It is back and better than ever (or the same right now): my current development setup! This will get updated periodically as my setup changes and evolves, so keep checking back often.

Home Desktop

The newest addition to the party is a Mac mini (Late 2012) with an Intel Core i5 at 2.5 Ghz, 16 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive and using OS X Mountain Lion for the operating system. Hoping this will serve my purposes well as a home development machine. I hook it up to a 23” Dell ST2310 monitor, Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Apple Magic Mouse.

It also serves as the media hub (which mostly gets streamed via AirPlay around the house) and it might get used for some server-y things in the future as well.

Work Laptop

I use a 13″ MacBook Pro (Early 2011) with an Intel Core i7 at 2.7 Ghz processor, 16 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive and loaded with OS X Mountain Lion to round it all out. Fantastic little machine. I hook it up to a 24″ Viewsonic VA2431wm monitor, Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Apple Magic Mouse, and Apple Magic Trackpad.

Fantastic little development machine.

Home Laptop

When we moved back to New Ulm, I picked up a used 13″ MacBook (Late 2009) with an Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.26 Ghz for my wife to use at home. This allowed us to keep a desktop out of the main part of the home. It has 4 GB of RAM, and a 500 GB hard drive. It’s a simple little machine that works when I leave my MacBook Pro at the office.

Network Setup

I have a Motorola SURFboard cable modem that feeds into a Time Capsule which is extended by an Airport Express. Hooked up to the Airport Express is a pair of Bose Companion 2 speakers for sound in my office (so that I can play podcasts through AirPlay when I am in the office).

I have strung an Ethernet cable from the Time Capsule to my officer where it feeds into some cheap gigabit switches. The Airport Express feeds off of this system instead of just acting as a wireless extender so that we get a little better reliability in the house.

Tablet Device

I used a first-generation 16 GB iPad for a while as my main mobile device, but my wife took control of it and now it stays at home as the living-area computer. I now use a 16 GB Verizon iPad mini as my main mobile computing device (that is not a smart phone) . I spend a lot of time in Instapaper and iBooks.

Cellular Phone

The one device I always have with me is my 16 GB iPhone 4S. It is my ever-present traveling companion and keeps me constantly connected with the people and information I need to keep on top of. It also serves as my music device and camera when I need one. Simply a fantastic device.

Text Editors

1st Choice

Still TextMate. I’ve tried to get into the whole Vim vibe going around the Ruby community at the moment, but I am just wired to continue to use TextMate. Even after all of this time, simply the best. I’m now enjoying watching TextMate 2 development on GitHub and looking for a place for me to step in and maybe contribute a little bit.

2nd Choice

Of course, I have to give a shout out to Xcode as well. I’m getting into it more and more and I hope to dive in, waist deep, in the future. It is something different for me as I’m more accustomed to simple text editors and not full-blown IDEs.

3rd Choice

I have to add Vim here. Vim is everywhere and used by every sysadmin that I have ever met (that might be an overstatement, but stick with me). It is small, fast and infinitely customizable to the point of pain. I’m going to learn Vim, just watch me!

Video Game Console

I’ve always been a huge fan of Nintendo (with some side quests with an Xbox 360 and Playstation 2), so I now have a Wii U in the house and am trying to get myself acquainted with console gaming again. So far I have the GamePad and two Wii Remote(s) Plus. I’ll probably swing for a Wii U Pro Controller in the future.

I tend to play Nintendo’s games and then some of the better third-party stuff. Looking forward to the next iteration of Zelda for sure.