My setup: get to know what I use

In this article, I will tell you more about what I use during my daily work. Feel free to let me know what you are using or what you recommend.

The 2021 setup

The 2020 setup

Office

Desk setup

As you can see in the photo above, my setup consists of:

• 🖥 Macbook Mini M2 - 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD - The Mac Mini became my primary workstation in the office. When working from home became the standard, it was easier to get a device that does not leave the office. The Mac mini is hiding itself behind the screens on a shelf.
• 💻 Macbook Air M2 - 16GB, 1TB SSD — Used for when I am working somewhere else than in my office.
• 💻 Macbook PRO 14” M1 - 16GB, 1TB SSD — The device I use while working remotely for Rapid.
• Mosiso Vertical Stand for my Macbook
• 🖥 Intel NUC Hades Canyon — Great small device which I use for Windows related workloads. This pc is hidden away behind my monitors, next to the Mac Mini.
• iPad Air: Normally, the device is used to take notes, but these days I use it as my third screen for attending meetings. Having it on top of my other screens and just above my webcam. It is more engaging to your audience, as I do not look away from the camera anymore. On a Mac, it is easy these days to use it as an external screen with Sidecar. When running Windows, you can use Duet Display.
• Caldigit TS3 Plus — A Thunderbold 3 dock with 15 ports. In the past, I was using an OWC dock, but this could not charge my Macbook. The dock itself has also hidden away behind my screens.
• Flexi Mount Monitor Holder — This is the mount I use for holding my monitors. On top of the mount arms, I put a shelve, on which I can hide all my devices so that my desk stays clean.

• Two LG 27UL850-W 27 Inch - HDR 4k monitors - I upgraded in late 2020 to these two beauties. The colors are stunning. The HDR feature is only great when working with images or playing games. Never turn it on when while developing.
• BenQ Screenbar: I did not know I needed a device until I bought two of these. These screen bars are used to mount on top of your screens and make sure your eyes get less tired, as there is always enough light for them to adapt. The great thing about them is that they can adapt to the light in your room, and they do not glare on your screen.
• Elgato Facecam: as there is a lot of action going on. Just kidding, previously I used a GoPro as a webcam, but since Elgato released this webcam, I switched to it.
• Rode Microhone Boom Arm - Just a great and flexible microphone boom arm.
• Elgato Wave:3 - The main microphone I use for sessions and meetings. I use it in combination with the Elgato Wave Pop and Elgato Wave Shock Mount.
• Lamicall Gooseneck Tablet Stand — This is the stand/holder for the iPad.
• 🥧 Raspberry Pi Zero — I use this in combination with a Pimoroni PHAT to show the time, busy light status, the temperature in the office coming from Ruuvi sensors, Microsoft To Do tasks and my upcoming meeting.
• Anker 4-port USB hub — I attached this one at the bottom of my screen. In this hub is used for my Streamdeck, two USB dongles for my headsets, and YubiKey.
• Anker wireless charging pad - Mainly for charging my Apple Airpods Pro.
• 5TB WD HHD — We all need more space to store files. Everything is synchronized to Onedrive for Business, but just in case to have quick access, I have this one attached to my dock.
• Synology NAS — Using a pretty old one at the moment. This one will soon be updated to the Synology DS720+
• 🪑 NeueChair — Very nice and good looking work chair.
• ⌨️ Logitech MX Keys — Great keyboard, bought it in the US, as the US International (available in EU) is not the same as US English.
• 🐭 Logitech MX Master 3 — Before this mouse, I used a Logitech MX Anywhere 2S. That is also a great device and more comfortable when traveling.
• Ikea - Gerton — Desk tabletop - I used gray oil-based paint to give it a natural gray wooden look.
• Ikea - IDÅSEN — Standing desk table legs.
• Felt desk pad — The great thing about this desk pad is that you can define your own measurements. That way it will always fit to your desk. For the color I went for mustard mixed.
• Flic buttons & hub — In order to control light, airconditioning, music, and electric sockets in the office, I have two buttons mounted underneath my desk.
• Foldable treadmill - A treadmill for underneath my desk. I bought this not to be more active while working, but because I broke one vertebra in June 2021 and was not allowed to sit for a long time. As I was getting bored of being in bed the whole time, I thought to buy this treadmill so that I had another place to go and do something. I am sure this treadmill will help me in the future to be a little bit more active. The coolest part is that it is foldable. Folded, it takes half its size.

Hardware used somewhere else

The following hardware is not used in my office anymore, but somewhere else in the house.

• AOC U2777PQU monitor — used for my wife’s desk.

Meetings / Music / Sound / Microphone

Besides all the hardware-defined above, I use the following during meetings and listening to music:

• 🎶 2 x Sonos Move — We all need some music to get into the “zone”.
• 📷 Elgato Facecam - Main camera for meetings.
• 🎙 Elgato Wave:3 - The main microphone.
• Elgato Stream Deck — Probably the most bought product during the Covid-19 crisis. I use this mainly during meetings, but also to control my music and Elgato Key Lights. Here is an article about how I use it: Stream Deck review for people who do not play games or stream and use macOS.
• 💡 Two Elgato Key Lights — As there are more and more events happening online, I needed to have a better light solution. They are expensive, but they are outstanding.
• 🎧 Apple Airpods Pro - Used during meetings for listening to the audio, but also for listening to music when I am on the go.

Decoration

I am addicted to LEGO (quoting my wife). So besides all the hardware, I have “some” LEGO for decoration reasons in my office.

Software

Developing

• Visual Studio Code — My one and only editor.
• Raycast - If there is one piece of software that made me more productive, it is Raycast. Check out this article about how it helps me: using Raycast to speed up my productivity.
• Hyper terminal — cross-platform terminal.
• Oh My Posh — for a better shell experience.
• JetBrains Mono — Free typeface for developers.
• Browserosaurus - A browser prompter for macOS. If you use various browsers daily, this is a not to miss application!

VSCode extensions

Here are a couple of the VSCode dependencies which I like to use:

• Front Matter — When I switched to Hugo, I needed to have an extension which allows me to keep my article front matter up to date. This extension helps you and can be used for other static site generators like Jekyll, Hexo, NextJs, Gatsby, and many more…
• The unnamed - theme — A theme I created myself.
• TypeScript Barrel Generator — VSCode extension which generates an index.ts file with all the module exports from the current directory.

Browser

• Microsoft Edge — The only one I am actively using.

Other useful apps

• Spotify Tray Player — Simple Spotify player that shows itself in the menu bar.
• Paste — Keep a history of what you copy&paste.
• 1Password — IMO best password manager, and they provide excellent support.
• Grammarly — For writing my articles.
• Bartender — Organize your menu bar icons.
• BetterDisplayTool — Better control over your display an its resolutions.

Other

Travel

• 🎒 PeakDesign Everyday Backpack 30L — Love this backpack. You can organize it to your needs, which makes it, in my opinion, an awesome bag. The only downside is the price tag.

Feel free to share your favorite tool/hardware/applications/…