As a few people have asked, and just for the fun of documenting it, here's a list of hardware, software and services that I use for my work and at home, along with a brief description of why I use it.
I work as a solution architect, most recently for a media company, and also recently ran an IT consultancy concentrating on cloud cost, security and training (including video creation and editing). I just finished up at the media job (mid January 2020) and I start a new job in February 2020 so (a) I have time to write this up and (b) things may change soon (new laptop etc, probably with higher security levels than the BYOD devices I use now). This could be a real snapshot in time and I'm curious to see how much of this is still in use in a year or two.
For the last year I have worked remotely all the time, either at home or in coffee shops, AirBNBs, etc. I am based in the UK/London, travelling Europe-wide. I've been back in the UK for about a year. Previously I was in Australia for 15 years and still own a house there, along with a lot of stuff in storage. I feel like I'm still 'setting up' in Europe.
In my spare time I like to try to be active - run, cycle and go to the gym, and sometimes do triathlons.
I prefer Apple hardware and have a preference for paid software as I feel that gives a better chance that the company (a) will be around long term and will continue to update their apps to add new features and fix bugs, and (b) are less likely to be selling my data.
Links here are not affiliate ones but Amazon links are via smile.amazon.co.uk which supports your nominated charity, I recommend Shelter. I don't bother linking to things you can easily Google yourself (Apple hardware etc).
These are my experiences, yours may differ, these are personal recommendations and not an endorsement by any company I have previously, do now, or will work for.
Laptop: MacBook Pro 15" 2018 (2.2 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7, Radeon Pro 555X 4 GB, 16 GB 2400 MHz DDR4 RAM). I chose the 15" model for the larger screen space which is handy when working in wide spreadsheets. 16GB because 8GB is not enough for heavy work. 16GB may have been a built to order option, I don't remember. It is quite heavy though, and I am going to be trialling a 13" MacBook Pro soon to see if that's sufficient.
Charger: Both the standard 86W Apple charger and a TOMMOX travel friendly adaptor purchased in January 2020. I'm always on the lookout for new power adaptors (and batteries) and this is the best bang for buck at the moment. I value having USB-C and USB-A charging in one package as it saves me having to use adaptors or docks to charge devices when travelling. It is 60W USB-C though (the 75W they advertise includes all ports added together). When I next upgrade I'll be looking for a high wattage GaN adaptor but they are mostly US only.
Dock: This fairly generic one. I struggle to justify paying hundreds for a super-nice one. My requirements are gigabit NIC (wifi in my office is poor), HDMI (for playing video on a TV and for presentations), a memory card slot (to set up devices such as the Pi) and some USB-A ports for general charge and sync.
External monitor: currently none. I do own a 4K 43" Philips monitor but it's on loan in Australia.
Power bank: This RAVPower one. 26800mAh is the largest you can carry in carry-on, with USB-C and A output. It can charge my MacBook to about 80% while still using it, and charge a Switch too. I previously bought a similar Anker one from Amazon US but it failed and their warranty was US only.
Phone: an iPhone X, 64GB. No case or screen protector, I prefer not to use them. I did buy it with AppleCare+ and I've used both discounted screen repair 'lives'. This is also my only camera and my music/podcast player.
Watch: Apple Watch series 4 non-cellular. My absolute favourite gadget. Used as a watch, for Apple Pay (I try to use Apple Pay as much as I can, it's very convenient and the Watch makes it even more so), Express Transit on London transport Oyster readers, to respond to important notifications, kitchen timer, alarm clock, unlock my MacBook, track my workouts and general activity, sleep, etc. I try to 'close my rings' each day, and had a move streak of 203 days that I'm trying to beat. I also join challenges from the Reddit sub /r/AppleWatchFitness. I use a variety of coloured watch bands, both sport ones and Milanese loops for special occasions. (I buy unofficial bands.)
Cables/adaptors: generally official Apple cables but I also have a USB-A to USB-C/micro-USB/Lightning cable that was free from a vendor and that I take with me travelling. I also take a generic power plug travel adaptor.
