Background

Growing as a kid in a generation where computers and laptops were not so common, I was always fascinated and wanted to surround myself with digital devices. I still remember I had my first computer when I was in fifth grade. Now working as a software developer has its advantages, one of them being, you work with cool digital devices.

Setup

Due to the pandemic, most of the software developers are working from home. I got an opportunity to create a productive environment in my room, so sharing a couple of things that I use in accomplishing my daily tasks and special thanks to BrowserStack for helping me to complete my setup.

Power House

The machine that is powering up the whole setup is a Macbook Pro 13. It uses an intel core i5 quad-core chip with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD storage. The price of the machine is relatively close to that of MacBook Pro 16, but I enjoy versatile laptops, so I can once in a while carry them around in a coffee shop and still have the advantage of a bigger screen by connecting them to a display.

Earphones

There are a lot of earphones available in the market with a wide range of price spectrum. I use AirPods Pro by Apple. While they sound great, they might not be the best you can get at that price tag. I use them because they are very easy to carry around and most importantly, I love carrying them around so that I can avoid a noisy atmosphere and concentrate on my work (yeah, noise cancellation works like a charm). While being so nicely integrated with all my other Apple devices, it also fits in so well that it has never popped out of my ear even in my most intensive workout.

Input Devices

These are really important to a software developer as most of the time they are seen holding hands with a mouse 😛. I wanted something ergonomic and small enough to fit into my setup. I went for Logitech MX-Master 3 and K-380 keyboard. I am a person that uses gestures in Mac machines very extensively and this mouse handles it perfectly fine with a gesture button. It has two scrolls for vertical and horizontal scroll that can even be customized to work distinctly for different apps, like in chrome horizontal scroll can be used to switch between tabs. While the keyboard is not that great but I do not have any complaints about it. Both have the mouse and keyboard have the ability to connect to three Bluetooth devices at the same time and switch over devices with a simple click.

Monitor

As I am not into gaming I was looking for an IPS display monitor that would suit my setup and my pocket. I bought this Dell P2419H monitor. It is a full HD monitor with an IPS display. The great thing about the monitor you don’t need a single tool to fix the monitor on the stand, it just pops right in. Some of the fun features of the monitor are, it can be adjusted in any dimension you want i.e. height-adjustable, tilt-adjustable and you can even rotate the monitor to code on a vertical screen. It also has an Input device hub that’s what Dell is calling it. Well, with all the features, it lacks on speaker and a type c port (yeah, it is more important to mac devices). Overall it’s a great monitor.

Note Taking

I use iPad sixth generation and an apple pencil first generation to take notes. While it’s good to have these when you want to sign something digitally or you can use it as a third monitor using Apple Side Car but, it doesn’t replace the fun of writing on a notebook. I already had an iPad so, I bought an apple pencil and I use it to make some quick notes.

Productive Items

While there are a lot of things that can make your setup really productive, a good chair, lights, desk, and everybody has their own sense of being productive so here are some photos of how I added some of the bits in my room.

P.S if you are wondering where are all the wires and the mess, here it is 😛