Welcome to this page of my constantly changing list of electronic devices, accessories and gear which I use on a regular basis.
I will try to keep this list as up to date as possible. This page with items is a good mix between the latest and greatest alpha geek stuff and rock solid items that survive the daily life of a modern nomad in the corporate jungle !
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Computers & Laptops
For work I use the Dell Precision M4700 with an excellent 15.6″screen featuring a resolution 1920 x 1080. The 32 GB of RAM are perfect for crunching numbers in Microsoft Excel.
A Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is my home laptop, that I use for most of the home-work I do. A Waterfield Dash Sleeve keeps the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 very well protected.
I prefer the smaller form factor, while enjoying the inking capabilities like I did on my Lenovo X60 tablet 9 years ago.
Peripherals
Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse is small and lightweight, but has a perfect curve and good support for my hands. When I’m working at home I prefer to use a Microsoft Touch Mouse, which use Bluetrack technology.
The Novatel Wireless MiFi 2352 is my best friend on the go, that keeps me connected all the time. With one power socket I can charge up to four devices simultaneously. A SKROSS World Travel Adapter 3 is a travel companion when I go abroad.
Smartphones
There is always more than one smartphone in my bag. An Android powered Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 for private use and a Nokia Lumia for work.
Media players
While the Microsoft Zune HD has been my preferred media player of all times, I currently don’t use a media player. The Ultimate Ears 700 noise isolating earphones were my preferred headphones, after I have extensively used the AIAIAI Y-COM in-ear headphones. I would currently opt for headphones that include a microphone.
Software and services
The Dell Precision M4700 is powered by Microsoft Windows 10. I still prepare installations with the Windows 7 DVD/USB Download tool).
Microsoft Office 2016 and Microsoft Office 2010 are the preferred productivity suites on the computers and laptops. Microsoft Outlook connects to my Microsoft Office 365 account. Onetastic is addin for Microsoft OneNote supercharges my OneNote client. Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 is an extremely powerful calculator and perfectly integrates with Microsoft Office.
Ghisler Total Commander is an application I install on every Windows system. It is simply a Swiss army knife that features many helpful build-in tools. Process Explorer is my preferred Task Manager for Windows 10.
PDF Annotator is an amazing tool to annotate PDF-files, for example freehand pen comments, highlight like a text-marker, stamps, typed comments etc. PDFtk Pro is my preferred PDF Toolkit that perfectly complements Foxit PDF Reader.
When it comes to analyzing data sets Microsoft Power BI and Power BI Publisher for Microsoft Excel are my go to applications.
Microsoft OneDrive helps me to keep files, folders, favorites and e-mail signatures in sync across different computers. FileZilla is my preferred FTP client to connect with the websites I manage.
Home Technology
The Microsoft Xbox 360 S and Microsoft Kinect joined the living room about half a year ago. I’m not a hardcore gamer, but enjoy some relaxing playing games like Fabble III, Mass Effect, Halo Combat Evolved, Kinect Adventures and Kinect Sports – Season Two.
I use a Madcatz Wired Microcon Racing Wheel when playing Forza Motorsport 4. I’ve recently added a Microsoft Xbox 360 320GB Media Hard Drive to the Microsoft Xbox 360 S. The Xbox 360 Chatpad & Headset helps me to type really fast on my Xbox 360 controller.
The Asus RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router is the heart of my home network. Excellent reach, great performance and loads of features and functionality. A Synology Disk Station DS207+ is my central device to store music, video and other important information. The Synology DS207+ is equipped with two 750GB Seagate Barracuda harddisks.
Photography and video
A Canon EOS 40D is my SLR Camera and is fitted with a Canon EF-S 18-200 mm/F3.5-5.6 IS lens.
I’m using Canon EOS M3 as my preferred point-to-shoot/system camera, and is fitted with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens on a Canon EF-EOS M Mount Adapter. So I can use the Canon EF-S lenses on the system camera from Canon.
I’m occasionally still using Canon IXUS 70 point-to-shoot camera with rainy weather conditions.
Bags and Gear Pouches
Waterfield is my preferred supplier of custom build sleevecases that keep all my current (and passed) laptops safe (Lenovo T61p, Lenovo X60 tablet, HP Mini 1000). Furthermore I use a Waterfield Medium Cable Guy and a Waterfield 7×10 Gear Pouche to keep all the cables and accessories organized.
A Quiver pen holder for Moleskine notebook keeps my pen and Moleskine notebook close together, so I don’t need to search through my bag to find a pen or pencil. The Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop can be used on notebook (or kitchen calendar) and is a little bit cheaper.
Currently I use a Timbuk2 Custom Laptop Messenger Bag and rotate with the Tom Bihn Empire Builder and the Tom Bihn Brain Bag. The Tom Bihn Brain Bag can easily hold laptops !
Cycling related gear
Please check out the long list of cycling reviews.
Concluding thoughts and wrap-up
I’m aware of the fact that this overview includes a lot of information. However I hope it is helpful to readers who are looking for some rock solid gear, software or portable device.
If you have any question about one of the mentioned products or services, feel free to connect via one of the social media networks or share your important opinions, comments and suggestions via the contact form.
I will try to update and maintain this page on a regular basis. 🙂
A great many thanks to Julie Strietelmeier, founder of The Gadgeteer and Paul Thurrott, founder of Supersite for Windows, for all the inspiration to write this page.