Workbench: Tools & Products I use

Desk:

• Macbook Pro (M1 13-inch, 2020):  Still running strong, no need to upgrade yet. Even AI models with Ollama work without any issues.
• Apple Magic Trackpad: Always the preferred choice compared to Magic Mouse—I couldn’t stand that one.
• Studio Display: Highly recommend it if you can afford it. Totally worth it.
• Keychron K3 Mechanical Keyboard:Love the sound! I pair it with the Apple keyboard.
• Mac Mini (M4, 2024 edition): This was an impulse buy, but no regrets—this machine is an absolute beast. Paired with the Studio Display, it makes for an excellent work setup. I'll probably learn Blender in 2025.
• Brother Printer (HL-L2340DW): I enjoy reading some blog posts in print.

Calls, recording:

• Opal C1: Small, easy to carry. Much better than regular webcams.
• Blue Yeti: Mostly reserved for recording videos now. For regular calls, AirPods Pro handle everything well.

Apps:

• Reflect: Since English isn’t my first language, I often rely on its audio memos to develop my ideas.
• Raycast: A great alternative to macOS Spotlight. I started using it for simple tasks like currency conversion, but it’s become much more.
• Pomodoro (Extension): A simple extension to go with Raycast. I'm easily distracted, this helps me to stay focused.
• Flighty: Hands down, the best app for flight tracking and updates.
• Tuple: The best pair programming tool I’ve ever used. My Zoom / Meet usage dropped significantly after switching to this.
• Maccy: A lightweight clipboard manager. Even though Raycast has a clipboard manager, I still use Maccy.
• There.pm: A menu bar app for tracking local time across multiple time zones—perfect for working with distributed teams.
• MeetingBar: A menu-bar app for meeting notifications. MacOS only and open-source.

Everything AI related:

• Perplexity: I use Google for quick lookups, but Perplexity is my go-to when deeper thought or context is needed.
• Claude: My go-to product for anything code-related.
• ChatGPT: For everything else—except code.