{"id":1609,"date":"2011-03-09T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-09T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/?p=1609"},"modified":"2023-12-03T08:42:23","modified_gmt":"2023-12-03T14:42:23","slug":"gear-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/2011\/03\/gear-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Geared Up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Pic unrelated, but you just lost the game<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Everything you’re about to read is a lie. It\u2019s an activity as old as mating. Show me what you\u2019ve got, I\u2019ll show you what I\u2019ve got, we\u2019ll see who\u2019s bigger. The technical term is \u201cpeacocking\u201d but it\u2019s simply showing off. Well, I\u2019m not really here to show off, mainly because I have little worth showing off about, but I am here to show and tell. This post is going to lay out the gear that makes my day work and makes projects like The Noisecast work. There\u2019s nothing particularly special about any of my gear, at least not to the geeks out there, but some of it might be a revelation to the meatspacers* out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll try not to bore you with details but I will split the list into hardware, Operating Software, Productivity software, and Guerilla gear. Guerilla gear will include software and hardware that may not be copacetic to publicly acknowledge. Basically, muscleheads compare biceps and geeks compare gear. Let\u2019s do this — after the jump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Hardware<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

HP DV6<\/a><\/em>: This is my primary workhorse. Not the baddest beast in the woods, but he gets the job done and has survived where the other pets haven\u2019t. I call him Tiberius (not the PC name for networking, but my pet name). 300Gb HD, 4Gb of Ram, Intel Centrino 2 (2.13 GHz processor). Dual Boots Windows 7 and Ubuntu. He is old but reliable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HP w2207h Widescreen monitor<\/a><\/em>: This serves primarily as the external monitor for Tiberius. The majority of my stationary work gets done on this modest rig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

CR-48<\/em>: The Google Chrome OS test module is my mobile workhorse. She gets the job done most of the time but lacks some critical software I need for certain tasks. However, on any given day, I can handle 100% of my tasks on her. She comes in handy in a pinch and I use her when travelling or when I feel like working at the park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samsung Black Jack II<\/em>: yes, I know it\u2019s old school, but it works for me. This phone is unbreakable, runs Windows Mobile 6.x with some little goodies of mine added. It handles all the normal smartphone tasks minus the special apps of \u201cmodern\u201d smartphones. But I abide. I haven\u2019t decided what I\u2019ll be upgrading to when my contract is up, but there\u2019s no point wasting a discount and carrying on with the same machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HTC Tilt 2<\/em>: Another oldie but this one isn\u2019t used as a phone. I use it as an MID. I had to do a lot of under the hood tweaking and if you have Windows Mobile devices you want to give the geek treatment to, you can check out: http:\/\/forum.xda-developers.com\/forumdisplay.php?f=522<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

iPod Touch (2nd gen)<\/em>: I keep this mainly for the apps and as a handheld gaming device and e-reader. It\u2019s been jailbroken of course and is used for certain non-traditional activities like rapid back-ups and for remotely managing my system processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

iPod classic (30 Gb\u2026 really classic)<\/em>: This is used entirely as an encrypted external hard drive, and nothing more. I don\u2019t actually use any of my devices for music. I find I prefer to be either walking mindfully or reading when seated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

500Gb HP external pocket media drive + 1 Tb WD External HD<\/em>: Self explanatory. Encrypted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HP Slimline Desktop<\/a><\/em>: Primarily runs Arch Linux<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HP dm3<\/a><\/em>: Runs OpenSuse and Backtrack. I call this one echo. I rarely have to break her out and usually only for a case of whimsical fuckery. The truth is, she\u2019s capable of things beyond my skill and a friend of mine gets more mileage out of her, I get naughty too. ;)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amazon Kindle 3<\/a><\/em>: I love this device to death. As I\u2019ve slowly donated my physical books to Libraries and cleared up shelf space (I\u2019m a minimalist who prefers open space), I\u2019ve come to depend on this more and more. As with everything else on this list, I do use her for certain non-standard uses. I\u2019ll leave it at that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

V-moda Crossfade<\/a><\/em>: If you don\u2019t have these headphones you don\u2019t have headphones, you have pieces of plastic that make random noise in your ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operating Software<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is straightforward. I mentioned all of them earlier. I use: Windows 7, Ubuntu<\/a>, Arch Linux<\/a> (not recommended for Linux beginners… or anyone who likes their sanity), OpenSuse<\/a>, Backtrack<\/a>, Windows Mobile, and iOS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Productivity Software\/Apps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

(most of these are Windows. Linux is for “other” things not day-to-day)
OneNote + Evernote<\/em>: OneNote is my favorite piece of software and if you haven\u2019t given it a gander, you’re missing out in a major way. Lifehacker OneNote rundown<\/a>. (You better recognize!) Evernote is pretty cool too *shrugs*.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google Chrome<\/a><\/em>: This is my browser of choice. If you have to ask why, you haven\u2019t used it and all I can say is, I pity how slow and unwieldy the internet must seem to you mere mortals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teamviewer<\/a><\/em>: Sometimes the CR-48 doesn\u2019t have everything I need, or I\u2019m far away from all my gear. Teamviewer allows me to access and control my systems remotely and for free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chrometa<\/a><\/em>: This really is a wonderful app. It allows you to keep track of your computer use down to the minute and even records breaks. If you\u2019re a freelancer or consultant who bills by the hour, Chrometa allows you to record in proper detail how much time you actually spent working on it rather than just checking your facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n