Who are you, and what do you do?

I’m Shawn Chambless, and I’m a software Engineer in Seattle, WA. I’m primarily a full-stack engineer, but have been focusing more on the frontend lately with React/Redux. I’ve worked with various languages and technologies ranging from Scala to JavaScript. I’ve also worked as the devops lead, implementing CI/CD workflows with Docker and various CI/CD solutions.

What hardware do you use?

• Laptop: 15” MBP - 2.9 GHz Intel i7, 16 GB 2133 MHz DDR3 memory, Intel HD Graphics 630 1536 MB, 500 GB SSD
• Desk: Your average office desk with a Varidesk on top of it.
• Monitor Setup: Two 27” Dell monitors
• Mouse: Alienware Mouse
• Headphones: Bose QuietComfort 35 Series II’s
• Webcam: Logitech C920

I’ve never had a laptop with more than 4 cores and I’m not sure I can go back now! The tools I use are pretty resource-intensive, and having the extra horsepower and threads to handle the workload has been pretty luxurious.

I’ve become spoiled having two large monitors to work on. At home I have one 27” monitor, and feel so restricted by the lack of a second.

My mouse was a birthday gift from my wife, and I absolutely love it. The clicks are so crisp, and the adjustability of it is game-changing for me.

I work in a fairly open office, so noise-cancelling headphones are a must-have to block out background noise.

And what software?

• IDEs: WebStorm, IntelliJ-Idea, DataGrip, Microsoft’s Azure Data Studio
• Browsers: Chrome, FireFox
• Music/Podcasts: Spotify
• Communication: Slack, Jitsi Meet, Zoom

I spend most of my time in WebStorm for JavaScript/web, and Idea for Java/Scala. I really like DataGrip for working with databases, and Azure Data Studio for MSSQL Server. Chrome is the main browser I use for development due to its outstanding developer tools suite. I’ve dabbled in developing with FireFox, but have always returned to Chrome. For communication I use Slack for the most part. For video calls I use Jitsi Meet or Zoom mostly.

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

Black keyboard with printed keycaps, tilt/tent kit, LED lights, and Cherry MX-Clear switches. I love a good clicky keyswitch, but I also enjoy not being hated by my coworkers.

The clear switches provide a nice amount of feedback and the heavier keypress is really satisfying. The layout is based on the default graphical configurator layout with a couple of keys moved around.

At this point, I can’t remember what I changed - hopefully I never have to reprogram the keys!

What would be your dream setup?

My keyboard and mouse are already pretty dreamy.

• Laptop: MSI GS65 Laptop or a MacBook Pro
• Desktop: iMac Pro or a custom built PC that would double as a gaming PC.
• Desk: A standing desk like this