Things I Use




Technology

Hardware

Personal
15-inch M2 MacBook Air
16 GB RAM and 2TB of storage. This is the best computer I’ve ever owned–form factor, software, everything. Fast, quiet, and unbelievably thin.

12.9-inch iPadPro
2.5 GHz A12Z Bionic CPU and 256 GB storage. When my 2013 15-inch MacBook Pro lost its battery, I used my COVID stimulus check to purchase this iPadPro, and a Magic Keyboard case for it. It was my primary computer until I got the M2 MacBook Air in 2023.

Employer
14-inch M2 MacBook Pro
32 GB RAM and 1 TB of storage.

Software

Development
Neovim
I first used vi in 1997 and I’ve been a full-time used of Vim and later Neovim since 2009. I use it for code, both on personal project and for work. Some of those projects are tweaking my Neovim configuration itself.

Zed
Recently I’ve been trying Zed. The project has open sourced the code, and their blog regularly has fascinating deep dives into how the editor is designed and works.

tmux
A terminal multiplexer, tmux allows me to have multiple session, with multiple windows and panes. I use it extensively on remote systems I manage or interact with. Being able to resume a session at a later time from the same machine or a different one is a super power. My tmux configuration is on GitHub.

Mosh
Mosh is a mobile shell. Even if the connection is momentarily interrupted, mosh will keep things alive. I use it when I’m working from my iPad Pro, since there is no guarantee that the application I’m using, Blink, will not be suspended.

Blink
Blink is my terminal of choice on iPadOS. It comes with Mosh integration and makes using an iPadPro as a laptop replacement a much better experience.

Bash
Except for a couple of years around 2011, I’ve been using bash as my shell for longer than I remember. Like Neovim and tmux, I have a configuration for bash saved in my dot files repository.

Starship
Starship is a Rust-language prompt that is highly cutomizable. It lets me have a feature rich prompt without my having to maintain it.

Terminal
Ghostty
I’ve been a fan of Mitchell Hasimoto since I saw him speak at a Chef conference in about 2013. When I learned he was developing a new terminal emulator I knew I would to use it. It is my primary terminal these days.

Hosting
Pair Networks
I used Pair for hosting my website back in the early 2000’s but then foolishly moved away to less expensive options. When WebFaction was absorbed by GoDaddy, I returned to the fold.

Feeds / Social

RSS
NetNewsWire
I’ve been using NetNewsWire since 2003? 2004? It’s bulletproof and does exactly what I want and need. I maintain my OPML feed locally rather than use a 3rd-party service.

Mastodon
I used Twitter from 2008-ish until the Musk takeover. I switched to Mastodon and haven’t looked back. You can find me at @zanshin@hachyderm.io.

Ivory
As soon as I was able to acquire a Test Flight seat for Ivory, it became my preferred Mastodon client. I use it on my phone, iPad, and MacBook Air daily.

Music

Hardware

Cellos
I have two acoustic and one electric cello.

Jay Haide model.
My current cello is a wonderful Jay Haide 4/4 Statue Euro Ruggeri model that I purchased new in 2021. It has a rich, deep voice, and tremendous power. I’m still learning all the nuances to its character.

Hans Stainer 100
My first acoustic cello was labeled Hand Stainer 100, but I believe is actually and Eastman 100. This was the perfect instrument for me to start on. I currently have it tuned for the Bach 5th Cello suite.

NS Design WAV
In 2014 I bought a 5-string electric cello from NS Design. In late 2025 I sold it and replaced it with a 4-string NS Design WAV cello.

CodeBox Diamond SX
I’ve been playing with this carbon fiber bow for the past 12 or so years. Someday I’ll explore a wooden bow.

Mandolin
Savanah SA-110
I bought this oval-hole mandolin from the local music store on a whim in 2019. I’ve been slowly teaching myself to play. That it is tuned in 5ths, like my cello, has helped immensely in learning to play it.

Software

TonalEnergy Tuner
For tuning and metronome I use the Tonal Energy app on my iPhone. It has far more features than I’ll ever use, but it works well, and I like the smiley faces you get when you are in tune.

forScore
forScore is a digital sheet music app I run on my iPadPro. Under the covers it is a PDF viewer and editing tool, customized for sheet music. I highly recommend it.

Author's profile picture

Mark H. Nichols

I am a husband, cellist, code prole, nerd, technologist, and all around good guy living and working in fly-over country. You should follow me on Mastodon.