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Chad Fowler

Programmer, musician and author of The Passionate Programmer; organised RubyConf and RailsConf and has worked as a CTO.

12 things

Apple TVHardware Apple

loved

Lately, my wife and I have started carrying an Apple TV for long trips as well. We have two in the house. We love these little devices. Perfect for watching TV and movies while tired and bored in a hotel room.

His Uses This interview, on a large pile of machines, music gear and everyday software.

2013-01-31·usesthis.com ↗

LogicSoftware Apple

loved

It's hard to learn, but Logic is a beautiful piece of software. It's also hard to learn how to record using real studio equipment, so it should be no surprise that learning how to record with professional quality music software is difficult.

His Uses This interview, on a large pile of machines, music gear and everyday software.

2013-01-31·usesthis.com ↗

Yamaha Custom Alto SaxophoneOther Yamaha

liked

For music I play a Yamaha Custom Alto Saxophone from the early 90s. This is about as uncool as you can possibly get when it comes to pro-level saxophones, but the damn things just sounds good.

His Uses This interview, on a large pile of machines, music gear and everyday software.

2013-01-31·usesthis.com ↗

Brian May signature modelOther Burns

liked

I play guitar a lot too, and recently got myself a Brian May signature model. Brian May was the guitarist for Queen. He's really good but not my cup of tea specifically. That makes it weird to have a Brian May signature guitar. People say, "Oh are you a big Queen fan?". Nope. It's just a good guitar.

His Uses This interview, on a large pile of machines, music gear and everyday software.

2013-01-31·usesthis.com ↗

WunderlistSoftware

liked

I manage my ever-running list of stuff to do, think about, learn, etc. in Wunderlist, which I can run on every one of the ridiculous array of hardware devices I mentioned before.

His Uses This interview, on a large pile of machines, music gear and everyday software.

2013-01-31·usesthis.com ↗

VimeoService Vimeo

liked

Increasingly, I've been using Vimeo for watching videos. This may seem like a strange thing to list here because it's technically just a site you browse as opposed to "use". But have you seen the "watch later" feature? You can sign in, mark videos to watch later, and then watch them on your tablet or Apple TV.

His Uses This interview, on a large pile of machines, music gear and everyday software.

2013-01-31·usesthis.com ↗

Counter-StrikeOther Valve

liked

The last important piece of software I use is Counter-Strike. I've been playing Counter-Strike for well over 25% of my life now. These days I specifically play a modification of the game called Gun Game. It's ridiculous and mindless. The reason I play it, and the reason I say I "use" Counter-Strike is that you can get in 5 minutes of stress relief with Gun Game without having to commit to playing for 30 minutes or an hour. Each round lasts only around 5 minutes, you have fun, then you get back to being productive.

His Uses This interview, on a large pile of machines, music gear and everyday software.

2013-01-31·usesthis.com ↗

MOTU UltraliteHardware MOTU

uses

For music recording and the rare podcast interview, I use a MOTU Ultralite. I have a variety of professional quality microphones.

His Uses This interview, on a large pile of machines, music gear and everyday software.

2013-01-31·usesthis.com ↗

VimSoftware

uses

For editing text, I use vim. Again, I'm not really a power user of vim. I'm a very proficient vi user that probably still thinks of vim as new-fangled.

His Uses This interview, on a large pile of machines, music gear and everyday software.

2013-01-31·usesthis.com ↗

AdiumSoftware

uses

I use Adium for instant messaging, which means if I'm not on a Mac you can't talk to me (unless you are in the same room as me).

His Uses This interview, on a large pile of machines, music gear and everyday software.

2013-01-31·usesthis.com ↗

Pro ToolsSoftware Avid

disliked

I used to use Pro Tools, but I felt like I was in the 90s and it crashed a lot.

His Uses This interview, on a large pile of machines, music gear and everyday software.

2013-01-31·usesthis.com ↗

Windows SurfaceHardware Microsoft

disliked

I have a MacBook Air 11", MacBook Air 13", MacBook Pro 15", Mac Pro, Chromebook, iPad Mini, 24" iMac, hideous HP laptop running Ubuntu, iPhone 4s, Nexus 7, and a Windows Surface with the terrible non-clicky keyboard cover.

His Uses This interview, on a large pile of machines, music gear and everyday software.

2013-01-31·usesthis.com ↗

Every entry is a verbatim quote and a link to the public post it came from. Nothing is paraphrased. If it is not on record somewhere public, it is not here.

The verdict is what they actually said: loved and liked are explicit; recommended means they told others to get it; uses means they only say they use it; read is a book on their public shelf with no verdict; mixed and disliked are kept too.

A dashed affiliate link, sponsored or their own label means the post disclosed a relationship. It is shown, never hidden.

The shading behind a date shows how dated a recommendation is for its kind of thing.

The shading behind a date shows how dated a recommendation is, for its kind of thing. Fully green is recent. It drains a quarter at a time as the post gets older, and is empty once it reads as dated.

What counts as old depends on the thing. A laptop praised four years ago has been replaced twice; a book loved twenty years ago is probably still loved. The shading is gone after about:

Stripes mean the post carries no date and the date shown is an estimate. No date at all, no shading.