This is a list of hardware, software, and tools that I currently use to maximize my productivity. I'm not being paid to shill any products but I'm going to shill the products I like anyway. I just felt like writing this out, if only to look back on it in the future.

My Favorite Tech Stack

PostgreSQL - Loving this SQL database for Startup use cases. For NoSQL, Firebase works great. Or Redis if your web server needs in-memory store. Remember to be correct about what solution is best for each use case.

Node.js - Loving the simplicity of getting Express apps running. Typescript is extremely convenient. REST APIs are dead simple to implement. Having the same coding lanugage between front-end and back-end is a blessing and front-end is locked to Javascript, so other back-end options like Ruby on Rails cannot provide that.

React - I played around with all of Angular, React, and Vue. I am not convinced the differences even generally matter as much as developer preference. Creating a new React application is simple enough, although I still do not like single page application frameworks outside of use cases that genuinely call for them. Some of the simple webpages I am building as one-off little projects can stick to nativate Javascript.

My Main Development Software

Visual Studio Code - Everyone and their mother is using this nowadays. Back in my day if you weren't buying expensive software, you were using editors that were basically notepads with keyword highlighting.

Docker Desktop - This is how I test web applications. It's working a lot better for me than installing a bunch of things directly on Windows, especially when I have multiple projects.

DBeaver - I tried a bunch of SQL tools because I landed on DBeaver. I think this is the best out there right now. It is open source and handles basically every kind of SQL database.

MobaXTerm - I have been using this to connect to servers ever since an old coworker turned me on to it. It has limitations if not paid for, but my needs haven't gone that far anyway.

Git CLI - I have used Git GUIs in the past, but I reverted to using the plain old command line interface instead.

Other Software

WinSCP - Really convenient GUI for moving files around.

GIMP - The best open source Photoshop.

BitWarden - My go to password manager.

Firefox - The best browser obviously. Chrome is for testing webpages for Chrome users.

Sublime Text - The best text editor outside of IDEs.

Eclipse - Java IDE

Visual Studio 2019 - .NET IDE

Fiddler - Sometimes I just need to see network traffic

SpeedCrunch - The best tool for when I need to do some quick maths

Hardware

I spent a couple of months searching the internet for the best monitors. I landed on buying a BenQ ultrawide montior. I may never look back. This is perfection.

Lenovo Thinkpad P Series.

This chair was a huge lucky find for me. It keeps me sitting up straight and keeps me moving constantly throughout the day. It helped me stopped being so fidgety trying to sit in an ordinary chair all day. I only learned about this company and got to demo their chairs by sheer chance. I would not have looked into these kinds of chairs otherwise.