17th Jan 2023 Setup

The following interview was inspired by Uses This, a collection of nerdy interviews, asking people from all walks of life about the hardware and software they use.

Who are you, and what do you do?

My name is Thomas Brand. I dropped out of art school to spend time behind the Genius Bar. Today I work at MIT, and run up hills for fun.

What hardware do you use?

• My 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro is the best laptop I have ever used
• I game on a RYZEN 5600 PC with RX 6600 XT graphics running Fedora
• In my pocket I carry a Pixel 5a running AirMessage on T-Mobile’s “legendary” $30 a month unlimited data plan
• On my wrist I wear a Omega Seamaster 2531.80 Chronometer, just like James Bond
• I used to workout with a Apple Watch, but these days I just carry my old iPhone 7 instead
• I traded in my Apple Extended Keyboard for a Das Ultimate S; the Darth Vader of mechanical keyboards
• My MessagePad 130 rarely leaves my desk these days, but remains my favorite Newton

And what software?

• Apple Silicon brought me back to the Mac, but I still pine for the early days o Mac OS X,
• I write all of my email, code, and blog posts in Vim
• Through the power of MOSH I take my Vim environment with me everywhere I go
• Vim’s undo branches are my poor man’s version control system
• I read email in Alpine, RSS in Miniflux, and HTML in LibreWolf; everything else is sent to Pocket

What would be your dream setup?

I started my career in graphic design because I fell in love with the Macintosh. Today I value the freedom to try different platforms. Choice keeps me interested in technology.