Yukon setups: Michael Johnson
April 21, 2010
This is the fifth in a series of seven interviews - first was Patrick Goruick, second was me, third was Dave Rogers and fourth was Anthony DeLorenzo - with creative people who live and work in the Yukon. Let’s see what Michael Johnson has to say.
Who are you, and what do you do?
Well, I’m really glad the first question is an easy one! I’m Michael Johnson, Technical Director at Subvert. But I guess a more appropriate title might be: “Uber busy husband and father of two cute kids – who occasionally finds time for work”.
I like to consider myself a .NET and Java programmer, but I also have a special place in my heart for data modeling and data warehousing. I jump at any opportunity I get to write some SQL queries or stored procedures. Silverlight and WPF have become my new playground and I dream of building a terrific OOB application the likes of which no one has ever seen.
What computer hardware are you using?
My hardware is second to none! I used the NCIX PC Builder to configure a beast of a machine, sporting an Intel Core i7 CPU running at 3.07GHz and 12GB of ram. The magic happens on a Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard 3000 while staring at two 24” Samsung SyncMaster 2443 monitors.
My life became complete three weeks ago when I got a black 16GB iPhone 3GS. After months of using the Crapberry Storm and a pretty decent HTC Touch, it’s nice to use a device sent straight from heaven.
What about software?
Let me say, Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit is amazing. I love all of the new features and shortcuts, they make computing enjoyable again! I try and measure all the software I write on a cool scale against Win7.
As for applications, I constantly have Microsoft Expression Blend 4 and Visual Studio 2010 running. The new features in Microsoft Office 2010 are terrific; I can’t even begin to think about going back to an older version.
Microsoft Deep Zoom Composer has treated me well and I can’t forget Macromedia Fireworks 8 (yeah that’s right I said Macromedia! Version 8 is the best and I don’t ever want to upgrade).
I also make occasional use of Dropbox, Evernote, Intype, FileZilla, and I can’t say enough good things about PeaZip. It’s simple and unobtrusive, just like zip software should be. I have all of the popular web browsers installed, but use Firefox almost exclusively.
Where does the magic happen?
Horwoods Mall is ground zero for the really amazing things happening in Whitehorse, also for vermin infestation.
As Geof said, we rest our elbows on the Ikea Gallant A-leg desks, while slouching in Herman Miller chairs. My Mirra is comfortable and cool – I couldn’t be happier.
What would be your dream set-up?
Well, that’s tough one; I’m really happy with my current set-up.
Another smaller monitor to park applications like Outlook and iTunes would be helpful. Moving the office into a trendy building, surrounded by other cool and creative people would be fun.
A direct feed from the Tim Horton’s coffee maker to my desk would also save me a lot of walking. More fun Silverlight posters strung around the office would also add inspiration.
Comments
And here I thought all I needed was a fancy mesh robot chair to make my life complete. Obviously, the Subvert offices are full to the rafters of covet-able gadgets and doohickeys.
Dave Rogers on April 22, 2010
It’s pretty much a fun factory here.
