My Setup

In response to Paul’s suggestion that all blogjune-ers post on the same day, here are my answers.

Paul’s suggestion:

One of the blogs I follow is The Setup. This site, run by Daniel Bogan (ex Flickr Commons staff) interviews people and asks what tools they use to get their jobs done. Although it’s kind of based around tech, there have been interviews with people from all sorts of professions – anyone who uses something to do their job.

I’m suggesting that everyone who is participating in #blogjune take part and on Wednesday the 21st June, create a post answering these 4 questions.

1. Who are you, and what do you do?
2. What hardware do you use?
3. And what software?
4. What would be your dream setup?

You could talk about work, a combination of work & home or what you use in a hobby. Once you’ve posted, make sure you let Daniel know by tweeting @usesthis a link to your blog post.

>>>>>>>

• Who are you, and what do you do?
  • I’m Kathryn Greenhill. I teach at university in Western Australia. My job is to teach librarians, archivists and records managers about technology. I am paid to write as part of my job. I work three days in a row on campus and the next two days from home. I also co-parent two teenaged boys. I’m a qualified Zumba instructor, an outdoor quad skater, cyclist and avid reader.

Setup on campus

• What hardware do you use?
  • I have identical setups in my work office and my home office and just move the laptop between the two. I hadn’t realised how complex it was until I started documenting this. I just want it to simply work.  The laptop, one monitor and the external HDD are provided by work. The rest I bought for myself.
    • 2017 15 inch Macbook Pro.
    • ACER 32 inch monitor ( ER320HQ)
      • (plugged into this) Sennheiser HD201 Over-Ear Headphones
    • Standard corporate-issue 20 inch monitor
    • Laptop riser so laptop is right height to be a third monitor
    • Single USB-C adaptor that allows power input, output to DVI and standard USB output
      • (plugged into adaptor)
        • Macbook power cable and adaptor, so no need to take with the laptop between home & work
        • M-Beat powered USB hub with 4x USB3.0 and 3x USB2.0 outputs with independent switches. Plugged into this:
          • Logitech Wave wireless keyboard and mouse set
          • WD Elements 1TB Hard disk drive x 2 (used for Time Machine backups)
          • EVGA UV 16+ to output from Macbook to second monitor (legacy, but it works fine)
          • USB to Lightning cable for charging iPhone
          • USB to 30pin Apple plug for charging iPad
  • iPhone SE – just the right size
  • My personal machine is a 2011 11 inch Macbook Air.
  • iPad 2 (yes! 2. only JUST fast enough. Used mainly for leisure reading)
  • Sony Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headphones (MDR-ZX770BNB) (Used when cooking and watching Netflix so not to disturb family members)
  • Three pairs of Sennheiser CX 200 Street II Black Earphones Headphones in backpacks and next to bed, in car – wherever I may need to plug in to my iPhone
  • Apple TV & Soniq Digital TV in lounge
  • Apple Time Capsule
  • Reading glasses – five pairs scattered around house. Absolutely essential hardware.

Peripherals up close. Usually tucked neatly away.

• And what software?
  • Items in red are used several times a day
  • Writing – Scrivener, Be Focused (Pomodoro timer to keep me focussed)
  • Research – Zotero, LibX
  • Reading – Pocket, Kindle, GoodReader
  • Listening – Downcast, Spotify
  • Screen capture/movies – SnagIt, Camtasia, iMovie, YouTube
  • Social Media – Twitter
  • Website publishing – own blog and lecture notes for students – Self-hosted WordPress
  • Productivity – Dropbox, Evernote, Remember The Milk, Gmail
    
  • Homely things – Apple Remote app on iPhone for Apple TV
  • Co-Parenting – five Google Calendars, one for each kid, one for each household, one for everyone to know about … shared on all devices owned by co-parents and the kids. Google doc recording parenting plan and notes of who will do what when from our fortnightly meeting
  • Work – Outlook, Blackboard.

• What would be your dream setup?
  • What I have now is pretty good. I would like the hardware setup to come in one unit without cables. Something like a stand for my laptop that has all the peripherals connected seamlessly underneath.
  • I need to have my own desk in my own office with a door between me and the rest of the world. It needs to be quiet. Often I will just have the headphones on to block out outside noise. Lots of indoor plants.
  • Strangely enough, when I want to read I want to be in an environment like a cafe, with people around. I *think* this is because with other people around I HAVE to look like I am focussing on what I am reading, so I don’t distract myself multitasking
  • I would want a breakout space with other people to bounce ideas off and for brainstorming. This would have walls that could be drawn on and heaps of whiteboard pens.
  • Cats. Cats on my lap or shoulder for long stretches of the day. Necessary.