Laptop case: tomtoc laptop case. Fleece lined, small but a perfect fit for the 15" MBP, charger, cables and my glasses. I would prefer it if the front pockets were removable so it could optionally be slimmer - I often have to fit this inside a carry-on (for some of the more frugal EU airlines).
Overnight bag: A Samsonite small carry on. This is for overnight travel. I don't see the exact one I have in their range any more and I bought it in a real-world shop so don't have a link. It's much like this one. It's good, but I wish it had an external water bottle carrier.
eReader: a basic Kindle. The nearest model to mine I see is this one but mine was a gift from 3 years ago so it may be slightly different. It's in a generic case sourced from eBay. I go through phases of reading on a Kindle and reading physical books.
Games console: A Nintendo Switch, the original version, not the Lite or the newer version with extra battery life. It travels in this case with about 8 physical cartridges. I own about 50 games with the rest being digital only. I find I play more games when I buy them digital as it saves me finding the right cartridge. I don't play it as much as I would like, lack of time. I expect to travel more in 2020 so should be able to tackle more of my backlog while in airports or hotels (I sometimes travel with the dock to play on the hotel TV). I used to play games on an iPhone or iPad but wanted to play more Mario & Zelda games. (I also own an XBox One X but it's on loan in Australia.)
Authentication: A Yubikey 4C Nano which lives in one USB-C slot of my MacBook Pro and is used as a Fido key for my 'tier 1' accounts.
Webcam: This one. A good balance of price and performance. I have people who I contact who only use Skype, others use Zoom, others use(d) Hangouts - this one goes up to 1080p when supported.
Headphones: Bose QC35 II. Amazing noise cancellation makes flights much more pleasant and can be used wired if required (e.g., for the Switch, or for super-important calls where you don't want to risk Bluetooth dropout).
Earbuds: Beats PowerBeat Pro. Used when running and cycling, they allow some outside noise in for safety. The odd connection issue where one side will drop out, and they have an annoying habit of having one side go flat if you leave them out of the case when not in use. The case is huge too. But I don't feel like they will ever fall out while running or cycling (a problem I found I had with AirPods) and the sound quality and battery life are both good.
Presentation clicker: A Logitech Spotlight. A recommendation from Corey Quinn, this is a fantastic device and just being able to use it for a presentation gives me 10% more confidence.
Powerline adaptors: These ones, they work fine, although the Mac app doesn't work under Catalina so I had to configure them under Windows in Parallels (which I am amazed worked).
Others: Sonos (a Beam and a Play:1) for house audio. We have a bigger setup in storage in Australia that we used in a larger house. We love the 'it just works' of the whole house audio, but their apps do suck.
A Samsung Smart TV of some kind - 40-ish inches. Hardwired to the internet router and runs Netflix/iPlayer/etc natively.
A FireTV 4K Stick for other streaming services.
Phone: GiffGaff. On the O2 network, costs £12/month for 10GB data, coverage is mostly good, the odd drop down to 3G but it's rare. Roaming EU wide (voice and data) is fine and uses your UK allowance. Also gives access to 'Wifi Extra' hotspots around the UK - train stations, etc.
Internet: Virgin Media. 350MB down, 50MB(?) up. I work mostly from home so good fast internet is essential. We've had two outages of a couple of hours each in the last year. Speed has been good, although the wifi router doesn't extend coverage to my office at the other end of our flat (it's a converted victorian house and has thick walls). Virgin also gives free access to other Virgin Media hotspots. I use the default Virgin router for now.
Other internet: A credit card gave access to Boingo Hotspots as a member benefit. I closed the card account but the Boingo account still works and is useful sometimes.
VPN: Currently ExpressVPN as they have a FireTV app which is useful sometimes (along with the normal macOS and iOS apps)
Streaming: Spotify, Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Youtube, all the non-satellite UK streaming TV channels (we have no TV aerial). I watch too much TV.
