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My Complete Desk Setup as a Learning Programmer
This is the hardware I use while going fully immersive into full stack JavaScript and other programming languages.
Step one of my software engineering bootcamp starts today with pre-course training and I spent the last couple weeks perfecting my workspace.
I’m obsessed with a desk setup that’s just right and, while I already had some of this organized for my gaming PC, I was able to build a dual boot system that shares the same monitors and peripherals.
This is what’s on my desk for maximum productivity (and a little fun).
Apple M1 Mac Mini
I had to adopt back to Mac during an awkward time. My bootcamp strongly suggested using Mac as a developers platform, so I had to make a choice: tried and true Intel or the brand new Apple Silicon M1?
The early reviews were overwhelmingly positive so I went M1 and I’m glad I did. This Mac mini is the base model, 8GB ram variant, and it screams. Most of the software I use (I’ll cover that in a future article) has already been optimized for the M1 with the rest on the way. It’s freaky how much this thing shines.
Update: It turns out the M1 is not quite ready for a few developer tools just yet, so I switched to an Intel Mac Mini…but I’ll be back.
Keychron K8 Keyboard
I needed a keyboard and mouse that could switch easily between Mac and PC. That means they had to be wireless with switches to toggle between Bluetooth connections.
I love the feel of mechanical keyboards. Marques Brownlee recommended a smaller version of the K8 during his 2020 setup tour, but I wanted the tenkeyless layout, so I ordered the K8 with the aluminum frame, full RGB lighting, and Gateron brown switches. The initial sound can be a little hollow — the bottom case has quite a bit…
