Uses.

The hardware, software, and small rituals I actually rely on. Honest opinions inside, including the ones that disappoint.

Inspired by uses.tech.

Setup

Laptop
Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro 16" 48 GB Screen too big and heavy, I prefer a 13" or 14". 48 GB of RAM essential to run Claude and friends.
Main display
AOC CU34G2X/BK 34" Ultrawide "Old" screen that still handles 144Hz. Perfect for working with 3 windows or playing FPS and management games.
Secondary display
iiyama ProLite XB2483HSU Very old screen, kept in the basement as a backup, then pulled out of retirement when Apple decided you could plug in 2 external displays with the lid open.
Monitor arm
Ergotron LX Pro Desk Monitor Arm An Ultrawide is cool, but it's heavy.
Dock / KVM
UGREEN Switch USB 3.0 KVM Desk with a PC and a MacBook Pro: saves me from plugging / unplugging my mouse, keyboard, Stream Deck, and speakers.

Input

Keyboard
Ducky Shine 5 An old one with Cherry MX Brown. Probably going to swap it for a Wooting or a Keychron.
Keyboard
Keychron Q1 Max - Brown switches I finally switched to this one. My goodness, the sound! <3
Mouse
Zowie ZA11 Best mouse for big hands: great palm support, excellent responsiveness for gaming and work. Downside: wired.
Mouse pad
SteelSeries QcK M 6th pad, same model for 15 years.
Stream Deck
Elgato Stream Deck MK2 Not using it to its full potential. Thought it would change my life, turns out it didn't.

Audio

Wired headphones
Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Pricey but worth every cent if you wear headphones all day. Comfortable, great sound, and people always tell me they hear me clearly on calls.
Desk speakers
Audioengine A2+ Black + Small Desktop Speaker Stands Great speakers with built-in amp. Perfect for daily use when you want quality sound.

Desk & ergonomics

Chair
Ikea Markus Tried several chairs, I always come back to this one. Perfect for my height and posture.
Desk
Fully Jarvis standing desk + bamboo top 1800×800 Disappointed by the wobble in standing mode. Probably due to the large tabletop size.

Daily carry

Phone
Nothing Phone 2 Good screen size, fast, Android, not crazy expensive. I change phones every 5 years.
Watch
Garmin Forerunner 965 Not using it to its full potential since I don't run. But great for daily vitals, step count, and sport / hiking tracking.
Pods
Jabra Elite 75T Active (discontinued) Comfortable but no active noise cancelling, and weak ambient mode for calls. When they die, I'll get something more capable that plays well with Android.
Tablet
iPad Mini 6th gen, 64 GB Perfect when traveling for watching movies, browsing, and using Figma Mirror.
Backpack
Able Carry Daily Plus X-Pac Black On the hunt for the best daily backpack, this one is at the top of my list. Practical, comfortable, plenty of pockets, A-frame. Don't think twice.
Wallet
Valmor V2 Black Minimalist, owned it for 10 years (the V1, then this V2 when the V1 broke). About to buy another one soon, actually.
Notebook
Leuchtturm1917 A5 dotted This one or a soft Moleskine A5 dotted. Simple, basic, easy to write in.

Clothing

Sneakers
Asphalte Basket Triple A Stuck with Stan Smiths for years, pretty durable in the leather version. Then I discovered the "Baskets Triple A". Exceptional comfort, true leather slippers, perfect for daily use.
HIIT shoes
Nike Metcon 9 Used for my HIIT sessions (BikeErg + HIIT with weights). After a few uses: very comfortable but a bit let down by the rigidity. Feels like wearing a shell rather than a glove.
Trail shoes
Salomon Genesis Perfect for daily use, trail walking, and hiking. Excellent heel / ankle support. Only downside: the sole wears out fast. On my 3rd pair (one every 10 months).
Hiking boots
Salomon X Ultra 360 GTX Perfect for longer hikes or with the baby on my back. Good support, heavier and more protective thanks to the reinforced toe. Gore-Tex model for waterproofing.