Call/SMS forwarding: I have an Android phone with my Australian SIM in it under someone's bed in Australia, connected to power and wifi. I use call forwarding to forward voice calls to a Skype number, then use Skype to forward to my UK mobile. I use an Android app to forward SMSs to that number to email. This allows me to use my Australian and UK phone numbers on business cards, and not worry too much about those companies (LinkedIn, ING, PayPal..) and organisations (the Australian government..) that only support SMS 2FA even though it sucks.
OSes - current versions of macOS, iOS (I don't jailbreak) and watchOS. Staying current with updates is likely to be the biggest improvement you can make to your tech security.
For macOS I have my dock on the right hand side - so it doesn't move when I add or remove monitors.
Here are the apps in the common categories that I have in my dock permanently, or in my menu bar, or on my phone home screen.
| App | macOS | iOS | watchOS | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browser | Safari | Safari | None | Fast enough. I use Chrome when I have to but migrated off it as my default browser to reduce my dependency on Google services and apps. I use Todoist, AdGuard and DuckDuckGo extensions in Safari on macOS. |
| Spark | Spark | Spark | I'm aware of their privacy issues - I don't use the features that cause the main issues, and for me this sits on the right side of the features:privacy divide. I would pay for a better client. I previously used Airmail but found it too buggy. | |
| Slack/WhatsApp/Telegram client | Franz | Native apps | None | Franz is a memory hog (it's Electron based) but then so is Slack. I tried Ripcord for a while but it was early days and feature poor. Looks like it has got better. |
| Calendar | Fantastical2 | Fantastical2 | Fantastical2 | I love the UI and the unified view. |
| Contacts | Cardhop | Native app | Native app | A new job means contacts are likely to be more important and so I've cleaned them up on the MacBook and trying Cardhop. Seems good so far. |
| Notes | Evernote and native app | Evernote and native app | None | I'm migrating away from Evernote as I just don't need the functionality it provides and Notes is free. I wish Notes was on the Watch though. |
| Todo | Todoist | Todoist | Todoist | I like it a lot. Syncs, I can share items with others (we have holiday todo lists at home, for example). Has a web app too. The Watch app is buggy though - syncing with it is very poor so the status of items is often outdated. Watch todos are not something I need though. (As I write this I wonder if it doesn't update properly if it's not set as a complication?) |
| Text Editor | Visual Studio Code | None | None | All the cool kids use Code, right? I also own Sublime Text but the Code plugin community is awesome. |
| Skype | Native app | Native app | None | Used for some family members who have dumped Facebook |
| Tweetbot | Tweetbot & Twitter app | None | Love the Tweetbot UI, hate that Twitter's API doesn't expose polls, threads, notifications. I have the Twitter app on the phone just to get notifications. | |
| CIX | CIXReader | iXolr | None | I use CIX because I used to work there and know a lot of people there still. It's a fun place, if somewhat cliquey. |
| News/RSS | News Explorer | News Explorer | News Explorer | I use RSS feeds to keep up to date with all sorts of things - work news, Apple news, fitness articles, Switch reviews, etc, etc. I was a Reeder user for a long time but felt like a change after v3 and News Explorer works well for me. |
| Photos | Native app | Native app | None | I tried to trial Creative Cloud but the 7 day trial expired before it managed to import my Photos library. |
| Terminal | iTerm2 | None | None | I'm no terminal wizard but iTerm works for me. I'm not one of those people who tries to SSH into things from their watch in the pub :) |
| Presentations | Keynote | None | None | I don't know why but I prefer Keynote over Powerpoint. |
| Office Docs | Google Docs and MS Office | Google Docs and MS Office | None | My previous job was a heavy Google Docs shop so I got very used to that over the last 10 years. The version of Office for Mac I have is old (the previous version from the current one) and it's not great, Excel in particular has focus issues and modal dialogs all over the place. |
| Markdown editor | MacDown | None | None | I'm writing this in it! I've tried other apps but I come back to this one (although the flickering preview screen is starting to annoy me. Maybe I should try Code again). |
| AV | F-Protect | None | None | I beta test F-Secure's fs protection for Mac because I was a user of the original tool XFENCE, otherwise I probably wouldn't use AV. |
| Password manager | 1Password | 1Password | 1Password | I have a family plan and share logins with my wife. |
| PDF reader/editor | PDF Expert | PDF Expert | None | Works well for when you need edits that go beyond the capabilities of Preview. |
| 2FA | Authy | Authy | Authy | The problem with yubikeys is losing one. Authy syncs my tokens to all my devices. I wish it did it using something other than their cloud service so I use it for 'tier 2' accounts. |
There are all icons in my menu bar. This is about as many icons as I can stand. Everything else is hidden on my 'page 2' of menu icons, courtesy of Bartender.
