Under the Hood With Samuel Ryan
In Interviews by Skellie
Samuel’s workspace.
This week, web-only freelancer and blogger Samuel Ryan (of WakeUpLater.com) gives us a behind-the-scenes tour of his digital office.
“First off, I’m probably one of the last web workers that uses a PC — and is willing to admit it. My primary “workhorse” is a three monitor setup: email on the left, Firefox on the right, and whatever I’m working on in the middle (usually Photoshop, Flash, or a text editor).
“I usually have headphones on as well listening to music. I keep my iPhone to my right, along with a few hard drives which store my backups as well as old photos/code/files to be used in projects. On my left is a wall with a giant whiteboard that covers it (only $12 at the local hardware store).
“As for software, I really only use design and development applications — leaving scheduling and task tracking to the whiteboard, a decent memory, and a stringent email filing system. In general, I like to keep things simple as a solo freelancer, so I only purchase and use as much software as I need.
“Lastly, my mobile setup is simply a laptop that can handle Photoshop and Flash well enough, but that I use mainly for writing, emailing, and coding. I always keep it wirelessly networked to my primary machine, even when I’m at the library or coffeehouse (thanks to the VPN magic of Hamachi).
“I guess my iPhone is also a part of my mobile setup, and I use it to keep up with RSS feeds, listen to music when I’m working remotely, and of course, find nearby pastry shops.”
“(By the way, I do have a Mac Mini with Leopard, but I only really use it for testing websites. It also ensures that my wife always has a computer to use since it seems that I’m with mine every waking moment.)”
Links:
- Adobe Photoshop CS3 — OS X Version
| Windows Version
- LogMeIn Hamachi (VPN)
- iPhone
- Get a whiteboard
February 17th, 2008
Nice to hear that some else doesn’t use productivity software. So many things in our lives are “virtualized”; it’s nice to de-virtualize with good ol’ pen and paper, or in your case, a white board.
~Clay
February 17th, 2008
I am definetly jealous of your 3 monitor set up.. but if i could i would have them running on a mac… for now i also use a PC but i will be getting a mac when i can… the £1800 for the mac pro is a lot of money….
February 18th, 2008
It is a nice setup. No doubt about it. I, too, considered buying a Mac during the past year. But I just could not justify the cost after all was taken into account.
February 18th, 2008
I am glad to see that I’m not the only PC/laptop combo user in freelance-land. Also nice to see others who are PC/Mac users. I love ‘em both for their own reasons. I strongly urge anybody who uses Photoshop and video editing tools (I do it all in my business so I need those toys) to invest in a MacBook Pro…
February 18th, 2008
That’s a pretty cool setup. Three monitors! That’s pretty cool. Personally only have one and it’s pretty cool. So having 3 would be really neat.
February 18th, 2008
Cool setup. I’ve heard of having 2 monitors is common, but three…
February 19th, 2008
I’m also a PC web worker. My reasons are more pragmatic though. Most of the websites I work on are viewed in Windows, so I’d like to be as close to the user’s experience as possible. Second, I build my own computers, something I can’t easily do going with a Mac. Third, I upgrade components like a madman — swapping and selling graphics cards, RAM, hard drives, processors, motherboards, etc. Lastly, it’s what I learned in and what I’m most comfortable with.
I don’t care about how my computer looks; I’m more concerned about the performance, and my ability to produce great-looking web solutions regardless of the type of computer I use.
I haven’t encountered any solid arguments/reason to choose either one. Performance-wise, my computer has been on for months, without it ever freezing, locking-up or slowing down.
LIke Samuel, I do own an Apple iPhone as well, to keep my schedule organized and to check my emails/RSS feeds. As for keeping track of tasks and ideas, I keep a notebook and use index cards.
I’m not ashamed to admit I prefer a PC to a Mac and am actually very proud of it.
February 22nd, 2008
Wow..3 LCDs..that will rock my office! I’m currently using a dual 19″ CRT in the office…my poor eyes!