I use a camera cover with it. It's nice to be able to flip it down instead of turning my camera off on a call.
  • Above my desk I have a Neewer ring light. I'm not going to link to it because light itself, and the bundles, fluctuate wildly in price and I'd rather you get it for cheap. It's not a high-end setup.

Desk Setup

  • I purchased two Lenovos when I started working as a developer advocate. They're geared towards gaming because I needed good graphics cards during a graphics card shortage. I bought a Legion 5, a laptop, and a Legion T7, a PC.
    • I wanted to build my own PC, but time was a factor. That and the PC itself didn't cost much more than the video card inside it, a GeForce RTX 2080 Super 8, even though I maxed everything out from the manufacturer.
  • We seem to lose power once or twice during the Winter so I bought the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS System 1500VA/1000W to make sure I'd have enough time to turn everything off. I wanted this specific model because it more accurately mimics sine waves, which will help lessen wear and tear on my equipment.
  • I use a Logitech MK710 wireless keyboard and mouse combo. I'll probably look into something else in the future, but so far they've been great.
  • I got tired of having cables all over my desk so I switched to using the Kove Commuter 2 for wireless speakers. They're great, as long as you remember to plug them in at night.
  • I use the Yunbaoit Visual Analog Timer, there's just something about using a real timer for Pomodoros that I love.

Other

  • I'm torn between Notion and Obsidian. I find writing in Obsidian much easier, but Notion's tables are much more useful for me.
  • I got a WHOOSH! Screen Cleaner Kit a while back and it made my old twin monitors almost like new again.