
Jason Fried's setup - there
http://jason.fried.usesthis.com/
======
fairlyodd
Aside from the fact that this guy has produced some decent software, I can't
believe that hardware/software configurations of random people is interesting
discussion matter.

~~~
jacquesm
People think that if they emulate successful people they will be more
successful themselves. So it's about a form of fashion.

'X uses brand Y hardware, that must be a factor in his success, so if I buy
brand Y as well I'll stand a better chance at success'

Never mind that 'X' would probably make a go of it given nothing but a
teletype and the people that emulate 'X' couldn't make good use of a cluster
with 50 nodes and a wall sized display.

It's not the hardware that matters, it's the guys & girls using it that make
the difference.

~~~
DannoHung
I like learning about tools other people use because sometimes someone'll say,
"I really love this tool", and I'll give it a try and, hey, what do you know?
I love the tool too.

~~~
jseliger
Me too. And sometimes, if a lot of smart people are using a particular tool,
there's a reason for it.

An example: Kevin Kelly runs a blog called "Cool Tools" that is about, as the
name implies, tools people use that are unusually good at what they do. When I
read this: <http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/004652.php> , I immediately
bought one, loved it, and wrote this post:
[http://jseliger.com/2010/09/04/highly-recommended-the-
best-b...](http://jseliger.com/2010/09/04/highly-recommended-the-best-book-
stand-jasmine) .

I agree with the DP -- some of this stuff is fashion -- but not all of it is.

------
gry
> Shure SE530s keeps everyone out of my head [snip]

When I gave up headphones, I realized how much noise I subscribed to. I found
it's not the keeping everyone out of your head inasmuch as it is the general
quiet with the occasional person and it feels more disarming than expected
noise (something piped through buds).

In a couple short months without headphones compared to years with, I prefer
the quiet with interruption to constant stimulation.

~~~
mixu
Have you tried noise-cancelling headphones? I use the Sennheiser PXC-350's
whenever I am not working at home, you can get the benefits of reduced ambient
noise without having any music on (though I mostly do). It's NOT complete
sound-proofing, but much nicer than hearing everything that is happening
around you.

Here is the comparison that convinced me (the Sennheisers are at the end):
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQdbcDTiIas>

~~~
mseebach
+1 for the noise-cancelling headphones. The killer-feauture for me, however,
is on airplanes. They will filter out most of the ambient noise, but more
interestingly, they allow you to listen to music/movies/whatever without
cranking the volume to 11, which in itself is excruciating.

If you fly just somewhat frequently, get a set of PXC-350s. (or something
similar, but I haven't found anything else in the same or lower price range
with decent reviews).

------
jfornear
I'm genuinely curious... Are $400 in-ear headphones really _that_ much better
than, let's say, $100 models?

~~~
petercooper
Usually _but_ it depends on a few variables and it's not always worth it.

Because you're not used to it, high end equipment doesn't sound amazing in
comparison at first - just oddly different. (At least not in a $400 to $100
comparison - the biggest difference is going from $10 to $100.) Once you're
acclimatized, though, it's _really_ hard to go back until your hearing
naturally degrades and you're stuck buying high end gear.

So the rational approach is to _never_ buy high end headphones or earphones at
all and instead aim for the highest quality stuff under around $150. It'll get
you 90% of the way there and stop you becoming an audio freak chasing an
expensive pipedream. Almost no-one will give this advice, though, since
audiophiles want to rationalize their purchases and reviewers or stores want
you to buy their crap.

~~~
Splines
Definitely agree with going from $10 to $100. I bought a pair of Grado SR60
headphones a few years ago for ~$65, and they were by far the best headphones
I have ever owned. I heard things on CDs that I never noticed before.

~~~
tptacek
Strong agree on the performance curve for earbuds too. If you can buy it at
Best Buy for under $100, your money is probably better spent with something
nicer online.

In high-end speakers (hi-fi, whatever you want to call it) there are always
sleeper brands that even the audiophiles will say offer an 80% experience for
under 50% of the price... I remember (before several buyouts) NHT bookcase
speakers being one of those. It's probably the same in headphones.

Please, for the love of God, take my word for this: it's also very much true
of cars.

------
nagnatron
One thing usethis.com has taught us is that MBP is _the_ computer for
startups.

~~~
davidw
Trendy ones, at least:-)

~~~
nagnatron
To be honest, I expected more people to be using Ubuntu or some other distro.

------
code_duck
Pretty much what I use - a 15" Macbook and headphones, but I WISH I'd bought
the matte hi-res screen. Oh, I guess he doesn't have an Ubuntu desktop,
though. His loss.

