Hardware and Software I use.
Table of Contents
§ Computers
§ Desktop
| Model | CPU | Memory | OS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Macbook Pro 15-inch | Intel Core i7-7700HQ (8) @ 2.80 GHz | 16 GB | MacOS X Ventura |
The main computer I use is this Macbook Pro, which I have adapted for exclusive use as a desktop. I used this machine as a laptop for several years, until damage left the screen unusable. I used it with an external monitor for a while, but it was inconvenient having the broken screen still attached, and it would still try to display on the broken screen during boot, among other issues. Eventually, I ended up taking off the screen entirely, which thankfully remedied the issues I was having and made it a lot nicer to use. This type of setup is often refered to as a “headless Macbook”, though I don’t think it meets the formal definition of headless.
§ Laptop
| Model | CPU | Memory | OS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Macbook Pro 16-inch | Intel Core i9-9880H (16) @ 2.30 GHz | 16 GB | MacOS X Sequoia |
I got this laptop as a replacement for the 2017 Macbook. I use it while traveling as well as for daily use to take to classes, appointments, and such.
§ Apple IIGS
| Model | CPU | Memory | OS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Apple IIGS (ROM 01) | WDC 65C816 (1) @ 2.80 MHz (16 bit) | 768 KB | ProDOS, GS/OS |
I am the proud owner of this beautiful Apple IIGS. I got it on Craigslist in 2025 from the original owner, a retrocomputing enthusiast (although when he got started, they weren’t retro yet!). Along with the computer itself, I also picked up the original monitor, the keyboard and mouse, 5.25 and 3.5 drives, an ImageWriter II printer, original OS and tutorial disks, all of the original manuals and promotional fliers, a copy of Claris™ AppleWorks®, and all of the original packaging! The Apple IIGS is a lot of fun to work with and it’s actually much easier to understand how it works compared to a modern system. Manuals from that era are much more thorough than modern corporate user guides, as they worked off of the assumption that the user may have never used a computer before.
§ Software
§ For Mac
- OBS - Streaming, broadcasting, and recording software.
- Inkscape - SVG design, line drawing.
- Krita - Digital Art software that is usable for general image manipulation as well. I like it more than GIMP.
- SDR++ - Software-defined radio receiver.
- LibreWolf - Build of Firefox with Mozilla trackers and bloat removed and better default settings.
- Ungoogled-chromium - “Google Chromium, sans integration with Google”
- Karabiner-Elements - Key remapper for MacOS X.
- Hugo - The Static Site Generator I use for this website.
- TextEdit - MacOS X text editor.
- Homebrew - Package manager for MacOS X
- Fastfetch - Display a description of your system from the command line.
- VLC - Media player
- Zotero - Reference management software.
- YT-DLP - Video downloader.
- Irssi - IRC client.
- Lynx - CLI web bowser.
- Kjv - CLI Bible.
- ADTPro - Transfer disk images from modern computers to the Apple II, and vice versa.
- OS X Terminal - MacOS X Terminal.
§ Browser Extensions
- UBlock Origin - Ad and content blocker for the Web.
- SponsorBlock - Remove sponsorships from YouTube videos.
- Decentraleyes - Protects against tracking by locally emulating CDNs.
- ImprovedTube - Various improvements to the YouTube UI. I use it mainly to speed up videos faster than 2x.
- Zotero Connector - Zotero companion for saving webpages as references. Automatically recognizes and populates citation data for webpages, scholarly articles, books, etc.
§ Peripherals and Accessories
This section isn’t finished yet!