The uses.
What's currently on the desk and in everyday rotation. Updated whenever something earns its way in — or, more often, when something doesn't. Studio gear lives over at Will Wilson Music.
A note on the links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The link doesn't change what I'd recommend, what I paid for any of this, or what you'd pay if you bought it — and nothing here is sponsored. A few of the products listed have been quietly replaced by newer models since I bought them; where that's the case the link points at the current successor so it's actually buyable.
Desk
- MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Max)
- Main machine. The fans haven't come on yet.
- BenQ PD3205UA (32" 4K)
- 32-inch 4K monitor. Roomy enough that I've stopped fighting with virtual desktops.
- BenQ ScreenBar Plus
- Clip-on light bar across the top of the monitor. The cheapest cure for evening eye strain there is.
- Anker Prime TB5 dock
- Thunderbolt 5 dock. One cable to the Mac, everything else hides round the back.
- Apple Magic Keyboard (Touch ID, black)
- The big black one with Touch ID. The number pad is mostly there to host the unlock button.
- Adam Audio D3V speakers
- Small powered desk speakers. So nice I bought two pairs.
- AirPods Pro 2
- For daily calls. The noise cancelling does what it says on the tin.
- Rode NT-USB+
- USB condenser mic. Wheeled out when a screencast needs to sound posh.
- Logitech StreamCam
- Sharper than the laptop's built-in webcam. The audience seems to appreciate it.
- Elgato Key Light Air
- Key light for calls. The difference between 'professional' and 'lit from below'.
- Stream Deck
- Programmable hardware shortcuts. An older model — still does the job.
- IKEA desk
- Simple plank from IKEA. A sit-stand version is on the eternal to-do list.
- Old office chair
- Fifteen years old and still fine. The Aeron money goes on synths.
Software
- PhpStorm
- Was a VS Code guy for years, then switched and never looked back. PhpStorm just hits different — though I don't open it up as much these days.
- Ghostty
- Slowly migrating off iTerm2. Sensible defaults, fast, and stays out of the way.
- SoloTerm
- One terminal, many parallel processes — exactly what agentic development needs. Built by Aaron Francis (shout-out).
- Safari
- For everything personal.
- Chrome
- For work. Two browsers, two worlds, no profile collisions.
- Laravel Herd (Pro)
- Runs the local web servers, services, and databases. The Pro version handles the lot from one menu bar icon.
- TablePlus
- Database management. Worth every penny the first time you'd have otherwise opened MySQL Workbench.
- Apple Notes & Reminders
- Most of my notes and todos. Working inside the Apple ecosystem keeps everything synced without me having to think about it.
- Linear
- Work tasks. Fast, opinionated, and stays out of the way.
- GitHub Issues
- Personal project tasks. The repo and the to-do list living in the same place is a small joy.
- 1Password
- Work passwords. Slowly migrating off it for personal stuff — they keep putting the price up.
- Apple Passwords
- Personal passwords. Free, in the OS, and quietly getting better with every release.
- Raycast
- Replaces Spotlight. Haven't even tried the new Tahoe one — Raycast just works.
- Apple Music & YouTube
- Apple Music about half the time, YouTube the other half. Whichever's nearer the cursor.
- Time Machine + external SSD
- Most things live in the cloud anyway. The local stuff backs up to an external SSD on a schedule and I forget about it.
- Mac setup
- Dock pinned to the left, never the bottom. One desktop, no spaces. Simple.