Here’s an overview of the gear I’m using to produce the content I publish across a variety of platforms. I will endevour to keep this up to date and so should be considered a live document based on what’s in my setup at a given time. Where possible, all links in this document are affiliate links. These help support my content creation practise and help me produce content which can be released on public platforms. Thanks for your support.
Apple MacBook Pro M3 18GB RAM / 512GB SSD
US Link / UK Link – the heart of my setup and the device which is used to write this page content. Used for AI / ML tasks, experiments along with electronic music production and video editing. A real workhorse of a laptop which I wouldn’t be without.
1TB External SSD
US Link / UK Link – in an effort to keep costs down and because of my video editing demands I use a Crucial 1TB external SSD for working on large files. This performs really well and I don’t notice any performace hit for this use case.
Apple M4 Pro 24GB RAM / 512GB SSD
US Link / UK Link – this is my AI Automations and Digital Brain workstation. Experiments get carried out on the MBP, whereas the final setup lives here. This also carries out a bit of Blender and Video Editing duties.
2TB External SSD
US Link / UK Link – similar to the external SSD reasons for having an external drive with my laptop, I use a 2TB version on my desktop machine. This is to host large files (lots of video assets) before they are moved onto my NAS. See below details for NAS setup.
2TB External HDD – WD Elements
US Link / UK Link – For Time Machine backup only. Has gotten my out of trouble a few times, so always have this plugged in to a computer just in case.
APC Uninterruptable Power Supply
US Link / UK Link – totally boring but really essential bit of kit this. The UPS provides battery backup to my Router, NAS, Wifi AP and M4 Mac Mini, so in the event of a power outage the key systems can continue to run and allow me time to gracefully shutdown if the power is going to be out for more than an hour. This has saved my bacon on a number of occassions and 100% worth the money.
C920 Logitech Webcam
US Link / UK Link – I can see from my Amazon history I’ve had this webcam for over 10 years. Totally solid and never let me down. I use the internal mic for video calls and this is plugged into the M4 Mac Mini for when a FaceTime is required.
Microsoft Designer Compact Keyboard
US Link / UK Link – Really like this keyboard as it’s got a decent feel – I like island keyboards and find the mechanical keyboards a bit noisy – and it will pair to up to three devices via bluetooth. This means I can have it connected to my Mac Mini / MacBook Pro and Mini PC and just press the bluetooth button to cycle between the options. The only downsides to this keyboard are having to remember the Windows key is also the Apple key.
Microsoft Designer Mouse
US Link / UK Link – Nice bluetooth mouse, which come in a variety of colours but are a bit expensive. I like the look and feel and the black goes well with everything else.
Sudotack USB Microphone
US Link / UK Link – Now I was totally expecting this microphone to be sub-standard quality and figured that buying from Amazon was a safe bet as I could always return it. I was soooo wrong. I have no idea how Sudotack make such a good sounding mic with desk attachment for £60. I only use this for recording the voice over in my videos and have never tried it with anything else – but for this kinda money I’m so happy with it being a one trick pony.
Adam Audio Studio Monitors
US Link / UK Link – Clean sounding studio monitors (speakers) which don’t take up loads of real estate. Have them teamed with desk attached stands, so they are at a good height and don’t get in the way too much.
Speaker Desk Mounts
US Link / UK Link – These guys solve the problem of the speakers taking up too much room on my desk, however the speak platforms are a bit wide for my monitors. Will one day get around to getting this sorted, but for now I just put up with them being a bit wide.
iPad Pro 12.9″ 2021
I got this on an awesome deal from Vodafone in the UK. I perhaps wouldn’t have bothered with it otherwise. I’ve used it off and on over the years for messing about with. More recently it’s found a permanent home on my desk now I have a 3D Printed Stand. Mostly used for taking hand written notes and watching YouTube videos on.
Apple Pencil
For taking notes. Really lovely to use but costs a lot of money for what it is.
3D Printed Stand
I should write a post about this stand and sort out the .stl file for people to download. If this is of interest then leave a comment. Created in Blender and printed on the Creality Ender 3 V3 SE the stand holds the iPad Pro at the perfect height as to be usable but out of the way of the screen.
iPhone 12 Pro
US Link / UK Link – It’s getting on a bit now, being a few generations behind the latest, but it’s still overall an awesome phone. Camera is good, it’s still responsive. Works well with my other Apple gear. I’ve had lots of Android phones in the past and have been very happy with them, but this is the handset I’ve used for the longest and my next phone will be an iPhone.
Airpods – 4th Generation
US Link / UK Link – A recent addition to my setup, the Airpods without ANC are really enjoyable set of headphones to use. Pair easily with my phone and computers so I can listen to music, or make calls on them with ease. Wish I’d have gotten a pair sooner.
Bose Quiet Comfort Headphones
US Link / UK Link – These are my travelling headphones as the active noise cancellation is superb and the sound quality brilliant. There are newer models available these days, so I can strongly recommend the latest generation if you are after shutting out the world whilst on a busy train or plane.
UGreen Wireless Power Bank
US Link / UK Link – This sits on my desk and is a magnetic wireless charger for my phone, as it’s a battery too if I need to take my phone away it can come too. Super handy for a number of occassions and really affordable. I have a load of UGreen hubs and adaptors – they have always been rock solid and more affordable. Would recommend this brand.
iPhone Case
US Link / UK Link – Inexpensive clear case which gets replaced once a year or so. Reduces the risk of smashed screen when I inevtivebly drop my phone.
Raspberry Pi 4
US Link / UK Link – I have three Raspberry Pi’s but one is always set up as a NAS. I’ve document the very simple process of getting this going here. I use the 4GB version and it’s a great value, low cost computer running Linux. Everyone interested in doing anything remotely interesting with computers should have at least one.
GeekPi Metal Case
US Link / UK Link – These cases are marvellous. Cheap, act as a heat sink for the RPi and protect all of the delicate PCB. Strong recommend.
SanDisk Micro SD Card 32GB
US Link / UK Link – You need one to operate the Raspberry Pi. I’ve found SanDisk to be reliable and affordable. Nuff said.
Canon R50 RF-S Camera
US Link / UK Link – I don’t know too much about cameras, so when it came to selecting a new one for making YouTube videos and taking product shots I spent ages researching what was best for my budget. At around £700 it’s not a cheap camera, but I’ve found it produces some good quality video without needing to mess with the footage too much afterwards. There are definitely better cameras for video out there, but you can spend an arm and a leg on those guys.
SanDisk SD Card 128GB
US Link / UK Link – High speed and relatively high capacity SD card which is suitable for all of my video recording needs. Another winner from SanDisk.
Creality Ender 3 v3 SE 3D Printer
US Link / UK Link – This is my 3rd 3D printer and by far the easiest to look after and use. It is such a good printer I recommended to a friend who was a complete novice at 3D printing and he picked it up really quickly. I love this guy and would recommend anyone who’s looking at getting into 3D printing but doesn’t have a load of cash to splash on a new hobby.
Raspberry Pi 2b
I have Octoprint installed on this and it’s connected to the 3D Printer, effectively making it the print server. This means I can upload .gcode files directly onto this unit and leave it printing without having to take an SD card back and forth between computer and 3D Printer. When my RPi 2b fails I have a spare RPi 3 waiting in the wings.