I read today a piece about digital cameras and wired headphones making a bit of a comeback. It’s not news. I’ve read about this a few times over the past few years. What comes around and all that. However, it struck a chord with me since some of this stuff I have never fully moved away from or have still got tucked away in a draw somewhere until I am minded to have a play or finally get rid of it in one way or another. I was thinking about taking a few pics and writing a post about some of this stuff. Though better of it and decided to do one of those “Things I Use” I’ve seen on other people’s blogs. Probably better as a page for updating. I’ll get round to that another time.

Some of this stuff I am very happy with. Some of it could be better and will be swapped out if and when I find a good alternative.

Cycling

• Surly LH Disc Trucker
• Pinacle Dolomite
• Hammerhead Karoo Bike Computer

The Surly is a reliable, heavy workhorse. Comfortable but slow. The Pinacle is a bit lighter and probably better suited to Audax rides but it’s not quite as comfy to ride. Both have a nine speed chain set for durability. A triple on the surly. Compact double on the Pinacle. Both have TRP Spire Mechanical disk brakes. Powerful enough for me and easy to service and/or repair.

The Karoo is perfect for me. Maps and navigation are excellent. More display field options than I shall ever need. Superb battery life. Highly recommended.

Writing

• Sublime Text
• Standard Notes
• Libre Office
• Hugo Blog

The first three I have been using for years. Hugo for the last year. I’m happy with them all. Good enough as they are. Extendable/configurable according to need.

Digital Background Services

• Proton (Mail, Calendar, Pass, VPN, Drive, Lumo 2.0 AI assistant)
• GitHub
• Codeberg
• Codefloe

I’ve been all in with Proton for a good while now. Not entirely happy with all my eggs in one basket but so far so good. Github as I did not know any better. Lining up Codeberg and Codefloe as replacement candidates but in the meantime am using all three.

Socials / Communication

• Signal
• Mastodon
• Samsung Galaxy s23

Signal as a messaging app because all the others are either thieving personal data, are terrible companies, or so niche no one I know will use them. Samsung because I have not got a Linux phone yet.

Browsers

• Libre Wolf
• Vivaldi

I feel a bit more comfortable with Libre Wolf in terms of of transparency. Vivaldi has all the bells and whistles but I can’t get over some of the code being technically closed source. I understand their reasoning but still.

Music

• JBL 305P MkII
• Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen Audio Interface
• Strawberry Music Player
• Navidrome
• MAJORITY MP3 Player - 16 GB
• Cheap wired headphones from TKMAX
• Edifier W820NB Active Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Stereo Headphones

Happy with all of that other than Strawberry. Sometimes the sound goes a bit off. Probably something to do with back end settings I don’t understand. Loathe to give it up though so I persevere.

Reading

• Calibre
• Xteink X4 Pocket eReader

Both of these are great.

Laptops

• Entroware Proteus
• Dell XP 13
• Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 15D (Navidrome server)

The Entroware and Dell are more than good enough for what I use them for (aside from the sound card for playing music hence the Focusrite interface and JBL 305P MkII studio monitors). The Lenovo was lying around doing nothing so I put it to good use. It’s old and low spec but good enough to use as a Navidrome Server.

OS

• Debian 13 (stable)
• Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS (Navidrome)

Ubuntu on my laptops for over ten years until switching to Debian early 2026. Ubuntu created a smooth and easy exit from Windows. It was a good introduction to Linux. We’ve both changed. The time felt right to go.

Photography

• Fujifilm X-T4
• Fujifilm Fujinon XF 16-80mm f4 R OIS WR
• Fujifilm Fujinon XF 35mm f1.4
• digiKam
• GIMP

It will be some time before my abilities get anywhere near to the capabilities of the kit and software I use.