uses

I often get asked about my computing setup—my computers, the software I run on them, how I host my services, and other choices of personal technology. This is a relatively up-to-date list detailing what I’m currently using.

personal laptop (wyndle)

My primary laptop that I use for everything non-work is my Asus ROG Flow X13 (2021). It’s got a Ryzen 9 5900HS, Nvidia GTX 1650 Max-Q, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. I bought this machine in early 2022, when I was working remotely as a contractor. The 4K display doesn’t help with its battery life (about 7 hours) but it looks absolutely fantastic.

This laptop currently runs NixOS. I would ideally like to run OpenBSD, but I figured I’d make use of its GPU for the occasional game and run Linux instead; NixOS just seemed like the least-shit choice. I like its declarative approach to system configuration, but I won’t pretend—I’d have much preferred a more sane language like Lua.

Other software I use on this machine:

• GNOME: I’m liking it a ton more than KDE Plasma. Especially love the trackpad gestures and general feel of the UI.

• tmux: Most of my actual “window” management happens here. I have it configured to show my current working directory and git info in the statusline—this helps me keep my actual prompt clean and quick.

• neovim: My editor of choice. I made the switch to the famously awaited 0.5.0 branch that introduced Lua support very early and haven’t looked back since. I use a custom duotone colorscheme.

• Zed: I’ve been dailying Zed for while now and it has replaced Neovim for most of my editing tasks scoped to projects. I still reach for Neovim for one-off edits in the terminal.

• Bitwarden: I run a Vaultwarden server in my homelab K3s cluster and use the official Bitwarden clients everywhere else.

work laptop (kvothe)

For work, I use a 14” M1 MacBook Pro. I use nix-darwin to configure most of my basic applications (neovim, tmux, bash, …). Software of note:

• alacritty: Much faster than iTerm and a whole bunch lighter. And I can configure it using Nix!

• Raycast: Launcher and window management.

• Orion: Safari but better.

homelab k3s cluster

3-node K3s cluster:

• sini: 8GB, i5–6500T, 256GB SSD
• iso: 8GB, i5–6500, 500GB HDD
• denna: 8GB, N100, 128GB eMMC

More info at git.icyphox.sh/infra.

other technology

Some hardware and software that are in frequent use across all my devices:

• Ferricy: 34-key wireless split keyboard designed by me, based on the Ferris Sweep. I have both the MX (Gazzew Boba LT switches) and the Choc (Kailh Sunset switches) variants, but I find myself favoring the low actuation force of the MX one more. Some pictures here.

• Logitech Ergo M575: Wireless ergonomic thumb trackball mouse. I’ve written about it in depth.

• Airpods Pro: Great quality, even better noise cancellation.

• iPhone 13 mini: It’s unfortunate that I have to use an Apple device but it’s also the only real small phone in the market. I quite enjoy how it fits in my palm, and being able to reach the top of the screen with one hand. I plan to stick to this until Apple stops updating it.

• Kindle KT4: Jailbroken using WatchThis and running KOReader.

• iPhone 15 Pro: “Work” phone. Not a fan of its size, but I love the refresh rate. This is currently my main phone.

• Tailscale: I used to setup WireGuard networks by hand, but that got unweildy after 3 hosts. With Tailscale I now have around 8 different machines running Linux, OpenBSD, macOS and iOS all seamlessly connected. It’s incredibly handy.