pages/uses.md (view raw)
1---
2template: page.html
3title: uses
4subtitle: Hardware and software that I use.
5---
6
7I often get asked about my computing setup -- my computers, the software
8I run on them, how I host my services, and other choices of personal
9technology. This is a relatively up-to-date list detailing what I'm
10currently using.
11
12## personal laptop (lapis)
13
14My primary laptop that I use for everything non-work is my [**Asus ROG
15Flow X13 (2021)**](/blog/flow-x13). It's got a Ryzen 9 5900HS, Nvidia
16GTX 1650 Max-Q, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. I bought this machine in
17early 2022, when I was working remotely as a contractor. The 4K display
18doesn't help with its battery life (about 7 hours) but it looks
19absolutely fantastic.
20
21
22
23This laptop currently runs NixOS. I would ideally like to run OpenBSD,
24but I figured I'd make use of its GPU for the occasional game and run
25Linux instead; NixOS just seemed like the least-shit choice. I like its
26declarative approach to system configuration, but I won't pretend -- I'd
27have much preferred a more sane language like Lua.
28
29Other software I use on this machine:
30
31- **KDE Plasma**: It's been alright as a desktop environment but I only
32 care to use it for Wayland and I don't have time to dick around with a
33 window manager. But that might change.
34
35- **tmux**: Most of my actual "window" management happens here. I have
36 it
37 [configured](https://git.icyphox.sh/dotfiles/blob/master/nix/programs/tmux.nix)
38 to show my current working directory and git info in the statusline --
39 this helps me keep my actual prompt clean and quick.
40
41- **neovim**: My editor of choice. I made the switch to the famously
42 awaited 0.5.0 branch that introduced Lua support [very
43 early](/blog/nvim-lua/) and haven't looked back since. I use a [custom
44 duotone
45 colorscheme](https://git.icyphox.sh/dotfiles/blob/master/config/nvim/colors/plain.vim).
46
47- **QtPass**: Frontend for passwords managed using GPG.
48
49- **Firefox**: It works; not much else to say. These are the add-ons I
50 use:
51 * Don't F* with Paste: for those pesky bank logins that block paste in
52 the password fields
53 * Refined Hacker News
54 * Sidebery: tab-tree on the left
55 * Simple Translate: for Finnish/Russian
56 * SponsorBlock
57 * uBlock Origin
58 * Web Scrobbler
59 * Multi-Account Containers
60
61## work laptop (kvothe)
62
63For work, I use a **14" M1 MacBook Pro**. I use
64[nix-darwin](https://github.com/LnL7/nix-darwin) to configure most of my
65basic applications (neovim, tmux, bash, ...). Software of note:
66
67- **iTerm2**: I don't use 90% of its features but I like that it lets me
68 cofigure terminal padding. I prefer to run a single instance of iTerm,
69 full-screened and without any borders. I use tmux for everything else.
70
71- **Rectangle**: For the occasional window management.
72
73## home server (denna)
74
75
76
77My latest addition. I bought this HP EliteDesk on
78[Tori.fi](https://tori.fi) for a princely sum of 60 EUR. It has an i5
796500, 8GB of RAM and a 500GB HDD. I installed OpenBSD on it at work by
80wiring it up to a monitor using DisplayPort (it does not have HDMI).
81It now runs very quitely under my table, plugged into the router.
82
83I didn't feel like paying my ISP for a static IP and since I work for a
84[cloud provider](https://upcloud.com), I spun up a VPS with a public IP
85and setup a quick Nginx TCP proxy to forward traffic to my home server.
86
87```conf
88stream {
89 server {
90 listen 80;
91 listen [::]:80;
92 proxy_pass denna:80;
93 }
94 server {
95 listen 443;
96 listen [::]:443;
97 proxy_pass denna:443;
98 }
99}
100```
101
102Then, using [httpd(8)](https://man.openbsd.org/httpd.8) and
103[relayd(8)](https://man.openbsd.org/relayd.8) I run a few services (with
104more to come):
105
106- This website.
107- [legit](https://git.icyphox.sh/legit): Web frontend for git, written
108 in Go.
109- [honk](https://h.icyphox.sh): ActivityPub server.
110- [fsrv](https://git.icyphox.sh/fsrv): File hosting and upload server,
111 written in Go.
112- [radicale](https://radicale.org): Contacts and calendar (Cal/CardDav)
113 server.
114
115## other technology
116
117Some hardware and software that are in frequent use across all my
118devices:
119
120- **Ferricy**: 34-key wireless split keyboard designed by me, based on
121 the Ferris Sweep. I have both the MX (Gazzew Boba LT switches) and the
122 Choc (Kailh Sunset switches) variants, but I find myself favoring the
123 low actuation force of the MX one more. Some [pictures
124 here](/blog/2022-in-review/#keyboards-my-first-new-expensive-hobby).
125
126- **Logitech Ergo M575**: Wireless ergonomic thumb trackball mouse. I've
127 [written about it](/blog/m575) in depth.
128
129- **realme Buds Air 3s**: El-cheapo truly-wireless earphones. They look
130 pretty slick, and fit very comfortably. I mostly use them at the gym
131 or while commuting in the metro.
132
133- **iPhone 13 mini**: It's unfortunate that I have to use an Apple
134 device but it's also the only real small phone in the market. I quite
135 enjoy how it fits in my palm, and being able to reach the top of the
136 screen with one hand. I plan to stick to this until Apple stops
137 updating it.
138
139- **Kindle KT4**: Jailbroken using
140 [WatchThis](https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=346037)
141 and running KOReader.
142
143- **Tailscale**: I used to setup WireGuard networks by hand, but that
144 got unweildy after 3 hosts. With Tailscale I now have around 8
145 different machines running Linux, OpenBSD, macOS and iOS all
146 seamlessly connected. It's incredibly handy.
147
148- **Migadu**: I too, like everyone else, gave up on self-hosting my
149 email. Migadu is very straightforward, and very cheap (19 EUR/year).
150 Works great with all my email clients.