holly.mlem.systems
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1---
2import Layout from "../layouts/Layout.astro";
3---
4
5<Layout title="uses" description="hardware and software i use">
6 <div class="prose dark:prose-invert max-w-full">
7 <p>
8 i often get asked about the stuff that i use so i wanted to make a
9 comprehensive page listing mostly everything. i will probably update this
10 list over time as it also helps me keep track of what i'm using - and
11 maybe it'd be useful to help some people discover new software and
12 hardware aswell.
13 </p>
14 <h2>hardware</h2>
15 <p>
16 my main computer is an <em>M4 MacBook Air</em> configured with 24gb of memory
17 and 1tb of storage. i use <a href="https://nixos.org">Nix</a> and <a
18 href="https://github.com/nix-darwin/nix-darwin">nix-darwin</a
19 >, along with <a href="https://brew.sh">Homebrew</a> for GUI applications. i
20 mostly went for a MacBook because I wanted to use Logic Pro, but also because
21 i haven't been really enjoying Windows lately. i also love the hardware. the
22 trackpad, display, and battery life are great, and the speakers are the best
23 i've ever heard from a laptop.
24 </p>
25 <p>
26 i also have a <em>Surface</em> laptop, running Windows, which i use for games.
27 but i don't really do much else on there. i would like to install Linux on there,
28 but it doesn't really play nicely with my dock (Dell WD19TB). also for whatever
29 reason on Linux it always runs the Nvidia GPU at the lowest power setting, making
30 games unplayable. (the Nvidia driver seems to think that it's always on battery
31 power.)
32 </p>
33 <p>
34 i also play and emulate games on my <em
35 ><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck">Steam Deck</a></em
36 > very often. it's a 256GB LCD model. this has been a very good purchase and
37 i'd heavily recommend it if you're into pc gaming and you want something portable
38 :)
39 </p>
40 <p>
41 i have my old desktop which i use as my main server since i don't really
42 have any other use for it. it's running <a href="https://nixos.org"
43 >NixOS</a
44 >. i run <a href="https://jellyfin.org">Jellyfin</a> for movies/tv, <a
45 href="https://www.navidrome.org">Navidrome</a
46 > for streaming my music library, <a href="https://restic.net">restic</a> and
47 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Machine_(macOS)"
48 >Time Machine</a
49 > backup shares, and Minecraft servers for my friends. i also run <a
50 href="https://www.samba.org">Samba</a
51 > shares.
52 </p>
53 <p>
54 i also have an <em>Intel NUC</em> (i forgot exactly which generation) which
55 was the previous computer i used as my server before i upgraded to my old desktop.
56 this is currently unused.
57 </p>
58 <p>
59 i have a <em>Raspberry Pi 4</em> which i used to run RetroPie on. currently
60 it's unused though, and i'm thinking of ways i could use it.
61 </p>
62 <p>
63 i have an <em>iPhone 14 Pro</em>, mainly because i wanted GarageBand at
64 the time but it also plays nicely with my Mac. i'm considering switching
65 to a Pixel at some point though.
66 </p>
67 <p>
68 i also enjoy messing with retro/vintage hardware and have some older
69 computers:
70 </p>
71 <ul>
72 <li>
73 i very often use my <em>5th gen iPod</em> to listen to my music library on
74 the go and at home, since it's distraction-free and fun to tinker with. i
75 run
76 <a href="https://www.rockbox.org">Rockbox</a> on here with <a
77 href="https://github.com/D0-0K/adwaitapod">adwaitapod</a
78 >, the best Rockbox theme ;)
79 </li>
80 <li>
81 sometimes i used to use my <em>4th gen iPod Touch</em> for distraction-free
82 music listening and those classic mobile games. i do quite miss when mobile
83 devices were small and easier to handle, and this is nice to bring to places
84 where i don't want my phone
85 </li>
86 <li>
87 i have a <em>Gateway</em> laptop from 2003 that i don't really use, but sometimes
88 mess around with it for shits and giggles
89 </li>
90 </ul>
91 <p>also here's the gear i use for music:</p>
92 <ul>
93 <li>
94 audio workstation: i mostly use <a
95 href="https://www.apple.com/logic-pro">Logic Pro</a
96 > or <a href="https://www.bitwig.com">Bitwig</a> or <a
97 href="https://www.image-line.com">FL Studio</a
98 >
99 </li>
100 <li>
101 instruments: i have a Donner Hush X, a Squier stratocaster, some
102 acoustic Yamaha, a ukulele, and a Yamaha keyboard.
103 </li>
104 <li>
105 virtual plugins: Logic's stock, ValhallaDSP, MeldaProduction, Spitfire
106 Audio LABS
107 </li>
108 <li>
109 midi controller: i use that Yamaha keyboard along with my <a
110 href="https://www.arturia.com/products/hybrid-synths/minilab-3/overview"
111 >Arturia Minilab 3</a
112 >.
113 </li>
114 <li>
115 microphone: i typically use an <a
116 href="https://www.akg.com/microphones/condenser-microphones/P120-.html"
117 >AKG P120</a
118 >.
119 </li>
120 <li>
121 audio interface: i use a <a
122 href="https://us.focusrite.com/products/scarlett-solo-3rd-gen"
123 >Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen</a
124 >. however, sometimes on the go, i just plug in my <a
125 href="https://www.fender.com/products/mustang-micro"
126 >Fender Mustang Micro</a
127 > and start recording, but the latency is sometimes kinda bad when plugged
128 into the laptop
129 </li>
130 </ul>
131 <h2>software</h2>
132 <h3>operating systems</h3>
133 <p>
134 on desktop i mostly prefer MacOS, NixOS, Fedora, and Debian. for servers i
135 run NixOS because it's just so convenient. i also run Windows for gaming.
