What I use

Written By Larry 2016-10-13T23:30:00Z

Updated 2022-04-28

Because I am occasionally asked, here is a list of the tech items I use on a regular basis.

Phone and Wireless Carrier
As of 2022, I'm using a Google Pixel 5 on the T-Mobile network. Truly unlimited and unthrottled data is liberating.

Laptop
I still use a 14-inch Sony Vaio laptop running Windows 8.1 that I purchased from the Microsoft Store, so it came with no crapware. If you're going to buy a Windows computer, I highly recommend purchasing from Microsoft for that reason. It's about dead so I'll be replacing it soon, though I don't have much need anymore for a personal laptop.

Tablets
My current primary tablet is an Amazon Fire HD 10.1. I've used a succession of Amazon tablets, from the original Kindle Fire to the $49 Fire 7 to this one, and have found them to be excellent affordable tablets for my use case, which is primarily consumption of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video. I've installed Google Play on the 10.1, and now i have an affordable Android tablet with access to all Google services. I'm calling that a win.

E-reader
I use a Kobo Clara HD, because Amazon keeps playing games with formats and the Kobo uses nice, normal .epub files. I run everything through Calibre before transferring it over, so I can disinfect it and impose my own formatting preferences.

Cloud storage
I have transitioned away from Dropbox for everything but my e-book library, and now use Google Drive for everything else.

Blog platform
After years of trying everything under the sun, from Blogger to Wordpress to Posterous to Tumblr to Posthaven, I've landed on the 10Centuries platform developed by Jason Irwin in Japan. I recommend it highly.