Yukon setups: Me
April 07, 2010
This is the second in a series of seven interviews - first was Patrick Goruick - with creative people who live and work in the Yukon. To keep things rolling, let’s look at my setup. Hooray for navel gazing!
Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Geof Harries and I work at Subvert.
Most of the time, I manage projects, pay bills and go to meetings, but every once in a while, I design websites and software interfaces. My co-conspirator, Michael, then builds those same websites and software systems.
What computer hardware are you using?
I was a hardcore Mac guy for a long time, but switched to a PC running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit over a year ago. There’s been days when I return to my beloved iMac, but I always come back to the PC because of various software compatibility issues.
As Subvert is heavy into Microsoft-based development, I need to be on the same platform and sharing the same files. And, to be honest, I really quite like Windows 7. I think it’s Microsoft’s best operating system yet.
I’ve got a couple of computers that I use on a regular basis.
My primary computer is a Lenovo ThinkStation S10 with an Intel Core 2 Quad 2.67 GHz processor and 6 GB of RAM. It’s super fast, reliable and looks cool. The Lenovo is hooked up to two 24” Dell 2407WFP monitors and the clickety-clack of a Das Keyboard Professional.
The other computer I use on is a Sony VAIO AW390 laptop.
As mentioned, I go to a lot of meetings. A fair number of these are “working” meetings where I’m on my laptop designing software interfaces alongside a team of business analysts and developers.
The Sony has a really big screen, over 18”, and connects to external TVs via HDMI, which is perfect for sharing with others. It’s got a Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53 GHZ processor and 4 GB of RAM.
I should also mention I have an Apple iPhone 3GS that goes with me everywhere. I use it to check my calendar, respond to email and play videos for our kids in the car.
What about software?
As with most designers, Adobe owns me with their CS4 suite. The CS application I use most is Fireworks. While Fireworks is crash-happy on Mac OS X, it’s quite solid on Windows. I also really like the grey-scale styling.
When I write code, which isn’t very often anymore, I use The HTML Editor from CoffeeCup. It’s got all of the features I need, well-written documentation and the interface chrome is minimal.
I moved to Microsoft Office 2010 64-bit about a month ago, after using Office 2007 forever. The new version is a worthwhile upgrade: faster, less visually noisy and has some really awesome new features. Outlook 2010, in particular, is great.
For web browsing, it’s Firefox. I use Mozilla Labs’ Weave to sync my bookmarks and passwords across all of my computers, including the dusty office iMac and our family iMac at home.
Five years ago, I used more cloud-based software than I do today. I think as time has gone on, I found better ways to do things or the hosted services themselves added features, so I consolidated.
What remains is Harvest for time tracking and invoicing, plus Rackspace Hosted Exchange for email, contacts and calendars. We also have a dual-drive HP MediaSmart Server running Windows Home Server for file sharing and backup, which in turn is backed up to Amazon S3 for extra security.
Where does the magic happen?
Michael and I both have Ikea Gallant A-leg desks, which are wide enough to fit the dual 24” monitors with room to spare. As far as chairs go, I indulged in a Herman Miller Aeron a couple of years ago. It was expensive, but my back and legs remain happy. A really good chair is worth the investment.
What would be your dream set-up?
This is tough to admit, but I’d probably stick with Windows. For now, at least.
While I dig the dual monitors, I’d likely switch to a single 30” display to save desk space. I love the idea of an all-in-one computer, but a professional-level workstation built in this genre doesn’t seem to exist.
My very first PC was an IBM and since then I’ve owned two other IBM, now Lenovo, machines. I’m a sucker for the minimalist beliefs and philosophies of Lenovo’s industrial designers, so I’d probably pick up another of their desktop creations.
Oh, and heck, a Windows 7 Mobile Series phone would be sweet.
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