Bartender 3: keeps my menu bar organised.
PopClip: adds a configurable popup menu with useful tasks in it (open link, add to calendar, translate, etc) when highlighting text
DropShare: for sharing screenshots. I use it with my own AWS S3 bucket, domain and CloudFront.
gfxCardStatus: so I know if something is enabling the Radeon GPU (which eats battery)
autoping: a visual indication of my internet connectivity. I can't find a download link for this any more but if you want to try it's 'Connection status monitoring at a glance By Richard West for Memset Ltd. Original concept by Kate Craig-Wood' and I use v1.02.
PasteBot: a clipboard manager
iStat Menus: a Swiss army knife of utilities in your menu bar. Clock with multi-city options, CPU load by process, battery status and greedy app list, memory pressure, network throughput, etc, etc, etc.
Arq: backup my entire MacBook to AWS Glacier storage overnight.
Stay: saves window positions as different screens are connected and disconnected.
Dropbox: Reluctantly using this as a client requires it.
RescueTime: I use the free tier to keep an eye on my screen time in more detail than the Screen Time app does.
Google Drive File Stream: I use GSuite (paid) for my consultancy email and docs, this allows me to sync docs to my Google Drive.
Muzzle: disables notifications when certain screen-sharing apps start up. Getting a bit unmaintained now.
Turbo Boost Switcher Pro: disables Intel CPU turbo boost option while on battery power to enhance battery life.
Boom 3D: testing this, a music equaliser. I'm unsure I play music from my MacBook speakers enough for this to be worth buying.
Flux: to reduce screen blueness after sunset. But is the blue light/sleep link a scam? Who knows.
Be Focused Pro: sometimes I need to use the Pomodoro technique to get work done. This app does all the timers for that.
BetterTouchTool: enhances the MacBook toolbar greatly. Recently I've found it makes scrolling stutter so I'm using it less.
Less frequently used but essential when required, so installed but not in the dock or on the menu bar.
Parallels: I run Windows10 for some legacy web sites that only run under Internet Explorer. Nothing important... just a payroll site.. I also run Ubuntu to do security work in AWS accounts. Cyberduck: For transferring files to and from S3. Calibre: to transfer library books to my Kindle. GitHub Desktop: for git things GrandPerspective: visualise disk usage KeyBoardCleanTool: disables the keyboard so you can clean it qBittorrent: for my Linux ISOs ScreenFlow: to record and edit video Speedtest: test internet speed TeamViewer: remote control of that Android phone in Australia - occasionally something goes wrong and I need to fix it up. VLC: to watch videos and some streams YACReader: comic reader
These were mostly covered in the macOS table above. I do have a rule that no application on the first page of the phone is allowed to use badges, this includes Facebook, etc. I also have most notifications turned off. It's so much better for my mental state. Also I can thoroughly recommend charging your phone outside of the bedroom. If I charge it in the bedroom I end up reading rubbish on the internet until way too late and sleep badly - charging outside the bedroom avoids this. If you use your phone as your alarm clock, just get a proper alarm clock. If you are on call then I'm sorry.
