I use many different systems, some with purpose, some without. I occasionally get asked about a specific setup. I thought I'd write about the different elements of my setup separately over time and link to them from here.
Things I Use
If you just want to know what I use, here's the list. I'll add to it over time.
Infrastructure
Media
- Big Minidisc fan. I'll write about it when ready.
- Brother QL-700 Label Printer for Minidisc and preserve labels.
General Philosophy
I grew up in a world where computers were the future, even before we all had Internet access. Then we got there and it was pretty cool, till it wasn't. I have a fairly unbridled hatred of modern computing technology. It's the digital monkey's paw. That rise and fall has shaped a philosophy based on portability, resilience and maintaining control of focus and attention. Computers are tools that serve us, not the other way around.
- Keep things in files, plaintext where possible.
- On systems I own/rent.
- Under self-hosted services where practical, and;
- Where not practical, be a paying customer.
Plaintext is the ultimate portable data format. You can't use plaintext for visual or audio media, but we can at least use files. I'm happy using local databases if they're files too, same goes for JSON. The key is that I can extract the information I want across multiple systems.
I don't mind renting an online server. I don't even mind paying for simple services like online backup storage. I'll even pay for VPN services. I'm not keen on having data in systems where I can't export it. I dislike paying for service where payment removes deliberately added inconveniences (such as ads) rather than adding features where it's clear there's an extra cost to the vendor.
With that in mind, I prefer self-hosting to SaaS. Self-hosting keeps me in control of my data and it doesn't compete for my attention. Self-hosting ensures that I'm not dealing with features being constantly fiddled with or moved. Self hosting is slow computing.
I use a lot of different systems and tools, but that's because if something does a job well I want to keep using it. I keep older systems running with real uses. Nearly everything I use has it's own setup, though I've settled on standard approaches to keep things manageable.