136 i previously used Arch rather than NixOS but it was far too unstable for
137 my liking and i prefer the declarative approach that NixOS offers.
138 </p>
139 <p>
140 if game anti-cheat worked on Linux i would probably switch to it
141 full-time. maybe. though i still need Logic Pro and Final Cut, which are
142 macOS-exclusive.
143 </p>
144 <h3>desktop</h3>
145 <p>
146 on linux i typically use <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME"
147 >GNOME</a
148 >, but i've also been switching between <a
149 href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDE">KDE</a
150 > and GNOME ever since KDE 6 released. i also use <a
151 href="https://swaywm.org">Sway</a
152 >. when using KDE i often enjoy <a
153 href="https://gitgud.io/wackyideas/aerothemeplasma">AeroThemePlasma</a
154 > ;)
155 </p>
156 <p>
157 on the desktop i prefer MacOS over Linux for various reasons, mostly
158 because it tends to be more stable and has better support for professional
159 applications. i need stuff like Logic Pro and Final Cut which simply can't
160 run on Linux. but i am very much excited for whats going on in the Linux
161 space
162 </p>
163 <h3>programs</h3>
164 <ul class="columns-1 md:columns-3">
165 <li><a href="https://www.affinity.studio">Affinity</a></li>
166 <li>
167 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Mail">Apple Mail</a> or <a
168 href="https://www.thunderbird.net">Thunderbird</a
169 >
170 </li>
171 <li>
172 <a href="https://github.com/mhaeuser/Battery-Toolkit">Battery Toolkit</a
173 >
174 </li>
175 <li><a href="https://cinny.in">Cinny</a></li>
176 <li><a href="https://codeweavers.com/crossover">CrossOver</a></li>
177 <li><a href="https://discord.com">Discord</a></li>
178 <li>
179 <a href="https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro">Final Cut Pro</a> or <a
180 href="https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/"
181 >Davinci Resolve</a
182 >
183 </li>
184 <li><a href="https://ghostty.org">Ghostty</a></li>
185 <li>
186 <a href="http://inkscape.org">Inkscape</a> or <a
187 href="https://www.figma.com">Figma</a
188 >
189 </li>
190 <li>
191 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes">iTunes</a> (<code
192 >Music.app</code
193 >) or <a href="https://www.strawberrymusicplayer.org">Strawberry</a>
194 </li>
195 <li><a href="https://www.jetbrains.com/idea">JetBrains IDEA</a></li>
196 <li>
197 <a href="https://www.apple.com/logic-pro">Logic Pro</a> or <a
198 href="https://www.bitwig.com">Bitwig</a
199 > or <a href="https://www.image-line.com">FL Studio</a> or <a
200 href="https://www.apple.com/mac/garageband">GarageBand</a
201 >
202 </li>
203 <li><a href="https://musescore.org/en">MuseScore</a></li>
204 <li><a href="https://neovim.io">Neovim</a></li>
205 <li><a href="https://netnewswire.com">NetNewsWire</a></li>
206 <li>
207 <a href="https://nixos.org">Nix</a> and <a
208 href="https://github.com/nix-darwin/nix-darwin">nix-darwin</a
209 >
210 </li>
211 <li><a href="https://obsidian.md">Obsidian</a></li>
212 <li><a href="https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html">OnyX</a></li>
213 <li>
214 <a href="https://www.pixelmator.com/photomator">Photomator</a> or <a
215 href="https://lightroom.adobe.com">Adobe Lightroom</a
216 >
217 </li>
218 <li><a href="https://prismlauncher.org">Prism Launcher</a></li>
219 <li><a href="https://signal.org">Signal</a></li>
220 <li><a href="https://steampowered.com">Steam</a></li>
221 <li><a href="https://tailscale.com">Tailscale</a></li>
222 <li><a href="https://transmissionbt.com">Transmission</a></li>
223 <li><a href="https://code.visualstudio.com">Visual Studio Code</a></li>
224 <li><a href="https://www.videolan.org/vlc">VLC</a></li>
225 </ul>
226
227 <p>
228 (there may also be some other software i forgot to mention, but thats most
229 of it)
230 </p>
231 <h3>services</h3>
232 <p>
233 these are services hosted on my NUC. i connect to everything using
234 Tailscale.
235 </p>
236 <ul>
237 <li>
238 <a href="https://jellyfin.org">Jellyfin</a>, for streaming my movies/TV
239 shows
240 </li>
241 <li>
242 <a href="https://navidrome.org">Navidrome</a>, for streaming my music
243 library
244 </li>
245 <li>
246 <a href="https://immich.app">Immich</a>, for managing my photos and
247 videos
248 </li>
249 <li>
250 <a href="https://github.com/slskd/slskd">slskd</a> for music downloading and
251 sharing (soulseek daemon)
252 </li>
253 <li>Minecraft or other game servers for friends</li>
254 <li>
255 shares for <a href="https://restic.net">restic</a> Linux backups and <a
256 href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Machine_(macOS)"
257 >Time Machine</a
258 > MacOS backups
259 </li>
260 </ul>
261 </div>
262</Layout>