135 lines
5.6 KiB
Markdown
135 lines
5.6 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Uses"
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description: "Just a big page describing what I use that I think is notable"
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date: 2021-08-18T22:57:48-04:00
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draft: false
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cover: ./cover.png
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type: generic
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---
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This is just a simple page detailing some of the important tools I use for those
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that may be interested! See [uses.tech](https://uses.tech/) for similar pages on
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other individuals' websites.
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## Hardware
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### Desktop
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I built my PC over the summer of 2019, _before_ all of the component prices shot
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up during the pandemic. If I was attempting to build this now, I would have
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ended up with a significantly less powerful machine.
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- **Webcam:** Logitech Brio
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- **Microphone:** Røde Podcaster
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- **CPU:** AMD Ryzen 7 2700
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- **GPU:** MSI Radeon RX 5700XT OC
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- **RAM:** G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32 GB DDR4-3200
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- **Keyboard:** Ergodox-EZ
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- **Mouse:** Logitech MX Master 3
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- **Monitor:** Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q-SA 27"
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- **Operating System:** Arch Linux
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- **Window Manager:** i3
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I also have Windows installed for the odd game or two that won't run in
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Proton; it's really nothing more than a gaming console for me.
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### Laptop
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My university scholarship paid for most of my old laptop but a stipulation was
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that the device had to be new. I really wanted an old Thinkpad that would have
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cost maybe $200-$300 after repairs and upgrades, but it would definitely not
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have been new. Instead, I found a [refurbished Thinkpad X200][x200] from
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[Vikings.][vikings] Because they rebrand the device on receipts, I was able to
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make the purchase and get a fully free laptop with no binary blobs whatsoever.
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Because it's running [Libreboot,][libreboot] I was even able to encrypt the boot
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partition so "full-disk encryption" really does apply to _the full disk_. That
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said, I _do not_ recommend Libreboot. It's been two headaches and a half trying
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to get anything other than the [FSF-blessed distros][blesseddistros] installed
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with it.
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[x200]: https://store.vikings.net/x200-ryf-certfied
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[vikings]: https://store.vikings.net/
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[libreboot]: https://libreboot.org/
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[blesseddistros]: https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html
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My _current_ laptop is the [Framework.][framework] It's hands-down the best
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laptop I've ever owned (not a very high bar though) and one of my favourite
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laptops to work on (much higher bar). Mine has the 11th gen Intel i5 processor
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with 16 GB of RAM and a 500 GB SSD. I actually have _two_ SSDs that I swap
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between when I want to try a new and shiny distro, but I always end up going
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back to my comfy Arch setup.
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[framework]: https://frame.work/
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### Other devices
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I seem to have a thing for e-ink devices. Until my [Kobo Clara HD][clarahd]
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died, I used it very frequently for all of my regular reading. Now, I use a
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[Kobo Clara 2E][clara2e] instead. I exclusively use [KOReader][koreader] on
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both.
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[auraone]: https://us.kobobooks.com/collections/auraone-related/products/kobo-aura-one-limited-edition
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[clarahd]: https://kobobooks.com/collections/certified-refurbished-ereaders/products/certified-refurbished-kobo-clara-hd
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[clara2e]: https://us.kobobooks.com/products/kobo-clara-2e
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[koreader]: https://koreader.rocks/
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I also have a [Supernote A5X][supernote] and have to say that this is a
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_wonderful_ device. I'm in the process of writing a blog post about it, and once
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it's finished, I'll link it here. For now, I'll just say that it sits on the
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corner of my desk any time I'm home and can usually be found in my left hand
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whenever I'm not.
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[supernote]: https://supernote.com/#/product?type=SN-A5-X
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## General software
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As for more general software, I'll only mention things I feel are particularly
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notable.
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My personal operating system of choice is [Arch Linux][arch] because it's very
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easy to work with, simple, and incredibly up-to-date. I've used it since
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somewhere around 2017 or 2018. On servers, I like sticking with [Debian][debian]
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wherever possible. It's a fantastic and very widely supported distribution for
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pretty much anything. I would eventually like to get involved with the project
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but my free time is pretty limited at the moment.
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[arch]: https://archlinux.org/
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[debian]: https://www.debian.org/
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My email setup is a little cursed but I use [mbsync][mbsync] for synchronising
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[my IMAP server][imap] with my local Maildir, [mu4e][mu4e] in [GNU Emacs][emacs] for
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interacting with and composing emails, and [msmtp][msmtp] for relaying those
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compositions to my [Postfix][postfix] [SMTP server][smtp] before sending
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them on their way to the recipient. Blog post about all this coming soon™.
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[mbsync]: https://isync.sourceforge.io/mbsync.html
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[imap]: https://nixnet.email/
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[mu4e]: https://www.djcbsoftware.nl/code/mu/mu4e/
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[emacs]: https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/
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[msmtp]: https://marlam.de/msmtp/
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[postfix]: http://www.postfix.org/
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[smtp]: https://nixnet.email/
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My browser of choice is [Mozilla Firefox.][Firefox] I don't like the company and
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the browser is slowly becoming worse and worse for the average user but at least
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it's not Google and it's not contributing to their total domination over web
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rendering :^)
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[Firefox]: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
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[Nextcloud][nextcloud] also finds itself a home on my homeserver. As much as
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it's a bloated pile of PHP that does a sub-par job at everything it attempts, it
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does a good enough job to make life convenient. I mainly use its file syncing,
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calendar, contacts, and sometimes music features.
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[nextcloud]: https://nextcloud.com/
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I also use a lot of the stuff a friend and I run over at [NixNet.][NixNet] In
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particular, I probably use email, XMPP, BigBlueButton, HedgeDoc, Mumble, and
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wallabag every day.
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[NixNet]: https://nixnet.services/
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_I use every open source messaging service known to man. Please send
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help._
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