Yukon setups: Patrick Goruick
April 01, 2010
This is the first in a series of seven interviews with creative people who live and work in the Yukon. From web developers to graphic designers and photographers to writers, these are Yukoners who get paid to think, create and ship their ideas.
What all of these people have in common is that they use computers to do their work. What’s different is how their office space looks, what software they use and what type of hardware it runs on. In other words, their “setup”.
To kick things off, let’s see what Patrick Goruick has to say about his setup.
Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Patrick Goruick and I’m the proprietor of TestaRossa Systems.
I code. I think about code. I think about ways to code. I learn about ways to code and ways of thinking about code. I also curse the right hemisphere of my brain on the rare occasion I have to design something visual to go with my code.
Specifically, though, I spend most of my time building web applications and web sites in ASP.NET, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, and T-SQL. I also do quite a bit of work with Crystal Reports.
What computer hardware are you using?
I keep all my work stuff on a Dell Precision M6400 (Quad-Core at 2.54, 4GB of RAM, Vista x64) so that I can (literally) lug work around with me when I leave town…it’s more portable than a desktop…but barely. For ergonomic reasons, I have the notebook KVMed with the K, V and M of my personal-use (ahem…gaming) desktop; I also get a dual-monitor setup out of the deal: 17” at 1920x1200 notebook screen + 24” at 1920x1200 LCD…screen real estate is king.
Oh. And a Mac Mini.
What about software?
Visual Studio, SQL Studio, Crystal Reports, a dash of Expression Studio, Outlook, and Trillian are my most-often-used tools.
Where does the magic happen?
My office is a room in our basement. I lead somewhat of a utilitarian lifestyle (more left-brainedness, I guess), so function over form and, if it’s not contrubtin’ to the cause, then I don’t need the extra (visual) noise. Pretty simple, standard desk, though I’ve hacked it for a little more desktop space. I’ve also invested in a good, multi-adjustable chair, since I’m sitting in it more often than not.
I’ve re-purposed a 19” CRT as a TV so I can keep an eye on stuff like the Olympics, the World Juniors, etc., or listen to Primetime Sports with Bob McCown or one of the plethora of music programs on digital cable…one of the many perks of self-employment. If I want to control the tunes, then I’ve got my entire collection on iTunes on my desktop with 5.1 audio goodness.
What would be your ideal set-up?
Ideally, I’d like to have one kick-ass piece of hardware that could run multiple virtualized operating systems at the same time, *including Mac OS*. I’d also like 3 22-inch monitors (I find 24” a bit too big), running at least 1920x1200 resolution, with LED-backlight (save on energy). I’d like to be able to set any or all of the monitors to any of the virtual machines I have running, and easily switch the keyboard and mouse between them as well.
I’d also like to be able to say, “Compute-o-bots, transform!” and the whole setup would convert into a portable version with a 17” main screen and a couple of those slide-out auxiliary displays like the Thinkpad can have. It should also have long battery life and not be too heavy. (Is that too much to ask?)
Oh. And I’d also like clean, uninterrupted power that won’t fry my hardware and a fast (both upload and download) Internet connection that’s never down.
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