Who are you, and what do you do?

I’m Gareth Jackson, a computer science student, tech enthusiast, gamer, and above all, a father who has an amazing family.

I have a wonderful little boy, Reuben, and a beautiful partner, Cindy.

I’ve been studying for the last few years, with my focus and main interest being in software and web development. In terms of projects, mostly I’ve made personal tools to make life easier. However, I have made some public tools for games which focus on automation and quality-of-life features.

This leads me to video games. I’m rather an avid gamer and enjoy playing them in my free time (often accompanied by Reuben on my lap watching). Please don’t ask me how many hours I’ve put into video games; I really don’t want to find out, ha.

A couple pictures of Reuben and me, too.

If you want to see or find out more about me or my family, feel free to check out my Facebook profile.

What hardware do you use?

My hardware setup is:

• Intel 5960X
• Asus ROG Rampage V Extreme
• Titan X
• Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD
• Western Digital Black 2TB HDD
• Corsair 900D
• Noctua Fan System
• Corsair H110i GTX Extreme Cooler
• Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 16GB
• Corsair AX1500i Power Supply
• Logitech G502 Lightspeed/Razer Naga Epic Chroma
• Logitech PowerPlay Mat
• ErgoDox EZ in black with blank, sculpted keycaps

And what software?

For software, in terms of development, I use Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code for the most part when it comes to the code. They are great for coding and can tackle what you throw at them.

GitKraken is fantastic for Git version control, and I use it extensively for development. It is easy and enjoyable to use with its GUI-based approach.

For web development, I enjoy using Adobe Dreamweaver along with its vast feature set. I have this along with the full Creative Cloud package, which covers everything I need for creativity.

What’s your keyboard setup like? Do you use a custom layout or custom keycaps?

My keyboard setup is pretty standard and nothing too special — but hey, all the special and magic comes from Erez when he made this keyboard. I just have the two halves with a Stream Deck in between. I always have a pen and paper in between, too, as you’ll never know when you will need it.

My layout is mainly QWERTY with some minor deviations. I use the shift key brackets; the ‘Z’ key also acts as Ctrl when held; and then there is my development layer, which has all the different types of parentheses, numbers, hotkeys, and some quality-of-life features. What was that, sorry? Oh, yes, the keyboard truly is that brilliant.

I don’t use custom keycaps — it’s just the blank sculpted ones for me. I must say, though, if you can touch type, they are a MUST. And if you can’t touch type, learn to, as they are still a must. They feel so natural and comfortable. Gone are the days where I had the horrible, achy typing fingers.

Here is a picture of my desk setup:

Yes, it’s a tad messy, but I am a gamer after all :D.

What would be your dream setup?

My dream setup? Well, my last PC I built was also the first one I built. I decided to make one with prosumer/enthusiast parts as it had to meet my demands for gaming, developing, and video and photo editing, along with whatever else I wanted to throw at it.

It’s getting to the point where I need and want to make another PC, so in terms of a dream setup, it will be along the same lines. It will be prosumer parts so that it won’t shudder when it sees its workload. A three-monitor setup would be very welcome, too (I’m currently rocking two). To top it off, an UPDESK would be a fantastic addition, as I find the desk I have can be somewhat limiting on occasions, although it’s never ventured into problematic territory. Oh, and I need a child-proof power switch so that when I’m halfway through something my computer isn’t—