---
title: Uses
language: en
translationKey: uses
disable_feed: true
---

## Software

### Operating systems

I have tried (or tried to try) various GNU- and GNU-less Linux distros as well
as non-Linux OS (OpenBSD).  Here are those that I have successfully
daily-driven with quite pleasant experience:

- openSUSE Tumbleweed
- NixOS
- Void Linux
- Debian GNU/Linux
- Alpine Linux
- OpenBSD

### Graphical stack

#### X

Here is my setup for an X11 graphical environment

<dl>
  <dt><abbr title="window manager">WM </abbr></dt><dd>bspwm</dd>
  <dt>bar</dt><dd>polybar</dd>
  <dt>terminal emulator</dt>
    <dd>alacritty</dd>
    <dd>urxvt</dd>
    <dd>xterm</dd>
</dl>

#### Wayland

<dl>
  <dt><abbr title="window manager">WM </abbr></dt><dd>sway</dd>
  <dt>bar</dt><dd>waybar</dd>
  <dt>terminal emulator</dt>
    <dd>foot</dd>
</dl>

### Social and communication

I mostly left mainstream social networks, but still have to maintain my GMail
account as it's tied to several other accounts and I am not willing to update
them all.  Another issue is that some organisations seem to block lesser email
providers. I also need a trash email address to give off to the government and
dubious organisations who might sell off my data.

- Social networks: I use Mastodon and Pleroma (actually, Akkoma, a fork), both
    of which are part of the ActivityPub-fediverse, with mainly their official
    web client.  I also use Tusky and Husky on Android to browse them, which
    are much more lightweight on phone.
- Email: I use aerc and neomutt as terminal clients and FairEmail on my phone.
- Chat: I use nheko on desktop and Element on phone. I used FluffyChat, but it
    is very slow, crashed once and can't start up since.

### Editing

I use vim and neovim, mostly.  The reason is:

- quick start up
- responsive
- nice key binding

Emacs would probably be the same, but I'm not as used to its keybinding.
"Vim mode", or the bastardisation of vim keybinding in other editors, never
appeals me.  Besides these two, I'm OK with any graphical editors, though big,
bloated <abbr title="Integrated Development Environment">IDE</abbr>s,
especially proprietary ones, are quite repulsive to me.

## Hardware

### Laptop

I use a *Dell Inspiron 5570* as my laptop.  Except for its hard drive, which
was corrupted in a water accident, everything has been kept as is since five
years ago.  It runs surprisingly well with any Linux distros I've put thereon.
Currently, it is running NixOS 22.05.

### Desktop

This is my first custom built machine, and to be honest, I am not quite
happy with it.  I have flashed multiple different distros/OS thereon and most
of them don't work in one way or another.  Some don't have working graphics or
audio, some can't boot, and some can't even boot into the installation media.
Anyways, here is the setup:

<dl>
  <dt>Motherboard</dt><dd>ASUS RoG Strix B560-G Gaming Wifi</dd>
  <dt>CPU</dt><dd>Intel Core i5 11400</dd>
  <dt>Memory</dt><dd>PNY XLR8 Silver 8GB RGB</dd>
  <dt>Cooler</dt><dd>Cooler Master 212 ARGB</dd>
  <dt>PSU</dt><dd>SilverStone 500W ST50F-ES230 80 Plus</dd>
  <dt>Case</dt><dd>XIGMATEK XA-20 (ATX)</dd>
  <dt>Storage</dt>
    <dd>PNY SSD CS1031 M.2 2280 NVMe 256GB</dd>
    <dd>HDD Seagate Barracuda 1TB</dd>
  <dt>Keyboard</dt><dd>Akko 3108SP Black Blue Switch v2</dd>
  <dt>Mouse</dt><dd>Logitech G102 LightSync Gaming Mouse</dd>
</dl>

On a related note, I fail to understand why most custom-built PC are marketed
only towards gamers who like shiny flashy RGB LEDs? I don't appreciate that
aesthestics.