Sruli Loewy’s sweet Mac setup
Every week we post a new interview with someone about what software they use on their Mac, iPhone, or iPad. We do these interviews because not only are they fun, but a glimpse into what tools someone uses and how they use those tools can spark our imagination and give us an idea or insight into how we can do things better.
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Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Sruli Loewy. I am a student and run SrulTech Solutions, a general technology support and web design company I founded. When I’m not helping people pick out their next computer or fixing their broken laptop, I can be found designing websites or writing posts for my blog.
What is your current setup?
Alright, let’s break this down.
- Workhorse: My primary machine is a mid-2012 MacBook Pro with an Intel Core i5 clocked at 2.50 GHz, 8GB of RAM, and a Data Doubler that enables me to have a 120GB SSD boot drive and a 500GB storage drive. It spends most of the time in clamshell mode residing in a TwelveSouth BookArc.
- Displays: My two displays are a phenomenal Dell monitor and an AOC monitor. The AOC monitor is connected via a Startech USB 3.0 to DVI External Video Card which replaced my aging IOGEAR VGA to USB 2.0. I like my monitors higher than standard so I picked up a MonMount and have been very pleased with the versatility of it. I can move my monitors to virtually any angle I please. This is how I get my wallpapers.
- Drives: You’ll find a smattering of external drives around my desk including a 1TB Seagate BackupPlus for Time Machine, a 500GB Toshiba Canvio which is currently a boot drive for my OS X Yosemite Developer Preview and general storage, as well as occasionally an Asus DVD R/W drive.
- Peripherals and Accessories: I use the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and Magic Mouse — my all time favorites. I’ve been meaning to upgrade my audio setup for a while, but for now I use the MacBook Pro’s speakers or my Coby headphones which, when not in use, hang on my jerry-rigged headphone stand/desk lamp. My coffee always sits on a USB Cup Warmer. After completing my setup, I realized that the monitors blocked a lot of the light from reaching the back of my desk, so I bought a strip of multi-colored LEDs and hung them around the back of my desk and under it. Now the back is illuminated and my desk gives off a nice color-changing glow.
What software do you use and for what do you use it?
Mail.app is my primary email client for all of my accounts, and Google Chrome is my preferred browser. I use Freshdesk for managing my IT ticketing and support requests and In-Mobility mainly for billing and a bit of organization. My workflows used to live in Dropbox, but now I’m moving more and more of them, and my files, to Copy simply because they give more storage for basically nothing. f.lux is a must for anyone who uses a computer for the better part of the day. I use Evernote for keeping my writing synced across all of my devices. When I’m coding, I’ll either use BlueJ (going to change soon) or TextMate. As far as web design goes, I use WireFramePro for mockups and Adobe Photoshop for the actual design.
How would your ideal setup look and function?
I can’t really complain about my current setup — I love the versatility of the MacBook Pro. I can take it with me wherever I need to go or dock it on my desk and still have the same amount of computing power. If given the opportunity to go “all out,” I definitely would pick up one of those new Mac Pros and a couple 4K monitors. I’d probably also pick up a larger desk. I’m a big fan of the “L” shaped desks. Realistically, I would really like to get a RAID array and NAS going but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
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