Who are you, and what do you do?

I’m Annie Cain. I was once a librarian and maybe still am. Either way, I currently build web apps. For libraries. I also come up with ideas, help shape ideas and help execute & build non-web ideas.

Setup Annie Cain

What hardware do you use?

My work machine is a giant Mac Pro. Sometimes I bump my knee on it. A big-enough Acer monitor is connected to it. I use a Magic Mouse because the cord was cramping my style. My folding Sennheiser headphones are not audiophile approved, but they suit me just fine.

At home I have a MacBook Air. I think I’m the only one in the world who despises the MacBook Air.

When I go to meetings, I generally bring a Rhodia notebook and Zebra pen along. More often than not I also have a snack and the cheapest clear mug I cound find in Harvard Square, filled with water or tea. I live in fear that Republic of Tea will stop selling their Passion Fruit Papaya blend.

Sometimes I use my window as a refrigerator. I can fit a sandwich between the two panes of glass.

And what software?

MagiCal is the first thing I install on a new Mac.

I constantly use Exposé to find buried windows and access the desktop.

When working directly on the development server (which is all the time, scandalous!), I type code in BBEdit and push images up with Transmit. When I’m not feeling up to typing SQL in the Terminal (which is most of the time, scandalous!), I use Sequel Pro to interact with MySQL.

I use Firefox when web developing. Firebug provides most of what I need to understand what’s going on. MeasureIt and JSONView also help. Heck, I still use some features of the Web Developer extension. For my general browsing and Google Reader perusing, I use Chrome. I go to Byliner if I need a longer reading break.

Photoshop is the only one of the Suite that I know how to operate, so it’s the hammer for all of my graphics nails.

We’re not afraid to share our stuff on GitHub. It’s also super handy for collaboration and tracking code & issues.

Setup Annie Desk

What would be your dream setup?

Better lighting would probably get me a lot closer to a dream setup. Ideally I’d work on a laptop. Maybe connect it to a bigger monitor sometimes. It would definitely have an SD card slot.

A refrigerator would be nice as my window doesn’t stay cool in the summer. A mug warmer to keep my tea steamy would also be super.