How I do my computing

Hardware

I use a Thinkpad T60 machine which has a Debian GNU/Linux operating system. I also have a spare Thinkpad R60 that I use when my primary machine does not work. The backup machine is slightly defective and can become very hot when in use.

Whenever possible, I use the Neo 2 keyboard layout. I originally switched to make my hands hurt less when typing. I like how I can input special characters easily with the Neo 2 keyboard layout.

I use a Nokia N900 smartphone with a Maemo operating system. I like the Nokia N900 because of its physical keyboard and because it seems to have durable hardware.

Software

Mostly I use virtual terminals provided by ROXTerm and managed by i3. Most of my computing is browsing the web and editing text, but some consists of drawing using a mouse or touchpad.

I browse the web using the keyboard-oriented browser Conkeror. I switched from Iceweasel to Conkeror to make my hands hurt less. I have JavaScript and image loading disabled by default, to make browsing faster and less disorienting. If a web page absolutely needs JavaScript, I use Iceweasel with the NoScript extension.

I spend much of my time editing in Emacs. I edit code and web pages with Emacs, using Nano if Emacs is not available. I read and send mail with Emacs using notmuch-mode and message-mode. My mailbox is synchronized across devices using offlineimap.

When drawing pixel images I use bitmap for monochrome icons and mtpaint for larger colored images. When drawing vector images I use Inkscape or edit SVG in Emacs. For creating presentations I use Inkscape or pinpoint.

As a build system, I use my own implementation of DJB redo.

Web Services

This site is maintained in a very simple way. I edit pages such as this one manually as XHTML or plain text and commit them to git repositories. A post-receive hook invokes the static site generator Hipster News 2 to build web pages and feeds.

I have an account on GitHub. Since GitHub disabled my profile once, I only use GitHub for work on existing projects and host new projects on my own server. I advise others to not use GitHub, as it shows signs of a classic lock-in strategy, making it difficult to migrate elsewhere.

I have an account on OkCupid that I use for finding new friends and sex partners. OkCupid heavily relies on JavaScript, but seems usable to me without JavaScript except when sending messages to other users.

I do not use other social networking sites because they are inherently inconvenient for me, many restricting content and having a walled-garden messaging system that sends me an email for each message that does not contain the full message. I once did try Google+ and was overwhelmed by the sheer number of notifications.

There is a Twitter account called shiterlesays, but I did not create and do not use it. I suspect that the messages mostly quotes or links to my are posted by Julia Seeliger.