My Setup

I have G.A.S. (learned about this condition via Ross Goodwin on The Setup).

Here’s how I came to this conclusion.

Today’s blogging topic was suggested by Paul Hagon last week:

I’m suggesting that everyone who is participating in #blogjune take part and on Wednesday the 21st June, create a post answering these 4 questions.

1. Who are you, and what do you do?

2. What hardware do you use?

3. And what software?

4. What would be your dream setup?

Who are you, and what do you do?

I’m Constance Wiebrands, I live in Perth, Western Australia and I’m a librarian. My job title is University Librarian, which means I lead and manage the libraries for a university here. My work days are mostly spent reading, and writing, email and other electronic documents – reports, contracts, proposals, articles. When I’m not reading or writing stuff, I’m in meetings, talking, listening, taking notes. Otherwise I also spend a fair bit of time talking with others, one on one, in groups, over the phone, over the web. A bit of time is also spent thinking, and planning. At the moment I also travel for work, once every couple of months or so, mostly flying to Sydney or Melbourne or Canberra.

When I’m not working I like to read novels and listen to music. I have two chihuahuas who enjoy their daily walks. I like visiting art galleries and bookshops. Happily married.

What hardware do you use?

In the library I use a 27-inch Retina 5K late 2015 iMac. I also have a 13-inch MacBook Pro with touch bar which I use at meetings and when I travel. Saves me printing reams and reams of meeting agendas. My phone is an iPhone 6 Plus, and I use Marshall Mode earbuds.

At home I use a 27-inch iMac, bought in early 2014. I also have a mid-2011 11-inch MacBook Air (which I am using to type this post, it’s a very nice laptop). I have an iPad mini (3, I think?) which has been a bit neglected of late.

I do most of my reading on a Kindle. The current Kindle is a Kindle Oasis, which I love. I use it everyday, and I find it indispensable when I travel. It’s light, lit, holds loads of books, the battery life is amazing, and I can’t distract myself with games or anything else when I use it. (I always end up “multitasking” when I read on my iPhone.)

I have a first generation Apple Watch (the smaller model) which I seem to mainly use as a fitness tracker these days.

I can’t travel without my Bose QuietComfort 20 noise cancelling earbuds.

I’m not sure if this counts as hardware, but I also use fountain pens for note taking and list making. I made lists and drafted this post using a pen and my (paper) notebook this morning. Preferred paper is Tomoe River paper – made in Japan.

And what software?
I don’t do anything particularly interesting requiring cool software.
Although I’m a Mac user I use Microsoft Office at work: Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint. I started out as a Windows user and got used to Office. Also everyone at work (almost all Windows users) uses Office, so…
For document sharing I use Box, and for videoconferencing, Zoom. I also use Dropbox and Skype and Facetime, depending on the other parties’ requirements. Zotero for managing professional reading references.

On my home machine I have Office 365 so I can work at home. For personal email I use Gmail. Google Drive and Calendar for planning and sharing info with my husband. I like Calibre for ebook management.

For music I have Spotify Premium. I like being able to listen to an eclectic mix of music: J.S. Bach, R.E.M., schmaltzy Mandarin pop.

On my phone I have all the usual apps: news apps (NYT and the Guardian), Twitter, Instagram, Pleco (superb Chinese dictionary), Allo (to message my husband who uses an Android phone), Google maps.

For my fountain pens my favourite inks are Pilot Iroshizuku Kon Peki (deep cerulean blue), and J. Herbin Éclat de Saphir. Both are beautiful shades of blue.

What would be your dream setup?
I don’t know. A less clicky keyboard for the new Macbook Pro, maybe? Oh – I know: a super battery for all my Apple devices. I suffer from chronic drain dread* – fear of running out of battery charge on my devices. I don’t think I need any more devices – if you’ve read this far, you probably agree I have G.A.S. or Gear Acquisition Syndrome. My Mom probably thinks it’s MMTS – More Money Than Sense!

If you’re observant you can often see signs of my fountain pen addiction: ink stained fingers.

Thanks Paul for suggesting this post topic, I had great fun thinking about my setup.

*yes I made this one up.