Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.

I get asked a lot about the things I use to build software, stay productive, or buy to fool myself into thinking I’m being productive when I’m really just procrastinating. Here’s a big list of all of my favorite stuff.

Workstation

  • 14” MacBook Pro, M2 Max, 64GB RAM (2023)

    I was using Desktop PC prior to this and the difference is night and day. I’ve never heard the fans turn on a single time, even under the incredibly heavy loads I put it under.

  • LG 32UN880-B

    I’ve been using this monitor for a year now and it’s been great. I love the built-in USB-C hub and the built-in speakers have been surprisingly good.

  • LG 27UN880

    After a year with the 27UN880, I'm hooked. The built-in USB-C hub is a game-changer, and the speakers? Surprisingly impressive. Elevate your coding with this monitor's innovative features.

  • Asus ROG Falchion 65% Mechanical keyboard

    I’ve been using this keyboard for a few months now and I’m really happy with it. I love the 65% form factor and the keys feel great.

  • Logitech MX MASTER 3S

    I’ve been using this mouse for a few years now and it’s been great. I love the horizontal scroll wheel for switching between browser tabs.

Development tools

  • PHPStorm from Jetbrains

    The best PHP IDE I’ve ever used. I’ve tried a lot of them and nothing else even comes close.

  • Jira

    I know it’s not cool to like Jira but I do. It's the best and most feature-rich project management tool I’ve ever used.

  • Slack

    Slack is still the best chat app for teams.

  • GitHub

    I’ve tried GitLab and BitBucket but GitHub is still the best. I am getting really good with the GitHub actions workflow and I’m loving it.

  • Laravel

    I’ve been using Laravel since version 5 and it’s still my favorite PHP framework.

  • React.js

    I dont know why react is so popular but I love it.

  • Vue.js

    One of the best javascript frameworks out there (period).

  • iTerm2

    I’m honestly not even sure what features I get with this that aren’t just part of the macOS Terminal but it’s what I use.

  • TablePlus

    Great software for working with databases. Has saved me from building about a thousand admin interfaces for my various projects over the years.

Design

  • Figma

    We started using Figma as just a design tool but now it’s become our virtual whiteboard for the entire company. Never would have expected the collaboration features to be the real hook.

Productivity

  • Alfred

    It’s not the newest kid on the block but it’s still the fastest. The Sublime Text of the application launcher world.

  • Reflect

    Using a daily notes system instead of trying to keep things organized by topics has been super powerful for me. And with Reflect, it’s still easy for me to keep all of that stuff discoverable by topic even though all of my writing happens in the daily note.

  • Spotify

    I’ve tried Apple Music, YouTube Music, and a few others but Spotify is still the best for me.