Michael Dyrynda
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How I work October 30th, 2018

These setup posts do the rounds every now and then, and a few other folks have started posting now so I figured I'd get involved for a change!

My desk

I have a sturdy corner desk, which I added a sit stand desk to since purchase, allowing me to stretch my legs out while getting work done.

Hardware

2017 MacBook Pro

My main driver is a 2017 15" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar in Space Grey. This one has one of the refined keyboards, and I find it actually quite nice to type on when I'm using the built in keyboard. At my desk, I typically use a CODE Clear, though I have been. spending more time on the Magic Keyboard 2 (in Space Grey, of course) since it was made available for purchase and love it.

I run through an Alogic USB-C docking station to a Samsung 32" 4K display. I typically have four windows split on the screen, though depending on my task will also use three vertical windows. I use BetterTouch Tool for window management, as well as keyboard shortcuts.

I have a longstanding love affair with trackballs, and have been using the Logitech MX Ergo since it was released and the M570 before it. Unfortunately, Mojave seems to have some issues with bluetooth connectivity at the moment, so I'm currently using an original Apple Trackpad, but I feel like its silver-ness needs replacing with a Space Grey version.

Typical window layout

I use an iPhone X 64GB as my primary phone, and a 10.5" iPad Pro 256GB both in Space Grey.

Editor

My primary editor is SublimeText 3. I use the Laravel Colour Scheme, Operator Mono font, and a few other packages, which make it a lightweight and super fast way to program on a daily basis.

SublimeText 3

Terminal

I use iTerm2 as my terminal with the ZSH command prompt coupled with Oh My Zsh and the Tailwind CSS colour scheme.

iTerm 2

Development

Laravel Valet is my development environment of choice as it is lightweight and easy to work with multiple projects. I will use Docker from time to time, when I want to test out some new tooling, and always when I want to work with Redis.

Music

99% of the time, I've got my AirPods in as their sound is great but don't totally take me away from the other people in the office. When I need to really focus - or when I'm flying - I use my Bose QC35 headphones. My desk is also equipped with bluetooth Logitech Z337 speakers for when I want the music to fill the room.

I have a wide and varied taste in music, but have a lot of time for Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Dream Theater.

Audio

In case you weren't aware by now, I co-host the North Meets South and Laravel News podcasts. In order to sound tip-top, I use the following equipment. This setup is basically the $1,000 podcasting setup from CSS Tricks, but I've swapped the 2i4 for a 2i2.

I have previously used the Rode NT-USB, which is an exceptional microphone.

Miscellaneous software

Here's some software I also use regularly:

I'm a real developer ™
Michael Dyrynda

@michaeldyrynda

I am a software developer specialising in PHP and the Laravel Framework, and a freelancer, blogger, and podcaster by night.

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