CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary"> <meta name="twitter:title" content="I Use This"> <meta property="og:title" content="I Use This"> <meta name="twitter:description" content="Just in case you’re curious, here’s a …"> <meta name="og:description" content="Just in case you’re curious, here’s a …"> <meta name="description" content="Just in case you’re curious, here’s a description of the various hardware and software I use to work and play. This is a work in progress, but over time should reflect the entirety of my toolset. My hope is to keep this up-to-date because things change regularly. If there’s something you’d like to know and you don’t see it here ask in the comments at the bottom of the page!"> <title>I Use This | And me? I'm Leo Laporte</title> <link rel="canonical" href="https://leo.fm/i-use-this/"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/main.css?1733207279"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/all.min.css?1733207279"> <link rel="alternate" href="https://leo.fm/feed.xml" type="application/rss+xml" title="And me? I'm Leo Laporte"> <link rel="alternate" href="https://leo.fm/feed.json" type="application/json" title="And me? I'm Leo Laporte"> <link rel="alternate" href="https://leo.fm/podcast.xml" type="application/rss+xml" title="Podcast"> <link rel="alternate" href="https://leo.fm/podcast.json" type="application/json" title="Podcast"> <link rel="me" href="https://micro.blog/leo"> <link rel="me" href="https://twitter.com/leolaporte"> <link rel="me" href="https://github.com/leolaporte"> <link rel="me" href="https://instagram.com/twitleo"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://micro.blog/leo/favicon.png" type="image/x-icon"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="https://leo.fm/rsd.xml"> <link rel="authorization_endpoint" href="https://micro.blog/indieauth/auth"> <link rel="token_endpoint" href="https://micro.blog/indieauth/token"> <link rel="subscribe" href="https://micro.blog/users/follow"> <link rel="webmention" href="https://micro.blog/webmention"> <link rel="micropub" href="https://micro.blog/micropub"> <link rel="microsub" href="https://micro.blog/microsub"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/custom.css?1733207279"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/stoot.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/sidebar.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/img-gallery.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/barefoot.min.css"> <script src="/js/barefoot.min.js"></script> <script> document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", (event) => { var barefoot = new BareFoot(); barefoot.init(); }); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/glightbox/dist/css/glightbox.min.css" /> <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/mcstudios/glightbox/dist/js/glightbox.min.js"></script> <meta property="og:title" content="I Use This" /> <meta property="og:description" content="Just in case you’re curious, here’s a description of the various hardware and software I use to work and play. This is a work in progress, but over time should reflect the entirety of my toolset. My hope is to keep this up-to-date because things change regularly. If there’s something you’d like to know and you don’t see it here ask in the comments at the bottom of the page!" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://leo.fm/i-use-this/" /> <meta property="article:published_time" content="2024-11-11T23:37:56-08:00"/> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2024-11-11T23:37:56-08:00"/> <meta property="article:section" content="" /> </head> <body> <header class="site-header"> <a href="/"><img src="https://micro.blog/leo/avatar.jpg" alt="And me? I'm Leo Laporte Profile Photo" class="profile_photo u-photo" width="80" height="80"></a> <h1><a class="site-title p-name u-url" href="/">And me? I'm Leo Laporte</a></h1> <p class="description">Podcaster, Broadcaster, Tech Pundit. Founder of the TWiT podcast network. Recovering syndicated radio host. </p> <nav class="site-nav"> <ul> <li><a class="page-link About" href="/about/">About</a></li> <li><a class="page-link I Use This" href="/i-use-this/">I Use This</a></li> <li><a class="page-link Now" href="/now/">Now</a></li> <li><a class="page-link Photos" href="/photos/">Photos</a></li> <li><a class="page-link Archive" href="/archive/">Archive</a></li> <li><a class="page-link Subscribe" href="/subscribe/">Subscribe</a></li> <li><a class="page-link Search" href="/search/">Search</a></li> </ul> </nav> </header> <div class="page-content"> <div class="wrapper"> <div class="page"> <h2 class="p-name">I Use This</h2> <article class="post-content"> <p>Just in case you’re curious, here’s a description of the various hardware and software I use to work and play.