Adam Lee’s MacBook Pro Setup

In this series, 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 Adam Lee, and I am a (part-time) computer science student while working as a software developer. I also write my own site about things that interest me.

What is your current setup?

Griffin Elevator stand (10+ years)

I began using this with my white MacBook (Core2Duo anyone?) back in college. Since then, it’s served many more laptops and is still looking sleek as ever.

HHKB Pro 2 Keyboard (~9 years)

I bought this keyboard in my 2nd year of college I believe. It helped me get through my undergrad, and has been with me through all kinds of ups and downs. I also carry it everywhere. I can forget my mouse, but I get very cranky when I forget the keyboard. The case I carry it in is made specifically for the keyboard and fits like a glove.

Bose MusicMonitor speakers (~5 years)

I like how compact these are. They sound superb as well!

Dell Monitor Arm (~2 years)

I fidget a lot and switch postures throughout the day. A monitor arm is a must now.

LG Ultrafine 4K display (1.5 years)

Probably my favorite purchase of the past ~5 years. Image quality is just amazing. It lets me charge my MacBook with the display cable as well. It’s quite small at 22 inches, but I find I focus better with this single monitor setup.

Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch 2018 base configuration (10 months)

What can I say? I like it. Great screen, performance, and quality all around except for the keyboard and the heat. I am already excited for the next generation of MacBooks. For the next while, this is my workhorse.

Apple MagicMouse 2 Space Gray (~9 months)

It’s got its quirks, but I like how slim it is. I carry my keyboard with me all the time, so I don’t want a bulky mouse. This does the job. Sometimes I even carry it in my pants pocket. That said, I don’t use it too much as I spend most of my time in the terminal.

AirPods 2 (~6 months)

I can never go back to wired earbuds, especially when I am out and about.

Garbage Collection Wrist Rest (for HHKB) (~5 months)

My arms and shoulders got stiff and sore over the years. I knew my posture had problems, but I never knew my wrists were part of the issue until I straightened them with this.

Caldigit TS3+ Docking Station (~5 months)

Dongles and adapters added up. So I forked out $$$ and bought this instead. This thing is a beast. Not only does it charge my laptop, it also has a passthrough for the display. It’s got everything I need, like the SD card reader, audio in/out, USB ports (both powered), HDMI, etc.

BenQ Screenbar (~3 months)

It’s pricey, but it’s worth it. I no longer have to adjust the monitor AND the desk lamp to kill the glare. Most of the time this is the only light I use in my room.

Where can we find your macOS wallpaper?

It’s a photo I took with my iPhone, and you can find it here.

What software do you use and for what do you use it?

• Oh My Zsh: I use zsh as my shell, and this makes it easy to manage my zsh configurations. Check it out if you don’t know. It’s addicting.
• vim: My go-to text editor. I use it partly because it’s available everywhere, but also I find GUI tools annoying.
• VS Code: I’m still figuring it out, but I’ve been doing my assignments with it, and it’s pretty good with lots of keyboard shortcut options.
• Apple Music and Spotify: I go back and forth between the two all the time. I’ve been using Spotify more and more as of late though. It recommends songs that speak to me deeply.
• Microsoft OneNote: What I use to take notes for my courses. I haven’t really tried any other note-taking apps, but OneNote has been around for a long time with great cross-platform support.

How would your ideal setup look and function?

Flexibility is everything for me. I tweak my posture a lot while I am sitting, so the monitor arm has been great for that. I also enjoy the ability to dock my laptop with a single cable to the docking station, and AirPods have completely untethered me from the desk.

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