The Setup: Zed Shaw

#1

Post by Umalu » Sat, Oct 22, 2011, 3:27 AM UTC

The Setup: Zed Shaw
zed.shaw.usesthis.com

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#2

Post by vinhboy » Sat, Oct 22, 2011, 4:08 AM UTC

I have always been dismayed with us techies and our toys. Like women and their purses. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But its nice to know there are great programmers out there who don't care about that stuff.

But geesh, even I would upgrade from a white Macbook, and I am using a 2006 MBP.

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#3

Post by zdw » Sat, Oct 22, 2011, 4:16 AM UTC

I'm on a similar course - the further I dive into systems, the more I learn to use the ubiquitous software (vi, for example) rather than being picky about my tools and environment.

People with very complex environments make me think they spent far too long developing a theoretical methodology, and too little time actually hacking and using stuff.

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#4

Post by bilalhusain » Sat, Oct 22, 2011, 4:21 AM UTC

how very honest!

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#5

Post by dlsspy » Sat, Oct 22, 2011, 4:26 AM UTC

zdw wrote: post #3

I'm on a similar course - the further I dive into systems, the more I learn to use the ubiquitous software (vi, for example) rather than being picky about my tools and environment. People with very complex environments make me think they spent far too long developing a theoretical methodology, and too little time actually hacking and using stuff.

It took me years to consider using vim over plain vi. After fifteen years or so of vi I ended up switching to emacs.

I've worked with really awesome people who are completely lost without [insert proprietary single-platform editor here].

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#6

Post by crag » Sat, Oct 22, 2011, 4:27 AM UTC

dlsspy wrote: post #5

zdw wrote: post #3

I'm on a similar course - the further I dive into systems, the more I learn to use the ubiquitous software (vi, for example) rather than being picky about my tools and environment. People with very complex environments make me think they spent far too long developing a theoretical methodology, and too little time actually hacking and using stuff.

It took me years to consider using vim over plain vi. After fifteen years or so of vi I ended up switching to emacs. I've worked with really awesome people who are completely lost without [insert proprietary single-platform editor here].

I can't use vim. God, I've tried, and tried. I'm too old. I just can't do it. So I stick with a big IDE (or Sublime 2 which I'm liking more and more).

I had to telnet into a Centos box recently and the only thing I could find was vi. Took me a few minutes but I managed. I was proud. ;)

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#7

Post by d_r » Sat, Oct 22, 2011, 4:34 AM UTC

vinhboy wrote: post #2

I have always been dismayed with us techies and our toys. Like women and their purses. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But its nice to know there are great programmers out there who don't care about that stuff. But geesh, even I would upgrade from a white Macbook, and I am using a 2006 MBP.

While some toys can definitely be attributed as luxury (you don't really need that iPad), I can say that my i7 Macbook Air made me a significantly happier developer. Incredibly fast for everything I do, be it Xcode or Photoshop. Check. Long battery life and lightweight - great for coffee shops. Check. This is one "toy" that actually improved my productivity.

Also, something should be said about efficiency. If you're primarily coding on a slow/old computer where compiles, etc. take longer, you may be wasting precious time. It's worth having the best tools for the job.

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#8

Post by xpaulbettsx » Sat, Oct 22, 2011, 4:37 AM UTC

vinhboy wrote: post #2

I have always been dismayed with us techies and our toys. Like women and their purses. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But its nice to know there are great programmers out there who don't care about that stuff. But geesh, even I would upgrade from a white Macbook, and I am using a 2006 MBP.

I definitely agree, if I wasn't doing Windows development, I'd be perfectly happy with a machine that was that level spec, Vim and screen don't take up many resources at all. Lousy battery life would be a dealbreaker though.

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#9

Post by dbbo » Sat, Oct 22, 2011, 4:42 AM UTC

I thought it was a bit odd that he wrote 7 paragraphs about music equipment and software, but didn't mention which GNU/Linux distribution(s) he uses on his "junky" laptops.

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#10

Post by andrewljohnson » Sat, Oct 22, 2011, 4:43 AM UTC

Everyone I see in these kind of articles uses old hardware and small screens. I feel like it is selection bias - it makes for a better story when the rock stars don't use the best tools.

When I moved from an old Mac to a tricked out iMac, my apps compiled 10x as fast. I suppose it's nice to know you can write good software on any box, but it's worthwhile to have good tools for something you spend many hours on each day.