Setup

The following interview was inspired by The Setup, a collection of nerdy interviews, asking people from all walks of life about the hardware and software they use.

Who are you, and what do you do?

My name is Thomas Brand. I dropped out of art school to spend time behind the Genius Bar. Today I work at MIT, and run up hills for fun.

What hardware do you use?

• I split my time between a 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro and various servers running Windows, Linux, and Unix
• In my pocket I carry a Pixel 5a running AirMessage on T-Mobile’s “legendary” $30 a month unlimited data plan
• On my wrist I wear a Omega Seamaster 2531.80 Chronometer, just like James Bond
• I used to workout with a Apple Watch, but these days I just carry an old iPhone 7 instead
• I traded in my Apple Extended Keyboard for a Das Ultimate S; the Darth Vader of mechanical keyboards
• My MessagePad 130 rarely leaves my desk these days, but remains my favorite Newton

And what software?

• I pine for yesterday's Mac OS X releases, but these days I am equally at home on most major platforms
• I write all of my email, code, and notes in Vim
• Through the power of MOSH I take my Vim environment with me everywhere I go
• Vim’s undo branches are my poor man’s version control system
• I read email in Alpine, Markdown in Marked 2, RSS in Miniflux, and HTML in Brave; everything else I send to Instapaper
• Images are edited in Acorn, compressed in ImageOptim, and published using MarsEdit

What would be your dream setup?

I started my career in graphic design because I fell in love with the Macintosh. Today I value the freedom to try different platforms. Choice keeps me interested in technology.