Some of these apps have a web component too but I use them almost entirely on iPhone. I have more apps than these but these are the frequent use ones. I'm also not including apps for streaming services that I've already listed above. All these can be searched for in the App Store. The categories are how I have them grouped, mostly.
Citymapper: Best for public transport routing in major cities worldwide.
Komoot: For hiking, running, cycling route planning and navigation.
Waze: preferred when driving as it includes hazards such as stopped cars, speed cameras, etc.
For all other mapping needs - Google Maps: I've tried other mapping apps but come back to Google, as their coverage is much better than the others, in particular routing outside of major cities
Tripit: For trip organising. Pretty handy - you forward your various booking emails to it (or it catch 'watch' your emails if you give it that permission) and it builds up an itinerary for you. You can share that with other travellers and with those who just want to view it. So my mum can see what flight I am on and track it if she wants. I have had a free Pro subscription via my last job so I expect I will drop to the free tier soon. Unsure if I will pay for it - Pro gets you gate update notifications as the main benefit but I'm usually at the airport when they arrive anyway.
Elk/XE currency: I switch between these for currency conversion. Elk for simple x to y conversions, XE for more complex stuff.
Rentalcars: has the best rates 80% of the time and I like that you can bundle excess insurance. Although this year I'm looking at buying a yearly policy instead, far cheaper.
Booking.com: I've used this for a couple of years and are in one of their 'reward' tiers so get discounts, which keeps me coming back. It's that vendor lock-in I keep hearing about.
Uber: Sometimes you have to use them, what's the alternative? Taxis?
Words With Friends: I play now and again with a sister-in-law.
Wordscapes: a little time filler
Facebook: I use it only for 2 private groups of Australian and UK family members, to stay in touch, share photos, etc. I don't post anything publicly any more.
FaceBook Messenger: ditto.
LinkedIn: work stuff
WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram: Installed but I only really use them to reply to other people or for specific events (WhatsApp is used a bit at AWS re:Invent)
BBC Sport: sports news, also I have push notifications for Southampton FC match news (goals etc) which push to my Watch.
LiveFootballTV: to see what channel football is being shown on.
FootyLive: AFL news and scores
Formula 1: F1 news and schedules
Hamilton: one day I will win lottery tickets! It's only a matter of time..
TrainSplit: split train ticketing is often cheaper than buying through tickets in the UK.
Bank apps: for NAB (business banking), ING (AU), Xero (for my business), Monzo (UK), TransferWise (cross-EU accounts) and Splitwise (useful when going on trips with mates and you need to split accommodation, food, travel etc costs).
The Guardian: I subscribe and read the UK edition regularly. Pay for journalism!
AutoSleep: The Watch tracks my sleep and this app crunches the numbers and rates my sleep, tells me my sleep debt, etc. Really handy - I definitely notice the difference when my debt is low.
HealthFit: exports Apple Watch workouts to Strava.
Strava: it's social networking for athletes! I keep Strava as my source of truth for workout data, I'm a premium ('Summit') member but should probably drop to the free tier as I don't use much of the premium stuff (counterpoint: I would be super-sad to see them close and paying them money may help prevent that).
Strong: tracks weight sets in the gym
Exist: a stats tracker/collector/correlator - it collects data from Apple Health (workout, sleep, heart rate, etc), Facebook, RescueTime, calendar etc, and you can also rate your day and tag events that happen. Then it can try to make correlations. e.g. you sleep more on nights you rode your bike, or you had more distracted time on days you ate cake.
RescueTime: tracks app and website usage to give you daily and weekly 'distracted time' reports. Like ScreenTime but for more things. I'm on the free tier, there's a half price offer for a year of Premium but the features aren't compelling for me.
Challenges: a way to do Apple Watch challenges with people you don't have as contacts.
WorkOutDoors: a new app (to me) that is great for building structured workouts to send to the Watch. The Watch app speaks to you to tell you when the current interval is ending and what the next one is.
