The Setup
Inspired by the site over at usethis.com, the following is a brief interview between me and, well, me.
Matthew Juffs
Web Developer, Techie
Who are you and what do you do?
I'm Matt, Husband to Anneka and Daddy to Lily (18 months) and Mia (15 weeks to go). By day I'm a Web Developer for IOCEA.com Ltd, the creators of Cshop and by night I develop my own sites and tinker with my servers.
I code primarily in ASP (Classic and .NET) with Microsoft SQL Server, but have been known to dabble in PHP and MySQL. Then I used a splashing of XHTML/CSS to bring it altogether and a sprinkling of Javascript if required.
My personal project, SlickCMS is nearing completion for a public release, over a year after embarking on it. I'm still contemplating going Open Source with it, or simply making it freely available.
When I'm not developing for work or my own kicks, I try to improve my measly XBOX 360 Gamer Score; Fallout 3 is proving to be engaging.
What hardware do you use?
At work, a Dell Optiplex 320 with 2GB RAM and an Intel Pentium D. It has lasted me nearly 3 years of development without any problems. It has 2 Sony 17" LCDs connected to it, with a Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000 - an older gaming mouse I found to be perfect for me, a lefty.
At home, a Sony VAIO, again with 2GB RAM and an Intel Pentium (M). It runs Windows 7 fine and my only complaint is the loud fan.
I also run several servers in the loft, including a mini-itx Firewall and an AMD Athlon X2 with 6GB RAM as a Virtual Host.
And what software?
My work desktop and laptop run pretty much the same set of software, with the former using Vista and the latter Windows 7. Visual Studio 2008; Microsoft SQL Server 2008; Office 2007; Notepad++ and 7Zip amongst others.
Browser wise, it's Internet Explorer 8 at work, with Google Chrome at home. I prefer the minimalist approach of Chrome for browsing websites and the Web Developer toolbar of IE8 for development purposes.
The Firewall uses Smoothwall and the Virtual Host uses Microsoft Virtual Server 2005, with the VMs a mix of Server 2003/2008.
Lastly, I am a fan of Star Wars, so my Servers are named after planets: Bespin for the Host; Talus, Hoth and Corellia (amongst others) for the VMs and Tatooine for the NAS.
What would be your dream setup?
At work, a 30" Dell monitor, with the Sonys either side would work well - all powered by a Intel Xenon workstation.
Laptop wise, a bleeding-edge Lenovo, Sony or Dell would be good. Maybe a high-end netbook or lightweight laptop for browsing the Internet when not developing too.
My servers could do with an upgrade and consolidation - there's no need to run all 4 of them 24/7, when just the one with a bunch of Virtuals would suffice.
I used to roll with a desktop at home, for PC Gaming and occasional developing - but have since found a laptop to be ideal for sitting on the sofa whilst coding.
Posted: Tuesday 26th January 2010, 09:04pm
Categories: Articles, Computers and Technology, SlickCMS, Slickhouse, Web, Work
Tags: asp, microsoft
There are 6 comments:
bob hoskins said:
1st sign of madness mr lazlow! talking to yourself!12/02/2010 11:57:00 | Permalink
adamskii said:
the best thing i have read in my life... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8513783.stm ill vote for that13/02/2010 13:36:00 | Permalink
Matt said:
Have you tried both the passphrase and the long key? I found on my older laptop that I had to type the full encryption key, but on all other equipment, the passphrase worked fine. Then I upgraded the access point to Wireless N/WPA-2 and all devices work with the passphrase. Also, did you try WEP first to see if that was supported by the laptop? I'd go with 21 hours if the pay was the same, but I couldn't see many reducing their hours and their pay at the same time. Google has the right idea with a 5th of the working week being dedicated to personal projects/research. Most of their greatest products have began life during this time.15/02/2010 15:54:00 | Permalink
bob hoskins said:
ive tried every combination with that wireless encryption.. its think ill give up on it - its prob broken! I figure if everyone is working less hours then noone will have as much cash and everything will become cheaper to balance it all out.. wishful thinking...15/02/2010 17:26:00 | Permalink
Feeds
Twitter
adamskii said:
here is a conundrumbum... Im trying to fix a stupid old laptop because the wireless is not working when there is any sort of encryption switched on the router. But when there is no protection its fine... i cant work this one out. I've reinstalled windows on it and everything... stupid thing.13/02/2010 11:56:00 | Permalink