My setup is always in flux, and so will this page be. I’ll try to keep up here, as well as keep a log of older setups. I’ve decided to divvy up my gear in what I’m doing, such as writing or traveling, rather than breaking it down to hardware and software.

As always, if you have a cool workflow or a gadget that you just have to have, please tweet to @tdh on Twitter and let me know. I love that stuff.

Updated March 2019 (This is a big one. I’m now using the big iPad Pro, sold my MacBook Pro, tweaked the Switch portion, changed vinyl player, sold the car, got the MP02, removed the Zeppelin which is used elsewhere, added my gaming PC and a PS4, switched from Tower to Sublime Merge, replaced Adobe apps with other stuff, added the Niid Decode bag, DJI CoPilot, Lamy fountain pen, and then some.)

Overall setup

I’ve broken down my setup a bit, because it gets a bit silly otherwise. This is not an exhaustive list unfortunately, I have way too many gadgets. Some would say it’s a problem. I’m working on it.

• Mobile devices and their accessories:
  • iPhone XS Max (256 GB, black), often in a black Bellroy case supporting three credit cards. AirPods for talking and listening to other people talking.
  • 12.9” iPad Pro (1 TB, LTE, space gray) is my primary computer. It mostly lives in the Smart Keyboard Folio, which I like. The Apple Pencil 2 is either attached, or in a small Muji canvas pen case.
• Computers:
  • 12” MacBook (1.2GHz Core M5, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD in gorgeous gold), which actually is my preferred Mac of choice, despite its limited power.
  • Mac mini (2.3GHz Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 1.2 TB Fusion Drive) with a Magic Trackpad 2 (left) and a Magic Mouse 2 (right), connected to a Asus ROG 26” widescreen monitor in the studio.
• Entertainment devices:
  • Nintendo Switch with Pro and 8bitdo SN 30 Pro 2 controllers, also known as the Zelda and Tetris 99 machine.
  • PlayStation 4, because Tetris Effect and Mortal Kombat games. The latter is played using a Hori Real Arcade Pro 4.
  • Asus ROG G20CB gaming PC (3.4 GHz i7-6700, 16 GB RAM, GeForce GTX 1080). I use the Mamba mouse, BlackWidow TE keyboard, and Man O’War headset from Razer. My PC gaming controller of choice is the excellent Xbox Elite.
  • Rega Planar 3, connected to Denon PMA1510AE receiver, with two B&W floor speakers, and a B&W subwoofer. I have a bunch of records too.
  • LG OLED55B6V 55” OLED TV, and an Apple TV 4K 64 GB.
• Various gear, tools, and other things that’s worth mentioning:
  • Bowers & Wilkins PX headphones, when the AirPods won’t cut it (and when traveling).
  • Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II is my camera of choice.
  • Punkt MP02 dumbphone.
  • I use a LaCie DJI CoPilot for both charging devices, and backing up photos on the go.
  • Chemex (ten cup model) for coffee, with beans grounded by the Virtuoso coffee grinder.
  • Lamy Aion fountain pen for fancy writing.
  • Various notebooks from Field Notes (I have a subscription).

Apps I’m currently using

This list only contains the primary apps that I use fairly regularly.

• Writing and taking notes:
  • Notes (stock app, macOS and iOS) for quick notes, longer ones go in iA Writer (macOS and iOS) for notes and longform writing.
  • GoodNotes (iOS) for serious note taking.
  • Pages (macOS and iOS) when needed.
  • Dropbox for sync, and Paper for collaborative writing (macOS and iOS).
• Development:
  • Sublime Text 3 (macOS) for web development.
  • Textastic (iOS) can open git repositories from Working Copy.
  • Sublime Merge (macOS) for git.
  • Working Copy (iOS) for git.
  • ForkLift (macOS) for FTP’ing (but most deploys are through git).
• Design and graphics:
  • Darkroom (iOS) for photo editing.
  • Pixelmator (macOS and iOS) is mostly used to fix blemishes, cropping, and resizing.
  • Sketch (macOS) as little as possible.
  • Affinity Designer (iOS) for design.
  • MindNode (iOS) to mindmap something.
  • LumaFusion (iOS) for video editing.
• Various:
  • Keynote (macOS and iOS) for my presentations.
  • Numbers (macOS, rarely iOS) houses all my budgets.
  • iTunes (macOS) plays Apple Music on the Macs.
  • Music (iOS) plays Apple Music on the iOS devices.
  • Pocket (iOS) is where I read all longform pieces.
  • Unread (iOS) for RSS.
  • Flipboard (iOS) has made it back to my reading habits.
  • Comixology (iOS) has all my comics, although I read very little at the moment.
  • Korg Gadget (iOS) is glorious.

Travel kit

Depending on the trip, I’ll use different bags. I’m in love with the Hunters Satchel from Peg and Awl, but the best daily bag I’ve ever had, and that I use on a daily basis, is the Niid Decode. I sometimes use the North Face Base Camp backpack. I never check luggage, so either I’ll stick with the Base Camp, or use the Rimova Classic Flight Cabin Multiwheel (there’s a mouthful).

The contents inside the bags rarely changes however, not counting whatever clothing I’d need for the climate.

• iPad Pro in the Smart Keyboard Folio and Apple Pencil.
• B&W PX headphones, because of noise cancellation.
• Kindle Oasis, if I think I’ll read in the sun.
• LaCie DJI CoPilot, for both power and SD card backup.
• Klean Kanteen water bottle (and sometimes it’s thermos equivalent).
• Miscellaneous:
  • 29W charger and USB C to Lightning cable.
  • Micro USB to USB cable.
  • USB to USB C adapter.
  • Cleaning cloth.
  • Local currency, hand sanitizer, chewing gum.
  • If I’m traveling overnight, I’ll add the Kanex GoPower Watch battery.

Older setups

• My setup from November 2018.
• My setup from October 2018.
• My setup from September 2018.
• My setup from March 2018.
• My setup from November 2017.
• My setup from October 2017.
• My setup from April 2017.