Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Scott Wallace and I'm a hacker at heart. This means that I love technology and messing about with it until it does what I want it to -- not the other way around. I'm a "contracting IT Systems Engineer". I like to think that I specialise in automation but it's really just scripting myself out of work. I'm essentially a mercenary and will work for the highest bidder. My main area of expertise lies around the Internet and web technologies.
What hardware are you using?
-The only devices which go with me everywhere are, of course, my mobile phone (a Samsung Galaxy S5), my keys in an Orbitkey, my Ridge wallet, a Leatherman Squirt PS4 and my Moto 360 (v1).
-My everyday computer is a mid-2012 13" Macbook Air and, when working from home, I use a late 2009 iMac 27" with an Apple Magic Trackpad.
+The only devices which go with me everywhere are, of course, my mobile phone (a OnePlus 3), my keys in an Orbitkey, my Ridge wallet, a Leatherman Squirt PS4 and my Moto 360 (v1).
+My everyday computer is a mid-2016 13" Macbook Pro Retina and, when working from home, I use a late 2009 iMac 27" with an Apple Magic Trackpad.
I also have an Nvidia Shield Tablet which is good for reading eBooks, perusing the web and generally chilling out (Reddit!).
-When travelling, to ensure I have Internet connectivity, I carry a Huawei E5331 portable WiFi device with a local data SIM thrown in the back. So far it seems reliable and very unobtrusive. To reduce the amount of charging equipment required I also take an EasyAcc 25W 5 port USB charger with me.
+When travelling, to ensure I have Internet connectivity, I carry a Huawei E5331 portable WiFi device with a local data SIM thrown in the back. So far it seems reliable and very unobtrusive. To reduce the amount of charging equipment required I also take an EC Technology 8-Ports 60W 12A USB Charger with me.
Any and all of this is slung over my back in a 5.11 Rush 12 backpack.
-For media consumption I have a Raspberry Pi 2 and a Google Chromecast hooked up to a 40" Samsung Series 8 LED TV. All the media is loaded onto a Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra-4 with enough space to last well into the future. To control the TV and Kodi I use the awesome Logitech Harmony 600 universal remote. I cannot recommend these remotes enough. The living room also houses a Sonos Play:5 for streaming music and Sonos Play:1s in the dining room and kitchen.
-For getting to and from work I ride a Rose Pro DX Cross-3000 bike. It runs with a Nite Rider Lumina Micro 250 & Solar rear light set.
+For media consumption I have a Roku 3 hooked up to a 40" Samsung Series 8 LED TV. All the media is loaded onto a Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra-4 with enough space to last well into the future. To control the TV and the Roku I use the awesome Logitech Harmony 600 universal remote. I cannot recommend these remotes enough. The living room also houses a Sonos Play:5 for streaming music and Sonos Play:1s in the dining room and kitchen.
+For getting to and from work I ride a Rose Pro DX Cross-3000 bike. It runs with a Nite Rider Lumina Micro 250 & Solar rear light set and I chose the Hiplok V150 to lock it up on casual rides.
And what software?
-All the Macs run Yosemite and content is kept in sync with Google Drive. I always have an instance of Terminal, enhanced with HomeBrew, running and work wouldn't be the same without HipChat or Hangouts (and VirtualBox for any Windows nonsense). Alfred 2 replaces Spotlight and enables clipboard history -- as well as a host of other functionality (it's great for those who love keyboard shortcuts). f.lux is a must-have for those who have trouble falling asleep at night.
+All the Macs run El Capitan and content is kept in sync with Google Drive and Resilio (aka BitTorrent Sync) for the more sensitive stuff. Software installation is scripted which makes setting up new installation a cinch. I always have an instance of iTerm2 v3, enhanced with HomeBrew, running and work wouldn't be the same without HipChat or Hangouts (and VirtualBox for any Windows nonsense). Alfred 2 replaces Spotlight and enables clipboard history -- as well as a host of other functionality (it's great for those who love keyboard shortcuts). f.lux is a must-have for those who have trouble falling asleep at night.
Photos taken on the phone are automatically uploaded to Google Photos and SmugMug, which is where all my photos are stored, via their Android app.
-Video transcoding on the desktop is handled by Handbrake whilst Flexget, a kick-ass piece of software, keeps all my media automatically up-to-date. The Raspberry Pi runs OpenELEC (Linux + Kodi) and HDMI-CEC (Samsung Anynet+) handles input from the remote.
+Video transcoding on the desktop is handled by Handbrake whilst Flexget, a kick-ass piece of software, keeps all my media automatically up-to-date. Transcoding to the Roku is handled by Plex Server running on the iMac.
Python is my language of choice but I also dabble in Go, C, BASH (and Bourne shell), PHP, and Java (for Android development). All recent code is kept on GitHub.
My browser of choice is, of course, Google Chrome loaded with my favourite plugins: 1Password, Hangouts and Pocket.
-I have tried to move my working set of software into the Cloud. All my website passwords are random and tracked in 1Password synchronised via BitTorrent Sync; I use either of di.fm or Google Play Music for listening to music; Google Apps is used for Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Docs and Tasks; and Pocket for "tl;dr" functionality.
+I have tried to move my working set of software into the Cloud. All my website passwords are random and tracked in 1Password; I use either of di.fm or Google Play Music for listening to music; Google Apps is used for Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Docs and Tasks; and Pocket for "tl;dr" functionality.
And last, but certainly not least, FreeAgent helps me out with all the paperwork for my company (invoicing, taxes, timesheets, accounts, etc.).
What would be your dream setup?
-A simple, light but fast computer that has access to the Internet from anywhere and acts as a WiFi-hotspot, even when closed. My mobile phone would be a combination of a PAN, the laptop and my watch. All powered with nuclear batteries. I'd also really love there to be a single movie and TV streaming service that provided all the world's content to anyone with a subscription and Internet access.
+A simple, light but fast computer that has access to the Internet from anywhere and acts as a WiFi-hotspot, even when closed. My mobile phone would be a combination of a PAN, the laptop and my watch. All powered with super-futuristic batteries that don't require charging as we know it today.. I'd also really love there to be a single movie and TV streaming service that provided all the world's content to anyone with a subscription and Internet access.
I'd also love an adjustable height desk such as the Geek Desk.