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The Setup: Zed Shaw

zed.shaw.usesthis.com

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Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#21

Post by dlsspy »

crag wrote: post #6
dlsspy wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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. ;)

I bet you can. But can likely use emacs as well. I think if I had to pick one piece of software to live with on my desert island, it'd be emacs (assuming I had a reasonable boot loader and a filesystem to sit under it).

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#22

Post by bostonvaulter2 »

crag wrote: post #6
dlsspy wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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. ;)

I'm curious, how long did you spend trying to use Vim?

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#23

Post by sirvaliance »

dbbo wrote: post #9

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.

Don't know why I am answering because my response is most likely inaccurate, but IIRC (specifically from following him on Twitter) he used to use Arch linux for a while. I also remember him complaining about it and IIRC he made a switch. I am sure once he sees the post he will correct me and or answer you.

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#24

Post by latch »

barrkel wrote: post #17
latch wrote: post #15

This is a good contrast to this recent front-page HN story: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3075145 "If you're a developer, you need to spend money on a great computer, an awesome monitor, a fantastic chair and a good bed" Personally, I think Zed's approach is far more responsible/sane. If you "need to spend money on a great computer", you are either doing something very different than me, or very wrong.

If you are working on software that will run on customers' machines tomorrow, it makes sense to do at least a good chunk of development on very average hardware. These days, most client development is web stuff, so you don't often have the excuse of compile times. But if you're working on software that's supposed to run well on high-spec machines and servers, or targeting machines a few years in the future, then you'…

Maybe I'm being a closed-minded idiot, but "i write compilers for a living" isn't something a lot of programmers can claim. I guess I'm working on the assumption that most programmers are building enterprise apps. I don't know why I think that.

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#25

Post by latch »

ethank wrote: post #16
latch wrote: post #15

This is a good contrast to this recent front-page HN story: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3075145 "If you're a developer, you need to spend money on a great computer, an awesome monitor, a fantastic chair and a good bed" Personally, I think Zed's approach is far more responsible/sane. If you "need to spend money on a great computer", you are either doing something very different than me, or very wrong.

Shouldn't it be worth it to decrease friction in something you are spending 8-10 hours a day on? Personally I can't stand when I run into the physical/computational limitations of a system I'm on. I also can't stand it when someone on my team complains about this. A nice computer, a good amount of RAM, good input devices, a good chair and a desk are paltry compared to what you should be paying a great engineer or des…

Like I said in another comment, in my opinion, a 2006 (intro of a intel's c2d) computer with 8gigs of ram + an SSD was pretty much the last time your average programmer saw any appreciable gains on the desktop.

Things _have_ moved forward since then, especially if your are multi-thread/core sensitive. For everyone else, even at 8-10hours a day, I'm not sure it'd be considered a great investment for such incremental improvements.

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#26

Post by ethank »

latch wrote: post #25
ethank wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shouldn't it be worth it to decrease friction in something you are spending 8-10 hours a day on? Personally I can't stand when I run into the physical/computational limitations of a system I'm on. I also can't stand it when someone on my team complains about this. A nice computer, a good amount of RAM, good input devices, a good chair and a desk are paltry compared to what you should be paying a great engineer or des…

Like I said in another comment, in my opinion, a 2006 (intro of a intel's c2d) computer with 8gigs of ram + an SSD was pretty much the last time your average programmer saw any appreciable gains on the desktop. Things _have_ moved forward since then, especially if your are multi-thread/core sensitive. For everyone else, even at 8-10hours a day, I'm not sure it'd be considered a great investment for such incremental i…

RAM and i/o will certainly make the biggest difference for the average person or engineer. That and HID's and your display.

My computer before this one at its core was not the latest/greatest Mac Pro, but I had upgraded parts (RAM, video, HD) which made the biggest difference.

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#27

Post by sigh400 »

cheald wrote: post #19
Homunculiheaded wrote: post #14

Not long about I accidentally ruined the keyboard on my oldish white macbook, I debated spending cash I really didn't need to spend on a nice new macbook air. But after giving it some good thought I decided to just go ahead and replace the topcase myself. While deciding this I realized it's rather a shame that in our hacker culture there's still somewhat of a fetishism for having a sleek new laptop, and that it would…

My workstation started life as an HP I bought at Best Buy in 1998. I've just upgraded it piecemeal over the years, and while none of the original hardware remains, I've never replaced it outright. My two development boxes, also under my desk, are whiteboxes cobbled together from previous iterations of my workstation - the hardware gets handed down, and once it hits four generations old, it gets shelved in the garage.…

I am guilty as much as anyone of riding my hardware pretty hard and for far too long but you're just moving into silly mode. Case entry alone would make a prudent upgrade.

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#28

Post by crag »

bostonvaulter2 wrote: post #22
crag wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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. ;)

I'm curious, how long did you spend trying to use Vim?

A few days. I must admit, I was resistant from the start.

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#29

Post by crag »

ww520 wrote: post #12

I agree hardware is no big deal for development in general. I tend to buy one generation behind in term of hardware. Not only all the bugs have been work out but I also got great bargains. Initial depreciation is steep for technology related products.

Since I use Mac, I've been forced to upgrade sometimes. Like going from my Powerbook (G4 chip) to a Macbook Pro in 2007 (for the intel chip).

Last week, I finally broke down and brought a Macbook Air. It wasn't for the i7 chip, or the SSD (which by the way, I will NEVER go back to spinning drives again); it was the mobility. The Air is the lightness most powerful machine I've ever had. Amazing machine.

My scratched up, stained, and dented MBP sits in a bookcase. On top of my old Powerbook.

Re: The Setup: Zed Shaw

#30

Post by cheald »

sigh400 wrote: post #27
cheald wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My workstation started life as an HP I bought at Best Buy in 1998. I've just upgraded it piecemeal over the years, and while none of the original hardware remains, I've never replaced it outright. My two development boxes, also under my desk, are whiteboxes cobbled together from previous iterations of my workstation - the hardware gets handed down, and once it hits four generations old, it gets shelved in the garage.…

I am guilty as much as anyone of riding my hardware pretty hard and for far too long but you're just moving into silly mode. Case entry alone would make a prudent upgrade.

What do you mean by case entry? I've replaced the case on my primary workstation twice; literally none of the original machine remains now. The current case is a nice big zero-tool-entry type with six drive bays and room for usually-large hardware like CPU coolers and video cards. I think I ended up selling the original case on eBay.

I don't do it out of some "hacker ideal" - I do it because it's cost-effective, and because I get a lot of pleasure out of building my own rigs. It just so happens that that ends up leaving me with machines that are patched together, well-worn, and well-loved.

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