Programming setup

`5:05:03`

I like the Magic Keyboard. I like the single monitor. Apple makes an awesome 6K 32-inch XDR screen that I still haven't found anyone who've beaten that I still use, even though I switched away from Apple computers. I still use their monitor because it's just fantastic. But I've always been a single screen kind of guy. I do like a big screen, but I don't want multiple screens. I've never found that that really works with my perception. I wanna be able to just focus on a single thing. I don't want all of it all over the place. And I've always used multiple virtual desktops and being able to switch back and forth between those things. But the setup I have today is Linux. I switched to a little over a year ago after I finally got fed up with Apple enough that I couldn't do that anymore. And then I use this low profile mechanical keyboard called the Lofree Flow84, which is just the most glorious

`5:06:05`

sounding keyboard I've ever heard. I know there are a lot of connoisseurs of mechanical keyboards that'll probably contest me on this. This is too thy or too clicky or too clocky or whatever. But for me, the Lofree Flow84 is just a delight that I did not even know existed. Which is so funny because I mean, I've been programming for a long time. Mechanical keyboards have been a thing for a long time. And the keyboard, when you look at it like this, it just kind of, it looks plain, it doesn't look extravagant. But the tactile sensation you get out of pushing those keys, the talky sound that you hear when the keys hit the board. It's just sublime. And I'm kicking myself that I was in this Mac bubble for so long that I wasn't even in the market to find this. I knew mechanical keyboards existed, but to be blunt, I thought it was a bit of a nerd thing that only real nerds that were much more nerdy

`5:07:05`

than me would ever care about. And then I got out of the Apple bubble and suddenly I had to find everything again. I had to find a new mouse, I had to find a new keyboard, I had to find everything. And I thought like, all right, let me give mechanical keyboards a try. And I gave quite a few of them a try. The Keychron is one of the big brands in that I didn't like that at all. I tried a bunch of other keyboards and then I finally found this keyboard and I just went like, angels are singing. Where have you been my whole life? We spent as programmers so much of our time interacting with those keys. It really kind of matters in a way I didn't fully appreciate. I used to defend the Apple Magic Keyboard, like hey, it's great. It's actually a great keyboard. And I think for what it is, this ultra-low profile, ultra low travel is actually a really nice keyboard. But once you've tried a longer travel mechanical keyboard, there's no going back. — You do have to remember in many ways, both on the software side and the hardware side, that you do spend a lot of hour behind the computer. It's worth... — It's worth investing in. — And also worth exploring

`5:08:05`

until you find the thing where the angels starts singing, whatever. — That's exactly right. And I actually do regret that a little bit, especially with this damn keyboard. I mean, I could have been listening to these beautiful thocky keys for years and years, but sometimes you have to get really off before you open your eyes and see that something else exists. I feel the same way about Linux. So I've been using Linux on the server since late '90s, probably. We ran servers on Linux back then. I never seriously considered it as a desktop option. I never ran Linux before, directly myself. I always thought, you know what? I wanna focus on programming. I don't have time for all these configuration files and all this setup bullshit and whatnot. And Apple is close enough. It's built on Unix underpinnings. Why do I need to bother with Linux? And again, it was one of those things. I needed to try new things and try something else to realize that there is other things other than Apple.

`5:09:08`

And again, it's not 'cause I hate Apple. I think they still make good computers. I think a lot of the software is still also pretty okay. But I have come to realize that as a web developer, Linux is just better. Linux is just better. It's closer to what I deploy on. The tooling is actually phenomenal. And if you spend a bit of time setting it up, you can record a reproducible environment that I've now done with this Omakub concept or project that I've done, that I can set up a new Linux machine in less than 30 minutes. And it's perfect. It's not pretty good. It's not like I still need to spend two hours on. It's perfect because you can code all aspects of the development environment into this. And I didn't know. I didn't even know, to be fair, that Linux could look as good as it can. If you look at a stock Ubuntu or Fedora boot, I mean, not that it's ugly, but I'd pick the Mac any day of the week. You look at Omakub, I mean, I'm biased here, of course, 'cause I built it with my own sensibilities.