How I do my computing

My computer

I use multiple computers at home — Mac Mini 2012, MacBook Air 2015 & 2022, ThinkPad X220, and a custom-built Ryzen 9 PC. The MBA 2022 is my primary machine and Ryzen PC for gaming. The others are for fun and nostalgia. Got them cheap and second-hand, except for the 2022 Air and custom PC.

The X220 was originally for Linux, but is now a Windows XP box. Since the 2015 Air can't run anything older than Sierra, I got a 2012 Mac Mini and downgraded it to OS X 10.8. The Ryzen PC dual boots Windows 10 Pro and Ubuntu 22.04. The MacBooks run macOS Monterey.

At my office, I have an Intel i7 (4th gen) Dell XPS tower that runs Ubuntu 22.04. I use it with my Kinesis keyboard and Kingston trackball.

Operating System

My current workflow is pretty much cloud-based, so OS choice is almost negligible. However, I still use Mac OS for most professional workloads because less hassle.

I used to prefer Linux. Although things are definitely improving over time, the user experience is still inconsistent, especially with GUIs. It's nevertheless the best OS for old or burner PCs.

I have a Windows XP SP3 and OS X 10.8 boxes for my retro computing experience. I missed the good old days of simpler computing, without the bloat of modern apps and heavy reliance on internet connectivity.

What I do on my computer

Mostly coding and web browsing. I use Firefox for personal stuff and Chrome for development because Firefox has memory leaks and Chrome has superior Dev Tools.

I normally code using VS Code with Vimium due Vi keybinding muscle memory. For plain text editing, I use Vim or gVim with sensible extensions.

I used a tiling window manager (i3) and keyboard-centric workflow before, but it didn't work out. Application shortcuts would conflict with i3 and my custom shortcuts. Most apps I use don't play well with i3. I didn't build the muscle memory because I switch computers (and keyboards) frequently. Since it's too much work, I gave up.

How this site is maintained

It started as a Ghost site, then Nuxt static site, and now plain 'ol HTML files. Trying to keep things simple as it should be.

I write the web pages using vim with sensible plugins. VS Code is overkill for such simple task. I also use it with Emmet to make boilerplate tags fast.

I use Git for the version control. I deploy it to a $3.50 Vultr VPS using rsync.

Social Media

I have a few social media accounts. I try to use those as little as possible, usually for quick updates only. I can't delete my Facebook because most of my friends are there. I sometimes donate to farmed animal sanctuaries on Instagram.

Programming

I have working knowledge in the following programming languages:

I've used the following a few times or a long time ago:

I deal with PHP projects most of the time as a web developer. WordPress is still the most used CMS in the wild. Despite the popularity of JS and other zoomer web frameworks, I think most established small to medium businesses will likely have at least one PHP system or site. PHP is stable and has no signs of slowing down.