Who are you, and what do you do?
I’m Tim Malone, and I’m here at Kablamo doing DevOps - anything in the cloud, really!
What hardware do you use?
Currently on a MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017) with 16 GB RAM, while I wait for a shiny new 14" 32 GB M1 to make its way through the currently-delayed supply chains. When working at my desk, I add a 3-piece Belkin Loft stand, a Magic Keyboard with number pad, and Magic Mouse. I’ve never been one for clunky or mechanical keyboards - I like to type light! (Speaking of light, I’m also really unusual in that I use light themes for code editing and even my terminal).
I generally use two external monitors - not fussy on type, I don’t even care if they’re not the same! - as well as a pair of Sennheiser HD 450BT’s if I’m listening to something loud or need to especially focus. When not in a meeting or listening to something, my sound is almost always muted.
Finally, there’s usually a Yubikey 5 NFC either on my desk or close by, plus a small digital thermometer and at least one plant that I sometimes rotate (but never forget to water).
And what software?
Top-to-bottom in the dock:
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Finder (not sure why, just never removed it)
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Google Chrome
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Messages (for quick ’texting’ without picking up my phone)
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Slack
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iTerm 2
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VSCode
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Spotify
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Authy (for 2FA without picking up my phone)
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Messenger
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Signal
I’m also usually running NextDNS, as well a Phillips Hue desktop app in case I want to change the lights quickly and can’t be bothered calling out to Alexa (or picking up my phone).
Zoom also pops up when it’s required (but I prefer Google Meet), and I use LastPass for password management. Docker may be open sometimes, depending on what I’m doing, and from time-to-time I’ll also run Dropbox to sync everything up - although these days I try to store docs directly in Google Drive; there’s slowly becoming less and less use for Dropbox!
Important web apps include Gmail, Google Calendar, Todoist, Google Drive, Confluence, Jira, and Evernote - and naturally there’s usually one or more tabs open at the AWS console.
What would be your dream setup?
Probably something in one of those NOCs in the movies, where you have two layers of four screens wrapped around you, everything with its place and if you don’t notice the right map at the right time, someone’s gonna die. Oh and some Phillips Hue light strips as backing lights behind the monitors, a good speaker or two, and a full-width window with a - great view!
