Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.

I get asked a lot about the things I use to build software, stay productive, or buy to fool myself into thinking I’m being productive when I’m really just procrastinating. Here’s a big list of all of my favorite stuff.

Workstation

  • 14” MacBook Pro, M1 Pro, 16GB RAM (2021)

    I was using an Intel-based 16” MacBook Pro prior to this and the difference is night and day. I’ve never heard the fans turn on a single time, even under the incredibly heavy loads I put it through with our various launch simulations.

  • LG Electronics UltraWide Monitor 35WN73A-B

    The UltraWide QHD screen (3440x1440 resolution, 21:9 aspect ratio) is great for work. This allows for monitoring of large amounts of footage for video editing, and numerous audio plugins and effects can be displayed at once.

  • Apple Magic Keyboard

    They don’t make keyboards the way they used to. I buy these any time I see them go up for sale and keep them in storage in case I need parts or need to retire my main.

  • Apple Magic Trackpad

    Something about all the gestures makes me feel like a wizard with special powers. I really like feeling like a wizard with special powers.

Development tools

  • PhpStorm

    The editor actually 'gets' your code and deeply understands its structure, supporting all the PHP language features for modern and legacy projects. It provides the best code completion, refactorings, on-the-fly error prevention, and more.

  • Sublime Text 4

    I don’t care if it’s missing all of the fancy IDE features everyone else relies on, Sublime Text is still the best text editor ever made.

  • iTerm2

    I’m honestly not even sure what features I get with this that aren’t just part of the macOS Terminal but it’s what I use.

Design

  • Figma

    We started using Figma as just a design tool but now it’s become our virtual whiteboard for the entire company. Never would have expected the collaboration features to be the real hook.

  • Sketch

    Sketch gives you all the tools you need for a truly collaborative design process. From early ideas to pixel-perfect artwork, playable prototypes and developer handoff.