zackfern

Uses

Here are some of the hardware and software I use and enjoy.

Hardware #

  • 14" & 16" M1 MacBook Pros - I love these laptops. I've got one for work and another as my personal laptop, and both the big and small form factor are great in their own ways. The screens are gorgeous, and I've grown to love the notch. Don't judge me.
  • iPhone 15 Pro - A great phone. Although I long for an updated Mini, I love the cameras on this phone and the overall aesthetic and feeling remind me of the iPhone 5 in a really nice way.
  • iPad Mini - I love the form factor, I can't wait for it to be released with an OLED screen.
  • Kobo Libra H2O - A great e-reader, especially if you use Overdrive with your public library.
  • Sony A6000 - My big camera.
  • Sony RX100 VII - My small camera.
  • Apple Watch - It's a watch, it's a fitness tracker, it's a Siri delivery mechanism!
  • Steam Deck - I'm not a big gamer, but I love playing games on the Steam Deck. Something about handheld game systems really works for me.
  • Switch Lite - An even smaller handheld game system, but just for Nintendo things (and Stardew Valley).

Software #

Cross-platform: #

  • 1Password
  • Things - I use Things both for tracking todos and keeping track of project ideas, books to read, movies to see, etc.
  • Drafts - A quick text editor, which also seems wildly scriptable and that I feel I'm probably underutilizing. I like using it for writing longer form Markdown, updating from within Shortcuts, and displaying text in widgets.
  • Telegram
  • NetNewsWire - Great native apps that support NewsBlur.

On my computers: #

  • Alfred
  • Firefox
  • VSCode - It's not my favorite by any measure, but I have to use it so I've learned to use it.

On my phone: #

  • Mastodon client: Ivory & Phanpy
  • Podcast client: Pocket Casts

Self-hosted: #

  • Dokku - I've been using Dokku to easily deploy applications to a VPS for years. It's super easy and gives me that nice Heroku-ish feeling I love, which makes it easier for me to deploy and self-host side projects.
  • Unraid - I run Unraid on my home server to act as a NAS and self-host things that I need running on my local network like Home Assistant and PiHole.
  • Home Assistant - I've been running Home Assistant for years, but I'm definetely under-utilizing it. I mostly use HAss as a way to write automations (like this one) and have an API for things like my Sonos speakers. I also use the Home Assistant Companion apps on iOS and macOS.
  • Nightscout - I've got diabetes and I'm a nerd, so I use Nightscout to store my own copy of my CGM data. I utilize the Nightscout API in order to quickly refer to my measurements using tools like Shortcuts and XBar.
  • TiddlyWiki
  • Huginn - I haven't used it for a couple of years, but I used to be a big fan of using Huginn as a task runner.

Websites: #

  • NewsBlur - My RSS reader of choice, I've been a loyal user since at least 2011. Some of my favorite features of NewsBlur are:
    • The ability to train it to ignore keywords post titles or specific tags in feeds.
    • The quirky but lovable UI.
    • The fact that I can 3rd party front-end apps, like NetNewsWire on iOS and macOS.
    • The fact that it's open source, even though I have no plans to run my own instance.