Profile of Jón Rúnar HelgasonJón Rúnar Helgason

Tools

A list of current and past hardware and software tools.

Last updated: January 16, 2025.

Table of contents:

Hardware

Software

Preferred tech stack

  • Infrastructure: AWS, Vercel, Deno Deploy
  • Frameworks: Next.js, React Native & Expo
  • CSS frameworks: Tailwind, Bootstrap
  • Programming language: JavaScript
  • Database: Fauna

Notes

  • Been trying to work mostly outdoors after acquiring the MacBook Air M2 so the Dell 42.5" UltraSharp U4320Q monitor is personally mostly used as a TV. Partner uses it a lot when working from home. A great monitor with a massive screen real estate. The monitor runs at a native 3840x2160 resolution (4K) which is like having 4x 1920x1080 monitors except in one panel.

Changelog

16th Jan 2025

Started using SvelteKit.

8th Jan 2025

Started using Cursor as an IDE. An AI-first code editor built on top of VSCode.

1st Dec 2024

Started using Zed as a text editor. A high-performance, multiplayer code editor written in Rust.

1st Jul 2024

Loaned a friend the Røde Wireless Go II wireless microphone. May or may not turn out to be a permanent loan.

A great wireless microphone in a small package. Used it a lot when making regular VoIP calls. Saw little to no use after moving multiple timezones. The AirPods Pro 2 were good enough for occasional customer calls.

In my setup I clipped the WG II mic to my shirt, used AirPods Pro for incoming audio and the WG II receiver plugged into my computer via USB-C. This resulted in a noticeably better incoming and outgoing audio quality. The AirPods Pro could dedicate the entire Bluetooth bandwidth to what I would hear instead of chopping the bandwidth in half for handling both directions with a way worse mic. A major selling point of it to me was being able to freely walk around in my office while on calls.

It could be a bit of a fumble to get working correctly. macOS was not great at remembering or properly handling audio device preferences. If the AirPods Pro re-connected macOS would for example sometimes set the mic input to the Airpods even though there was a way better mic already connected. Maybe there is software out there that could enforce a firm preferences.

Would recommend it or the newer variants of it to tech-savvy workers that want improved audio quality or the option to walk or pace around while on calls. If strictly seated or making a lot of calls a purpose built wired headset would probably be more suitable and reliable.

10th Jun 2024

Wrote a review on the Anker PowerCore 24K external battery after 1 year of use. It has become a must have companion for the MacBook Air M2.

5th Oct 2023

Stopped using Fork. It is still installed and serves as a fallback if GitKraken acts up. Ultimately found the flow of GitKraken to be more suitable.

2nd Jul 2023

Bought Anker PowerCore 24K. Intended as an external battery for the MacBook Air M2. Lasts for about 1.2x charges.

28th Jun 2023

Started trying out Fork as an alternative to GitKraken.

22nd May 2023

Mac Mini Late-2018 given away as a hand-me-down. A great machine that still has a lot left in it. Did not see much use after acquiring the 13.6" MacBook Air M2. Have owned three Mac Minis in the past and they have all been great, small, and cost effective machines. Some of Apple's finest work.

Also gave away Apple Magic Keyboard to go along with the Mac Mini. Fantastic keyboard. Been a big fan of Apple keyboards throughout the years. Best tried so far. Even prefer it to mechanical keyboards because of the much shorter key travel distance.

16th Mar 2023

Subscribed to a ChatGPT Plus subscription with OpenAI for access to ChatGPT 4.

26th Jan 2023

Started using Arc. A Chromium based browser for power users. First-class support for multiple profiles and better tab management. Convenient when managing multiple separate logins for the same or similar set of websites (Gmail, Google Ads, etc). Non-pinned tabs automatically clear up the next day.

9th Nov 2022

Upgraded to AirPods Pro 2nd gen from 1st gen.

8th Nov 2022

Apple Watch 4 given away as a hand-me-down. Did not get a new watch. Liked the sleep and health tracking of the device but not enough to warrant buying a new watch. Enjoy having a free arm more.

iPad Pro 11" & Apple Pencil 2nd gen given away as hand-me-down. The iPad and pencil was great for signing PDFs and general browsing. However the device did not live up to expectations doing frontend development work. The hardware is great but the device is seriously hamstrung by the operating system.

AirPods Pro given away as hand-me-down. Amazing headphones that still had decent amount of life left. Although they had been used a lot (4-8h per day) and battery capacity was reduced. Upgraded to the AirPods Pro 2nd gen. Was initially very sceptical about the AirPods Pro but decided to give it a try on a recommendation of others. Used Bose QC-35 before which had slightly better sound and active noise cancelling. However the QC-35 would often have connection issues especially when switching between multiple devices. The AirPods switched more or less seamlessly between devices, sounded good enough, and had good enough active noise cancellation. The winning formula was how small the overall package is.

5th Nov 2022

Handed down two Dell 25" UltraSharp U2515H (2560x1440) monitors along with SilverStone SST-ARM22BC & SST-ARM11BC monitor mounts. Great monitors and mounts that have many more years left. The exact monitors are no longer sold but a Dell UltraSharp has always proved exceptional. Would not hesitate to buy the exact monitor mounts again. It was such a game changer to have them, desk became a lot less cluttered, better looking, and easier to clean.

Handed down as well a Logitech G903 wireless mouse. It was okay. Expensive and ugly but tracked exceptionally well. Used it directly on the desk. After some time the left clicker started to ghost and occasionally double click on single clicks which was annoying. The infinity scroll wheel is bar-none the best scroll wheel. It was available on some high-end Logitech mice. A massive quality of life improvement if scrolling a lot in very large documents.

29th Jul 2022

After upgrading to the M2 MacBook Air the Mac Mini did not see much use any more. Also did not install Qbserve nor Timing again. Both great software. Would recommend for keeping track of productivity and time ledger programs used. Might use again later but do not currently have as much use for them.

28th Jul 2022

Upgraded to a 13.6" MacBook Air M2 from 15" MacBook Pro Late-2013. Came with Compact 35W Dual USB-C.

12th Jul 2022

The Tímavera production app was converted from a standard React Native project to Expo. In that transition there were no longer any underlying native iOS and Android projects and hence I did not have to use Xcode and Android Studio anymore. I reluctantly had to use those for 6 years while managing standard React Native projects since August 2016. Of the two Android Studio was a clear winner. Google made a very smart move to build on top of IntelliJ, in my opinion the best Java IDE there was at the time. A comprehensive and robust developer tool. It felt like Xcode was not designed by practicing developers and that it was burdened with legacy. For example managing configuration in Info.plist and terrifying git diffs on the .xcodeproj file.

6th Jan 2022

Subscribed to Toky business VoIP.

4th Oct 2021

Bought MagSafe Duo Charger.

25th Aug 2021

Bought Røde Wireless Go II wireless microphone.

6th May 2019

Subscribed to Skype VoIP with phone numbers.

Past hardware

History of hardware used in the past.

Past software

History of software used in the past.
  • IDEs:
  • Search engine: DuckDuckGo
  • Productivity: Qbserve. Jun 2016 - May 2023.
  • Productivity: Timing. May 2018 - May 2023.

History & source