Dad gear

Kid carrier backpack
Deuter Kid Comfort I'm 6'2" (1m88), 243 lb (110 kg), I needed a baby carrier built for my frame. The Kid Comfort is the best. Ultra comfortable, baby is safe, he naps for 2h on my back during full mountain hikes. Heads up: it's the Kid Comfort model, not the Active version (less comfortable on the back) or the SL (made for smaller frames).
Baby carrier
Ergobaby Omni Breeze Same recurring issue: finding a baby carrier built for my frame. This one is adjustable, padded straps. I recommend strapping it crossed so the straps hug your body without hurting under the armpits.
Stroller
Nuna Triv Next
Baby monitor
Philips Avent SCD891/26 + mount No Wifi, decent range, built-in lullabies. One downside: a bright red light on the camera, I covered it with black tape to dim it at night. The mount is essential, otherwise the camera just sits flat. The mount lets you hang it directly above the crib.

Photo

Camera body
Fujifilm X-T20 A bit old now but still light and practical.
Main lens
Fujifilm XF 23mm F2.0 R WR Lets you take beautiful photos, simply. Framing comes first.

Network & storage

External SSD
Samsung 970 EVO NVMe M.2 + UGREEN USB-C enclosure Cheap combo for a quality external SSD: protected and fast.
Cloud storage
Dropbox + Google Cloud Minimal cloud storage, except for photos and important documents.

Living room

TV
Samsung TV LED 4K 50" 50TU7125 Disappointed by the built-in OS that lags from day one. Good quality TV for a small budget.
Soundbar
Sonos Beam What a sound…
Streaming box
Apple TV 4K My launcher for Canal+, Netflix, Disney+, Plex. Way better than the one built into the TV.

Smart home

Vacuum
Roborock Qrevo Edge S5A Ideal for daily vacuuming and mopping. Good zone management and collision handling, flexible arm to reach corners (sort of, but works better than our old iRobot). Watch out for cables or shoelaces lying around, it'll happily grab them (remember the Christmas tree cord).

Software, design

Design app
Figma
Asset manager
Eagle
Inspiration
Mobbin

Software, code

Editor
Cursor
Terminal
Warp
Hosting
Vercel

Software, AI

Main assistant
Claude From ChatGPT to Claude. Cowork and Claude Code are insane, super well integrated. I do everything with it.
Image gen
Z-image Turbo Custom config in ComfyUI.
Voice / transcription
Granola + Gladia

Software, productivity

Notes
Notion A bit heavy for quick notes, but for docs and work it's a must.
Meeting notes
Granola AI-powered, well integrated, no need for bots in meetings, you can record a conversation on any voice channel.
Calendar
Notion Calendar For the ease of plugging in multiple accounts and one-click blocking slots in one calendar from an event in another.
Password manager
1Password Handy, smart, poor Android integration (Android's fault more than 1Password's). Switched from LastPass to 1Password, what a revolution.
VPN
ProtonVPN Best privacy policy.

Subscriptions

Password Manager
1Password Worth it
AI
Claude Pro Insane value
Music
Spotify Since 2010, never canceled

Mac utilities

Screenshots
Shottr Easy to set up, plus annotations.
Window manager
Rectangle Not perfect, but it helps resize windows.
Misc
Rocket For adding emoji and custom snippets everywhere.

Browser

Secondary
Netscape, trololo
Extensions
Eagle, Fireshot, uBlock Origin, Cashback (Joko, iGraal, Widilo)

Music

Streaming
Spotify Since 2010, all my playlists are there.

Gaming

Main platform
Steam
Gaming headset
Beyerdynamic MMX 300 (see above)
Currently playing
Battlefield 6

Other hobbies

Sport
CrossFit-like things
Fitness app
Freeletics
Bike
Pro-Form Pro Trainer 500 Not fully satisfied. A bit small for my height (6'2"), and the stats aren't accurate at all.

Coffee

Brew method
Aeropress Easy, versatile, minimalist. Don't waste your time fiddling with a €1000 machine if you're just gonna add milk to your coffee.
Filter
Stainless steel filters No need to buy paper filters, I've had the same one for 6+ years.

RIP

Sketch
RIP, replaced by Figma.
Notepad++
Left it for SublimeText, then VSCode, then Cursor.
InVision
RIP 2024, replaced by Figma prototyping.
mIRC
Peak teenage internet.