Uses
here is the tech and software I use
Updated: 2024-06-26 - changed Linux distro to Void Linux (previously MX Linux).
On this page I show you what kind of tech and software I use. I don't have a lot of money for stuff, and even I would have some money, I wouldn't spend it on tech. Honestly for a person growing up with computers, I am a pretty techless person. I don't have smartphone or tablet. I prefer desktop computers to laptop (although I would like to have one).
Recent changes:
- Distro: moved to Void Linux
- Terminal emulator: moved to st
- File manager: moved to yazi
- Webbrowser: went back to Brave
- Music player: moved to musikcube
Hardware
Desktop
Just a refurbished Lenovo ThinkCentre 92p. The only thing I added was an nVidia GT1030 card, instead of a very crappy Intel integrated one (HD 2000?). Which later I changed to a GTX1050 thanks to my family. It works very well for what I need (web work, watching movies, and retro games). In the near future I want to add some RAM, because 8 GB aren't really fun anymore.
I have a Redragon K552 RGB keyboard, and a Logitech M525 trackball. Both helps keep my right hand and shoulder pain free.
E-book reader
Pocketbook Touch Lux 4, which is now three years old I think. Works really well, love the e-ink screen. Read many-many books on it in 2022, and I hope it will serve me well for the next several years.
Mobile phone
Samsung S5610, my trusty phone of 9 years, you can throw it, but it will not break. Screen is still clean. Sound is good, and it's important for me, as I mostly use it for call and music/podcast stuff. Supports 16 GB SD card, which is more than enough for my needs. It has a nice 5 MP camera, and that's much more than current dumbphones. I hope I don't have to switch anytime soon.
Controller
I have a now old, Logitech F310 gamepad. I use it mostly for driving games, like Euro Truck Simulator. Or playing something that is just better with controller, in general, like older console games. I am much better with keyboard and mouse, so for me using controller is an added difficulty.
Software
Linux distribution
Recently I switched to Void Linux, after a short period of Slackware and MX Linux. I like using systemd-less distros, which are usually much faster on my machine.
Window manager
I am a tiling window manager junkie, and my most recent ones I used are bspwm (great!), dwm (good!), herbstluftwm (love it!). Lately I moved to herbstluftwm fully for the first time, and I love some of the window handling stuff.
Terminal emulator
Currently I am using st, the suckless terminal. I previously used kitty, and it is still my alternate terminal emulator.
File manager
I previously used lf, as it is fast and provides easy configuration for my needs. But now I am a big fan of yazi, which is fast and easily configurable with plugins, and with the config file.
Launcher
I still use rofi and dmenu, mostly because of its scripting abilities. I am also experimenting with fzf-nova.
Text editor and other stuff
Emacs. More of a personal assistance, a writing helper and quick gamer buddy. No, I am not going to switch to vim, ever. The more I use Emacs, the more I know the world…
RSS reader
If I want to read some stuff, I still use newsboat. Nice with macros, so you can open not just your articles, but videos as well.
Web browser
I went back to Brave browser, and Vivaldi is my second choice. Floorp is a nice addition, if you want to see something Firefox based (but not from Mozilla).
Music player
I am using musikcube. It's a terminal based music player, looks fancy, but also useful. Plus it feels fast, despite having hundreds of files to handle.
Graphic editing
Inkscape and GIMP are still my trusted editors. I am not a professional, and these two are perfectly fine to do things.
Smaller Utilities (terminal and text-based)
Keyboard shortcuts: sxkhd - mainly because of bspwm, but you can use it for any system.
Automount: udiskie.
Bookmark manager: buku or org-capture mode in Emacs in the past, but now I just trust I don't lose my browser bookmarks.
Download videos or mp3 from youtube: yt-dlp - I like the terminal based simplicity.
Screen color temperature: (x)sct both are good, but xsct has some extra stuff.
Screen lock: The simple slock is doing a great job.
Video player: mpv (forever and ever)
Youtube: Freetube or ytfzf (terminal)
Gaming stuff: I use GOG most of the time, but if it's not there Steam (Proton too). If I use Wine I create separate prefixes, or use Lutris, occasionally Dosbox. For other games I use ScummVM.
Image viewer: nsxiv or feh
Wallpaper: feh - you can set random wallpapers for every monitor you use.
Bittorrent: Transmission, because I can't make rtorrent work.
Chatterino: for my twitch use. You need streamlink and a video player as well. It's also good if you are a streamer.
Screenshot: I either use scrot, or Flameshot. Flameshot has some extra stuff like taking part of the screen, writing on it, and uploading to a few image sharing services.