Who are you, and what do you do? What do you like to do outside of work?

My name is Samir Akre. I’m a third-year Ph.D. student in the Medical Informatics program and Biodesign Fellow at UCLA. I like to surf, play the guitar, watch anime, and brew coffee. My girlfriend and I have a five-year-old orange chonker of a cat named Noodle.

What hardware do you use?

I use the white Moonlander with a MacBook Air 2020 model connected to a monitor I got for free from my brother. Got an Ikea standard desk and armless chair. I think my keyboard is the most expensive thing on my workstation other than the laptop itself by a lot.

And what software?

For data analysis and website development, I use VSCode with Vim keybindings and iTerm2. Every once in a while I use RStudio, but I prefer Python where possible. Termius for SSH-based things. Notion for note-taking, Miro for ideation and making flow charts. Adobe Illustrator for scientific drawings and fun side-projects. I use Fusion 360 to model for 3D printing. I have ExpressVPN as my primary VPN service when not working at home. I use ReadCube Papers for keeping track of papers and taking notes on them.

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

A standard split keyboard setup, mouse in the middle, no custom keycaps.

What would be your dream setup?

Ideally, I’d have one of those big curvy monitors, an Apple Trackpad between the Moonlander halves, and a USB-C hub that doesn’t break and just works.