</p> <p>This is a work in progress, but over time should reflect the entirety of my toolset. My hope is to keep this up-to-date because things change regularly. If there’s something you’d like to know and you don’t see it here ask in the comments at the bottom of the page!</p> <p>I realize that the following is a ridiculously large menagerie of gear. That’s an occupational hazard. I review more gear than the average bear, but I do keep the stuff that suits me best. One small point, I almost always buy all the gear I use. I generally don’t ask for or use review units or loaners. I think it gives me a more realistic idea of what owning this gear is like, and this way I’m not beholden to anyone. Any exceptions are indicated below.</p> <h3 id="home-studio">Home Studio</h3> <p>I have a ~400 sq ft office in the attic of our house with several book shelves two huge desks – one for personal stuff and one <a href="https://www.corsair.com/us/en/p/gaming-furniture/cf-9500053-na/platform-6-creator-edition-desk-wood-dark-walnut-stain-cf-9500053-na">Corsair Platform 6 Creator Desk</a> for streaming. Attached to the Corsair are three Sony FX-30 cameras, two <a href="https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/key-light-duo-bundle-heavy-mini">Elgato Duo Key Lights</a>, a<a href="https://kinoflo.com/diva-lite-41-led/"> KinoFlo Diva-Lite 41</a> LED key light. I have two M1 Mac minis and a M3 Max MacBook Pro on the desk for streaming. The cameras are connected to a <a href="https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/atemmini">BlackMagic ATEM Mini Extreme</a> 8-port video switcher. I use the surprisingly excellent <a href="https://rode.com/en-us/interfaces-and-mixers/rodecaster-series/rodecaster-duo?variant_sku=RCDUOW">RodeCaster Duo</a> mixer for audio mixing. The Aphex effects on the Rode do a great job of noise reduction and processing.</p> <img style="display:block; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;" src="https://leo.fm/uploads/2024/img-2417.jpeg" alt="My home studio setup" title="IMG_2417.jpeg" border="0" width="500" height="375" /> <p>There’s a comfy armchair I’ve had for years, a massive couch and coffee table and a home theater setup. Including a 65" LG OLED TV connected to Denon AVR S910W A/V receiver which feeds it signals from an Nvidia Shield 2, an Xbox One S, and an Apple TV. We don’t have cable TV - everything is over-the-top. I use <a href="https://www.elac.com/series/debut-2-0/b6-2/?r=us">Elac Debut 2.0</a> bookshelf speakers here in a 3.1 system.</p> <p>I have Apple’s AirPods Pro and Max but my preferred headphones to use with this system are the wired <a href="https://www.hifiman.com/products/detail/167">HiFiMan HE-560s</a>.</p> <h3 id="computers">Computers</h3> <img style="display:block; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;" src="https://leo.fm/uploads/2024/aurora.jpg" alt="The Giant 55-inch OLED Display" title="aurora.jpg" border="0" width="450" height="338" /> <p>Sitting on my personal desk in the office are:</p> <ul> <li> <p>2024 Mac mini with M4 Pro, 64GB RAM, and a 2TB internal drive connected to a 4TB OWC <a href="https://www.owcdigital.com/products/express-4m2">Express 4M2</a> Thunderbolt 3 external drive,</p> </li> <li> <p>Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 gaming desk top from April 2021<br> Ryzen 7 5800 X (8-core, 32MB Cache 4.7GHz)<br> Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 10Gb G DDR6X<br> 128GB Dual Channel DDR4 XMP at 3400MHz<br> 2TB M.2 SSD<br> 2 TB SATA drive<br> Dark Side of the Moon chassis with High-Performance CPU Liquid Cooling and 1000W Power Supply I use a 5TB Drobo Mini for backup.</p> </li> </ul> <p>Each connected to a 55" Alienware 120Hz 4K gaming monitor. I switch devices using the remote control that came with the monitor.</p> <p>Audio goes to a pair of <a href="https://audioengineusa.com/shop/wirelessspeakers/a2-wireless-computer-speakers/">Audioengine 2</a> wired speakers with an Audioengine S8 subwoofer beneath the desk. I use an Alienware 310K Mech. Gaming Keyboard and 510M RGB Gaming Mouse mostly to play Valheim. The Dell dual boots Manjaro Linux and Windows 11.