For health related iOS settings, I have Night Mode enabled from 9pm and DND enabled 10pm - 6am (and the Watch follows my phone DND settings).
Dark Sky: weather app, good in the UK
Weather Underground: good for the rest of the world.
Headspace: Meditation. I started using this in 2020 after I joined AnxietyUK, it's one of their benefits. I'm still trying to get into the habit of using it (I've only missed one day in the last fortnight). Does it help? Hard to say, but I do like closing my eyes and breathing.
Spectre, NeuralCam, Halide: camera apps that improve on the native iOS camera app in various ways.
Apollo: for Reddit. I only read Reddit on my phone and it's a combination of information source and incredible time suck. (also see: don't use phone in the bedroom).
HotDealsUK: community site/app posting links to discounted products and services. I have some alert words set up ('Nintendo Switch' etc).
Castro: My podcast app. I listen to a lot of podcasts but always have a huge backlog. I've previously used Pocket Casts, Overcast and Apple Podcasts but Castro has a good UI and the Watch app works quite well meaning I can leave my phone at home and listen to podcasts on long runs/rides.
I use the Infographic face and complications for Dark Sky, Alarms, Activity and Timers around the outside, Fantastical as the large complication, and Workouts, World Clock (Sydney time) and Breathe in the middle.
Only two other apps that I use have not been listed elsewhere in this post, both can be found in the App Store:
My Tide Times Pro: I live near the Thames and this app tells me if the tide is too high for me to run on the towpath.
SolarWatch: sunrise and sunset times. If I go for a ride now will I beat sunset?
I think I've covered most of the web apps I use in the other sections - e.g., sometimes I use Strava in a browser as route planning and reporting segments is easier. Sometimes I keep LinkedIn in a browser tab if I've been talking to someone there. I try to keep my browser tabs under control by moving any 'things to read' tabs to Todoist.
Oh, I use DuckDuckGo as my search engine of choice, only falling back to Google when I'm noticeably short of the results I want.
So that's what I use now. What's next?
Monitor: It's likely that moving to a 13" MacBook Pro will mean buying an external monitor. I'm pondering whether to buy a portable USB-C monitor but will probably stick with a normal desktop one, around 27".
Phone: I usually upgrade every other year. The X was a real luxury phone when it launched and I'm hoping the 12 is another leap forward so I'm trying to make the X last another year. Dat 11 Pro camera tho'...
Watch: The Always On Display and compass weren't enough of a change for me to justify an upgrade to the 5 series, so I'm waiting for the 6 (please.. more battery life!). My mobile provider doesn't support the Watch so I'll most likely stick with the non-LTE version.
Earbuds: tempted to pick up some AirPod Pros to use as 'walking about' earbuds, mainly because the Powerbeats Pro case is SO BIG.
Wifi: potentially change to a mesh setup to extend wifi to my office and dump the Powerline adaptors.
Yubikey: I'm looking at fully switching over to a pair of these and dumping Authy. Unsure whether to go with NFC or the USB-C/Lightning combo one. Need to work out my threat models.
Switch: maybe upgrade to the latest one - or wait for the rumoured Pro version.
Switch travel dock: there are a few around.
Switch Bluetooth adaptor: Need to find one that's not laggy given the lack of aptX support on all my headphones and earbuds.
Fire HD 10 tablet: to use to read comics on. No current device I have is a good comic reader, and it feels like a waste to get an iPad for that one function when a Fire tablet is 1/3 the price. On the other hand.. Apple ecosystem.. maybe a second-hand iPad would work.
No real plans here, I'm happy with my setup.
But I'm always looking for cool new stuff so if you know of something, hardware or software, let me know in the issues.
Link to my list of RSS subscriptions in News Explorer. I have removed Ars Technica as I'm a subscriber to the ad-free full article feed which is a subscriber benefit.
Link to my list of podcast subscriptions in Castro. I've removed subscriber feeds for MaximumFun and Talking Simpsons.