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Ben Halpern Subscriber for CodeNewbie

Posted on with Erin A Olinick

Are You a One Device Wonder or Tech Collector?

Hey there! Let's chat about our tech habits. How many gadgets do you own and what do you use them for? Has your relationship with technology changed over time? Do you think it'll continue to play an even bigger part in your life in the years to come? And what's the next device on your to-procure list?


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Top comments (8)

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theaccordance profile image
Joe Mainwaring • Edited

I feel personally attacked by this post 🤣

I have far more equipment in my possession than I can use. In terms of what I am actually using:

  • iPhone, iPad Mini
  • Mac Mini with dual monitors
  • M2 Macbook Air
  • QNAP 2-bay NAS for my homelab
  • Google Smart Home Products (Nest hub, nest thermostat, etc)
  • Raspberry Pi for DNS sinkhole
  • Xbox & Nintendo Switch

And the tech I have laying around that I'm not using...

  • Old Home Theater/HomeLab PC (core i7 w/ 32GB Ram)
  • iMac
  • A dozen or so Raspberry Pis (ended up with a surplus after a supply chain mistake on a contracting gig)
  • 2x 40" TVs
  • 10x 27" Monitors (surplus from closing WorkTango's Chicago office)
  • Occulus Quest
  • A dozen misc. phones and tablets (my old primary devices + some for mobile testing when I was an architect)
  • Amazon Alexa

I set a goal this year to "Marie Kondo" my spaces, so I've been progressively working towards that and I anticipate I'll get rid of most of the unused technology in the coming weeks.

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ben profile image
Ben Halpern

I like the idea of having multiple devices, maybe a home lab, etc.

But in practice I find the overhead a lot to bear, and I have sort of gone the other way and am a pretty minimalist Apple device user: Macbook, iPhone, Watch.

I don't even use a monitor anymore — so that I can get the same experience whether I'm working from my desk, or another location.

I still like having more gadgets and more tools, but I just have gravitated towards the minimalism.

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sentientmachin3 profile image
Davide Bianchi

1 arch laptop, an external monitor, 1 android phone. A shared gaming pc with my brother. Anything else is for vanity and pride, and people shouldn't need to flex to feel superior.

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Lou Willoughby

As a coder and a gamer I get teased by my friends for gaming on a Mac 😅😂

I’ve always been technical minded and into gadgets, it’s a love I share with my dad. I’m quite the apple fan girl I must admit.

I have an iPhone, watch, iPad, MacBook Pro (for work) and MacBook Air for personal.

I do have a Switch and PlayStation to game on but use my MacBook mostly 🙂

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Rachel Fazio

I feel very half-way between but I definitely am close to being a collector... I found myself really wanting an Apple-watch the other day and am having an internal debate of whether or not to take that leap because I am trying to make a concerted effort to not be chronically online!

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mortumm profile image
Nuno • Edited

Maining a 16" MacBook, got a beefy rig at home office for simulations, ML and gaming. Dock for hooking up either rig or MacBook for more screen estate 24" & 32" curved. Homeserver, RPI's and VLAN just to tinker and try things with. iPhone for comms and general use.

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Adam Markiewicz

I build my sys on this mobo "ASUS WS c621e sage"(for everything) and i have a ZenBook(productivity) and Samsung s21(always present)

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Jon Niola

I used to be a technology collector. Then I moved and realized how much more work I created for myself having to move a bunch of old computers etc that I never used anymore lol.