Who are you, and what do you do?

I’m Matias Pan, a software engineer, computer science student and amateur rugby player. I live in La Plata, Argentina where I work and attend to college. Currently I’m working as a Java developer at Globant but I’m transitioning to Go since it’s the programming language I love and try to use every day. In my spare time I try to read the occasional paper, binge-watch Rick and Morty, play rugby, learn about software development and play with my favorite dog in the world, Timon.

What hardware do you use?

For personal projects, studying and side work I’ve been using a 2014 MacBook Air for the past couple of years. I’m currently working on a very cool and kind of typical project with Raspberry Pis, I’m trying to install Kubernetes and create my very own Raspberry pi cluster. It’s a fun project to have and I’m learning a lot of stuff.

My current smartphone is the OnePlus 5T, I’m loving it so far. It works great and handles perfectly everything I need it to do.

The one thing I’ve been using for the past year and that I carry whenever I’m going someplace where I’ll have a computer and a monitor is my ErgoDox EZ. Like I said I’ve been using it for the past year and it is honestly incredible. Amazing piece of a hardware and the most comfortable and best-looking keyboard you’ll probably find. Last but not least I have a Logitech MX Master mouse that rocks.

And what software?

For development I’m currently using iTerm2, Neovim and whenever I’m doing Java or Android development I use either IntelliJ or Android Studio. That is the stuff I typically use, but I love to always look into new editors or tools I can use that will make me more productive. For example, I just found Onivim which is an Electron app with a Neovim instance embedded inside. I’m really loving it because it is trying to become a modern mouse-free editor. It tries to put together the convenience of modal editing, the power of Neovim and the convenience of having a modern UI.

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

My keyboard is, of course, a white ErgoDox EZ with Cherry MX Brown and no backlight. As for layouts, I have a custom one that I’m ALWAYS changing. For building this layout I use the QMK firmware and the teensy program to flash the layout into my Ergo. As for the keycaps I have the default printed keycaps that come with the keyboard. Although I just joined the MiTo drop at Massdrop so with a bit of luck I’ll have a new set of keycaps in a couple of months.

What would be your dream setup?

My dream setup would be kind of similar to my current one that you see in the picture above. First of the desk, instead of regular desk like the one I have, it would pretty cool to use one of those that have adjustable height, to use standing if you want to. Then instead of a MacBook Air I would love to have a Dell XPS 13, a dual monitor setup with a 27” curved one set up horizontally and a 24” monitor set up vertically side by side, with the 27” one centered.

As for the keyboard and mouse, I would stay with the ones I have right now with a small upgrade on the ErgoDox. Instead of the Cherry MX Brown switches, I want to try out the Kailh Gold keyswitches (sound amazing). As for keycaps I would go with the 1976 SA set, they look awesome. Last but not least, I’d add some lighting to the Ergo since the one I bought does not have.

Finally, for speakers I would go with the Audioengine A2 in white! And obviously, a dream setup would not be dreamed if Timon is not a part of it.