I actually wear hearing protection ear muffs, though -
[http://www.amazon.com/Peltor-H9A-Optime-Over-
Earmuffs/dp/B00...](http://www.amazon.com/Peltor-H9A-Optime-Over-
Earmuffs/dp/B0017YLTAI)

Now THAT is luxury. Okay, so some people think I'm weird, but I really don't
like background noise.

They're really awesome for hotels, too. Noisy air conditioner? Sex next door?
People clunking the doors down the hall? Who cares! I can't even hear it! Oh
man, I shouldn't have even looked at that - now I see they have the deluxe 105
model....

------
grk
> Now I just use the laptop screen. One screen all the time. I also like the
> smaller screen because it forces me to make better use of the space. I found
> myself getting mess on a 30".

Last year I bought the 13" MBP and a 22" LCD, but with the new higher-res
screens on 15" MBPs, I think this is the way to go. Same setup wether you're
at the office or in a coffee shop. Next time I upgrade I'll definitely get rid
of the external screen.

~~~
manosk
The new 15" 1680x1050 matte screen looks really gorgeous but at 129 PPI I fear
the text of most web sites could be too tiny. And I hate to zoom web pages!

In fact the iMacs 21/27 have a 102/109 PPI resolution, but then you keep the
display of a desktop computer at a higher distance compared to the screen of a
notebook, so the higher PPI on the MBP HR could be appropriate.

~~~
sp332
Text rendering on OS X is resolution-independent. Even Win7 doesn't have
(much) trouble scaling up to my 1920x1200 15.4" laptop screen, and that's
about 200 DPI. And OS X definitely has better scaling.

------
MJR
Other than feeling the need to list all of 37signals products, why would he
use Ta-da List when Basecamp and Backpack both have to-do lists as well?

~~~
grasshoper
I'm wondering why a non-programmer uses Git.

~~~
bbgm
I use Git to archive blog posts and other documents. Likely the same for him

------
dsantos
i switched from this: <http://imgur.com/QBQNt.jpg>

to this: <http://imgur.com/No4os.jpg>

and them to this: <http://imgur.com/JVqRa.jpg>

------
zdw
"Luckily, we're in the computer business, not the Formula One business."

Tell that to DHH: [http://www.mibz.com/21876-one-and-only-pagani-zonda-hh-
owner...](http://www.mibz.com/21876-one-and-only-pagani-zonda-hh-owner-
unveiled.html)

------
jkahn
Bizarre. Some software aside, Jason Fried's setup is very similar to mine.

~~~
w1ntermute
Most setups on usesthis.com are similar to most HNer's setups - a MacBook Pro
(some with a cinema display attached).

~~~
mey
Am I the only person with a dual screen Win7 desktop paired with an Ubuntu
server?

~~~
guelo
Same here. I even own a Macbook Pro but just can't use it as my main because
of all the awful UI quirks. Maybe it's the 15 years of Windows conditioning,
and I'm not trying to start a flamewar but come on, if I have a window in the
far right of my display I'm supposed to go all the way to the top left to
click on a menu item? Why doesn't maximizing actually maximize? Do I need
function, control, alt, option, and command keys? Where are the Page Up, Page
Down, Home, or End keys? Why is Alt-Tab retarded?

Argh! I could go on but I'll just go move files around my sanely organized
file browser for a little while to calm down.

~~~
loewenskind
You shouldn't let ignorance get you so angry. Especially when it's so easy to
fix (first hit on google): <http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1343>

I didn't see page up/down in there, so: fn+up/down

------
xsltuser2010
That site needs a filter to only read the setups that don't include a MBP.

~~~
cytzol
I think it's more the case that a lot of the interviewees don't explain how
they arrived at the setup in question - they just list what they have, and
that takes out the interesting bit.

If you add in some history, you can make your first vacuum cleaner worth
reading about (Keita Takahashi's interview)

------
trustfundbaby
Would love to hear/see DHH's setup.

~~~
pilif
<http://david.heinemeier.hansson.usesthis.com/>

~~~
sp332
plus [http://www.mibz.com/21876-one-and-only-pagani-zonda-hh-
owner...](http://www.mibz.com/21876-one-and-only-pagani-zonda-hh-owner-
unveiled.html) !

------
nl
Tangentially related (I'll use the way Jason dropped back from a dual setup to
a single screen as an excuse for this):

What's the best way to get a triple monitor setup working under Ubuntu? I'd
like a single desktop, and the OS to understand the monitors (ie, not treat
two monitors as a single monitor like some old USB adapters did).

Recommended hardware? RTFM is fine if you give me a pointer..