</p> <p>When I’m not sitting at my desk, I primarily use one of my more portable devices:</p> <ul> <li>A 2022 M2 MacBook Air 14" with 24 GB RAM and a 2 TB SSD (these days my go-to device)</li> <li>A 2023 M4 iPad Pro 12.9" with the Magic Keyboard.</li> <li>A 2024 A17 iPad mini</li> <li>A 2023 Kobo Libra Colour e-reader</li> </ul> <p>There’s also a 2016 17" <a href="https://system76.com/laptops/oryx">System76 Oryx Pro</a> i7/32GB/2.5TB/GTX980 laptop. It weighs about 10 pounds but I don’t have the heart to put it down. It’s running Manjaro Linux Gnome Edition.</p> <p>All my systems have synced Document, Source Code, and dotfile directories using the excellent and free open-source <a href="https://syncthing.net">SyncThing</a>. I keep system build instructions and scripts in <a href="https://notion.so">Notion</a> which I also use for fancy note-taking. For day-to-day notes, to-dos, and lists I use emacs org-mode.</p> <h3 id="smartphones">Smartphones</h3> <p>My daily carry is a T-Mobile iPhone 16 Pro Max in a gray Peak Design <a href="https://www.peakdesign.com/products/everyday-case-for-iphone-16-series">Every Day case</a>. I also own a Fi-based Google Pixel 9 Pro Android phone to keep up with Android developments. I’m wearing a Apple Watch Ultra which I love.</p> <h3 id="cameras">Cameras</h3> <p>I’ve gone through a lot of cameras. I started in my 20s shooting and processing Tri-X with a beloved Nikon FM film camera. Once digital became a thing I shot with Olympus, then Canon, then Sony bodies. I gave the 5D Mark IV to my son to start his TikTok career (a good investment) and I still use the Sony glass for streaming.</p> <p>Now at the end of my photography journey I’ve settled on two cameras: the Leica Q2 with a fixed 28mm f1.7 lens, and a Leica M11-P rangefinder with a 50mm f0.95 Noctilux lens.</p> <img style="display:block; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;" src="https://leo.fm/uploads/2024/leica.png" alt="My beautiful Q2 in a Pelle case" title="leica.png" border="0" width="500" height="375" /> <p>I carry the Leicas in beautiful cases and straps from <a href="https://www.angelo-pelle.com/product/half-case-for-leica-q2">Angelo Pelle</a>.</p> <h3 id="av">A/V</h3> <p>For Zoom calls and audio recording on the iMac, I use a <a href="https://heilsound.com/products/pr-40/">Heil PR-40</a> mic. It’s connected via USB using a SoundDevices <a href="https://www.sounddevices.com/mixpre/">MixPre-3</a>. As I do in the studio, I use custom-molded in-ear monitors from <a href="https://jhaudio.com">JH Audio</a> or <a href="https://www.amazon.com/AKG-K240STUDIO-Semi-Open-Professional-Headphones/dp/B0001ARCFA/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=akg+k240&qid=1610399210&sr=8-2">AKG K240</a> headphones.</p> <h3 id="internet">Internet</h3> <p>I recently upgraded my home network to <a href="https://ui.com">Ubiquiti</a> gear including the <a href="https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-routing-switching/products/udm-pro">Ubiquiti UDM Pro Max 10 Gbps Cloud Gateway</a>, a Ubiquiti USW-Pro-Max 48-port PoE switch, and four Ubiquiti U6 Enterprise wireless access points connected to Comcast 1400/40 Business Internet. All the various media centers and computer workstations are hardwired with Ubiquiti PoE managed switches.</p> <p>Now that we’re streaming from home I have a redundant Internet connection via Starlink. The UDM-Pro-Max fails over automatically within a few seconds should Comcast drop out.</p> <img style="display:block; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;" src="https://leo.fm/uploads/2024/rack.png" alt="My Ubiquiti rack" title="rack.png" border="0" width="500" height="375" /> <h3 id="transport">Transport</h3> <p>When the weather’s nice, I ride around on a Radpower electric bike, the <a href="https://www.radpowerbikes.com/pages/ebikes">Rad City Step Thru</a>.</p> <p>I drive a leased 2023 BMW i5 E40 and love it. Lisa has a 2022 electric Mini Cooper. We really like electric vehicles.</p> </article> </div> </div> </div> <footer class="site-footer"> <div class="wrapper"> <p class="custom_footer"> </p> <p class="attribution custom_footer">Hosted by <a href="https://micro.blog">Micro.blog</a>. Powered by <a href="https://tiny.micro.blog">Tiny Theme</a>. Designed with ♥ by <a href="https://www.mattlangford.com">Matt Langford</a>.</p> </div> </footer> <script src="/glightbox.js"></script> </body> </html>