CUSTOM MADE SILENT PC

For programming, design, and music compositions, I use an exclusive "silent" PC built for me by Besser-Leise Computertechnik Ltd. in Germany. Advantages: No noise, fast, lots of RAM, 12 USB plugs, drives 3 monitors, WLAN, professional soundcard.

DESKTOP

My dual-screen desktop is very organized. Important programs are grouped by type of use (Internet, Programming software, Design, Projects etc.). Current tasks are shown in a simple to-do list. Current project files are in red folders.

SOFTWARE

Years of experience have taught me that the less software I have, the more efficiently I work. So I made it a habit to test and compare everything, but only use software that is neither over-featured nor unflexible. Here's what I kept.

BROWSERS

• "Google CHROME". I added a few useful extensions:
"Web Developer", "LiveReload(!)", "Super-Cache", "Responsive Web Design Tester", "Stands AdBlocker", "Network Sniffer", "Note Anywhere", "Full Page Screen Capture", "devLens", "ColorZilla", "Font Changer with Google Web Fonts" etc.

...plus Firefox Quantum (very good, many extensions), Safari (good), IE (bad), Edge (crap).

EMAIL

• "Thunderbird"
Some Thunderbird extensions e.g. "Auto Zip Attachments", "Enigmail" for secure email encryption

PROGRAMMING

• "Eclipse" (this has become my favorite code editor, with many extensions)
"Atom" (this is my second favorite code editor, with extensions and GitHub)
"XAMPP" (local Apache webserver with the current PHP version 7.3)
"TSW Web Coder" (this is by far the best of all PHP IDE's - I tested all)
"PHP Expert Editor" (compact and fast, with Bitstream coding font Bitstream)
"Code Visual to Flowchart" (quite useful to visualize PHP programs)
"HDD Software Hex Editor" (good to have but not regularly necessary)
"ShareX" (to record program demo videos directly from the screen)

DATABASE WORK

• "HeidiSQL" (database admin tool, I prefer this over Navicat)
"phpFlashMyAdmin" (Online MySQL admin in Flash - forget phpMyAdmin!)
"MySQL Workbench" (sometimes quite useful for structuring a database)
"Access2MySQL" (must have to convert those client Access databases)

NETWORKING

• "FlashFXP" (the only FTP software that is perfect)
"WinSCP" (for secure FTP and managing VPS servers)
"TeamViewer" (client support, remote desktop viewing)
"Visual TraceRoute" (can sometimes be very useful)

DESIGN

• "Adobe Creative Suite" (a suite of design programs)
"Inkscape" (the best for vector designs such as logos)
"PaintShop Pro" (the fastest software for photo editing)
"Cinema4D XL" (to model and render 3D objects)
"Google SketchUp" (gotta love Google for that)
"Ulead GIF Animator" (GIF animation made easy)
"VideoPad" (to edit videos in an efficient way)

MUSIC COMPOSITION

• DAW: PreSonus Studio One
• Audio interface: Tascam US
• Studio headphones: AKG K702
• Studio monitors: Alesis MKII

• Keyboard: M-Audio
• Virtual piano: Signature Grand (Preset: "90s Classic Stage")
• Virtual Rhodes: E Piano
• Virtual B3 organ: CollaB3

• E-guitar: Variax JTV-69
• Virtual guitars: Sketch Nylon, IS Archtop, OTS Rock, RJS CE

• Virtual saxophone: VHorns Tenor Saxophone
• Virtual crossflute: Simple Flute
• Virtual brass: SINE Factory Rotary
• Virtual strings: NI Symphony Essentials

• Virtual bass: Scarbee Jay-Bass

• Virtual drumkit: SSD 5.5 + BopPad + DSP Trigger
• Virtual congas: NI Discovery Cuba

• Sampler: Kontakt 7

• Mixing + mastering: Sonible Smart Bundle

♬ ♬ ♬ ♬ ♬ My music page with my MP3 compositions

OTHER DESKTOP SOFTWARE

"PeerBlock" (!), "OpenOffice", "Foxit PDF Editor", "Simple Sticky Notes", "nexusfont" etc.

SPECIAL ONLINE SOFTWARE

"BrowserStack" (quickly check a website in different browsers)
"ClickTale" (mouse move heatmaps, to see what site visitors do)
"Montastic" (get informed when a website goes down)
"Online-Convert" (convert all kinds of files)
"Font Squirrel" (download designer fonts)

NOTEBOOK

•   HP Pavilion Dv7

17 inch display, Quad-Core, 6GB RAM, full-size Keyboard, BlueRay, exceptionally good sounding speakers, Windows 10 / 64bit, XAMPP (Apache/MySQL/PHP) running as a service. Quotes from the review: "With a no-nonsense list of specs, power and high quality features including a *stellar* sound system and Intel's latest processors, the Dv7-4090ca defines the high-end Windows 7 portable market and does a fine job of replacing desktops, serving as a workhorse and entertaining its users."

TABLET

• iPad Air

SMARTPHONE

•  Samsung Galaxy S20 5G
With important widgets (cash balance, direct booking of expenses, music player with EQ, 2-week calendar with start date = today), and a self-designed lockscreen with address for finders.
Accessories: Baseus Qi 'Wireless Fast Charger', Samsung 'Protective Standing Cover' case, and 'Jabra Halo 2' wireless headphones.

Plus apps from "Google Play":

'Samsung Internet Beta Browser', 'Tasker', 'K-9 Mail', 'SwissCovid', 'Google Notes', 'Touch Calendar', Musicolet Music Player, 'DateTad', 'F-Stop Image Viewer', 'Touchqode', 'WhatsApp Messenger', 'Zoner AntiVirus Free', 'Zattoo Live TV', 'Currency Converter', 'Visual Metronome', 'MIDI Drum Score Player', 'Tuner gStrings', 'Guitar Tabs', 'Smart Voice Recorder', 'My Piano', 'Songify', 'Finger Band', 'Color Grab', 'EchoSOS' 'My Tracks', 'Call Recorder' etc.