On this page there’s just a bit on what hardware, software and gadgets as such I’m running right now, and yes, this is all a bit techie:
Computing Hardware
2011 Mac Mini - Dual Core i5 2.5GHz, 8GB RAM, AMD HD 6630M, 500GB Hitachi HDD. (Bought Sept. 2011!)
I also have an old MacBook from October 2006 – still feels not too bad for speed with a cheap SSD: MacBook – Core Duo 2GHz, 2GB RAM, Intel G950, 64GB Crucial m4 SSD.
The current incarnation of my continually self built desktop PC:
CPU: Athlon 2 X4 645 (Quad Core 3.1 GHz – June 2011), RAM: 12GB DDR3 (Sept. 2009 & Dec. 2011), Mobo: ASRock M3A785GMH (Sept. 2009), Graphics: Kuroutoshikou ATI HD 5750 (May 2010), Sound: Soundblaster X-Fi Extreme Audio (May 2011), Misc.: Enermax fans, and Antec Earthwatts 430 PSU. Western Digital Green drives. (Sept. 2009) / OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit.
Software:
Most of the textual things I produce are done in a straight text editor like TextEdit, BBEdit or Notepad++. For actual writing, I use Scrivener – it’s a fantastic app. As I move machines, I tend to keep work in progress on Dropbox or Evernote.
Video editing I do in iMovie, and I tend to use Vimeo for web availability. I’m currently using iPhoto to organise photos, and an old copy of Photoshop Elements 8 for image creation and such.
Also, I keep a Microsoft Technet account as I find it useful having access to that kind of thing. All of my e-mail is run via my own domain names, but uses Google Apps Mail as a backend.
Gaming
I do very little gaming nowadays, and is on the consoles for the most part – I have an XBox360, a Wii and a PS3, not to mention a Nintendo DS somewhere – with some more casual games being played through Steam. It’s something I’m a lot less interested in of late.
Other current gadgets:
- 6th generation iPod Classic 80GB (~2006)
- iPhone 4 32GB (Softbank-free with contract extension) (August 2011)
- 3rd generation wi-fi Kindle (Sept. 2010)
Miscellaneous
I ride a 2006 Honda CB400 SF motorbike – a nice simple bike which is great for getting out into the core of Japan, and meeting the people. I do have a license for a larger bike, but have not got around to sorting a bigger bike out! I recently picked up a Trek Kaitai hybrid bicycle which I also like to get out on – four wheels good, two wheels better.
To enjoy the mountains, I have a near decade old Nitro Atlas 64 snowboard and all the kit for a few days on the mountain.
Computer Cupboard
It’s all very IKEA at the moment! A Galant model desk in black-brown with white A frame legs. I have it at 750mm which is a little higher than the standard 700mm. Screwed into this I have two Signum cable management systems which I privately hate, and on one end, a raised shelf, with the printer on top, and the scanner underneath, which I slide out when I want to scan something.
I also have a Forsa desk lamp, with a Sharp LED bulb in it for some additional white light (the room lighting is a couple of diffused LED ceiling lights are warmer coloured. We also have a lot of bookshelves in there.
