Published on December 22, 2023.

It's been more than 4 years since I last wrote about my setup. I've made a few minor changes, but for the most part I'm using the same or similar hardware, software, and services.

As I wrote back in 2019, "One of my goals - in both my personal and professional life - is to be as minimalist as possible." I think my current setup still reflects that.

Hardware

I'm now using a 2021 MacBook Pro with an Apple M1 Pro CPU, 16-inch display, 16 GB of memory, and a 1 TB hard drive. This is one of the best MacBooks I've ever owned. It's somewhat heavy, but it has all of the power and capacity that I need for the work that I do. As before, my MacBook is my only computer. I don't have a desktop, and I don't use an external monitor. I'm running macOS Monterey (12.6), but I'm planning to upgrade over the holiday break.

My current phone is an iPhone 14 Pro Max 256GB Space Black. I've written in the past about how much I dislike phones in general. But this is a very nice device. The larger display makes consuming content - whether I'm watching videos, surfing around, or reading - very convenient.

Software

I'm still amazed by how little I need with regards to software.

I'm still using BBEdit for nearly all of my development work. I use it when writing JavaScript, SuiteScript, PHP, etc. I also use it to take all of my notes, to prepare drafts for proposals, for journaling, and so on. If I'm working with text, I'm using BBedit.

My other development tool is Xojo, which I've written about extensively. This year I upgraded my Xojo license to Pro Plus, which shows how important Xojo is to my business, and how committed I am to the platform. I do a lot to promote Xojo, and yet it still feels like one of my "secret weapons."

Most of the other development tools that I use remain the same. I'm using Navicat Premium Essentials for my relational database work t(MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, etc). I'm using RapidAPI for Mac (formely called "Paw") for API-related work. I'm using RapidWeaver for Web design and development projects, especially any PHP-based projects that I'm working on. I'm using Transmit for FTP, SFTP, and for moving files to and from Amazon S3 buckets and remote servers.

FileMaker is still in my toolbox. I don't use it nearly as much as I used to, but I do get involved in FileMaker integration projects from time to time.

I'm still using Apple's iWork (Keynote, Numbers, and Pages) when working on documents, spreadsheets, or presentations.

And finally, I've been using Parallels Desktop to test Windows-based apps that I'm developing.

Services

I still host most of my Web sites, apps, APIs, and databases on Amazon AWS (on Amazon Lightsail and Amazon Aurora in particular). However, I'm also using Xojo Cloud to host and test some of the Xojo-based Web apps that I've developed. (I love the convenience and reliability that it provides.)

Nearly all of my calls and meetings are held using Zoom.

When working remotely via public WiFi, I use Encrypt.me as my VPN. I'm now using it on my MacBook and iPhone.

I'm still using FreshBooks for my bookkeeping / accounting. I like the service, but I do think it's getting increasingly more complicated.

That's my current setup.