Uses

I frequently get asked what hardware, software, and services I use, so here's the running list. Last refreshed: May 2026.

Phone

  • iPhone 17 Pro (switched over from the Google Pixel 10 Pro in January 2026)

Main workstation

  • Main computer: 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5, 32GB RAM)
  • Secondary computer: 2024 MacBook Air (M3)
  • External display: 27" LG monitor
  • Dock: Ivanky Fusion Dock Max 1
  • Keyboard: Apple Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad
  • Mouse: Logitech MX Master 4
  • Camera (used as webcam): Sony A7 IV
  • Audio interface: RØDECaster Pro II
  • Microphone: Shure SM7B
  • Speakers: Bose Companion 2 Series III (through the RØDECaster Pro II)
  • Headphones:
    • In-ear: Apple AirPods Pro 2
    • Over-ear: Sony MDR-1000X
  • Stream Deck + (key part of the setup)
  • Desk mount: Elgato Desk Stand
  • Lighting: 2× Elgato Key Lights
  • Storage: Google Drive + local Synology NAS (local-only backup for now)
  • Portable SSDs: Samsung T9

Ian's workstation

  • MacBook Air M3
  • oWS Dock
  • Logitech MX Brio Ultra HD camera
  • Shure SM7B microphone

Browser

  • Google Chrome (primary)
    • Two profiles: a personal one and a work one (brad@bradfrost.com)

Email + calendar

  • Google Workspace (Gmail)
  • Notion Mail (connected to Gmail)
  • Google Calendar
  • Notion Calendar (connected to Google Calendar)

Meetings + recording

  • Zoom (most meetings)
  • Descript (shared recording sessions)
  • OBS (streaming)

Recording + editing

  • Descript — podcasts, course collab sessions, course videos (Keynote + talking head + screen share)
  • Riverside — backup for when Descript craps out
  • Final Cut Pro — music videos, Cold Album Drumming, other video projects

Slides

  • Eddie slides (custom presentation software built on our design system)
  • Keynote (nearly everything)
  • Figma Slides (want to use more)

Design + creative

  • Figma — design work, logos, UI design (though I prefer designing in-browser)
  • Adobe Photoshop — photo editing
  • Adobe Illustrator — occasionally
  • Adobe Premiere — occasionally

Designing in the browser

  • HTML / CSS
  • Eddie Design System
  • CodePen

Code editor / IDE

  • Cursor (primary)
  • Ongoing experiments with other IDEs and tools, especially for the AI & Design Systems course

Terminal

  • Cursor's built-in terminal
  • macOS Terminal

Dev tooling

  • Homebrew
  • nvm
  • npm
  • yarn (when the project uses it)

Scheduling

  • Calendly

Payments + commerce

  • Thinkific — course platform + payments
  • Shopify — ebooks and future products
  • PayPal — connected to Thinkific + Shopify

Invoicing + accounting

  • Harvest — invoicing, time tracking, expenses
  • QuickBooks — synced from Harvest; the source of truth our accountants use

Marketing + CRM

  • MailChimp — newsletter and marketing emails
  • Thinkific email — student comms (aiming to centralize in MailChimp via Zapier segments)
  • Notion CRM database

Docs + knowledge base

  • Notion — primary "brain"
  • Google Docs / Sheets — occasionally

Meeting notes

  • Notion Meeting Notes (primary)
  • Shared Google Docs (sometimes)
  • Handwritten notes (sometimes)
  • Gmail draft (sometimes)

Chat + community

  • Slack (primary)
  • Discord (occasional)

Passwords + security

  • 1Password (separate Family + Business vaults)
  • Google Authenticator for some 2FA

Domains + hosting

  • Hover — most domains
  • Gandi — TLDs Hover doesn't support
  • Hosting / deploys: Netlify (most sites), Flywheel (legacy WordPress)
  • bradfrost.com: migrating from WordPress on Flywheel → Eleventy on Netlify

Analytics

  • Google Analytics

Source control

  • GitHub org: Brad-Frost-Web
  • GitHub personal: bradfrost

Tickets + project tracking

  • GitHub Issues (primary)
  • Increasingly using Notion; bi-directional GitHub ↔ Notion sync is on the wishlist

Automation + integrations

  • GitHub ↔ Netlify automatic deploys
  • Zapier — primary middleware for app-to-app automation
  • IFTTT — secondary middleware
  • Default rule: "if no direct integration exists, wire it up via Zapier (or IFTTT)"
  • Direction: expand automation across the board (Notion Automations, more Zapier flows)

Screen capture / screen recording

  • Descript (when recording for production)
  • CleanShot X (just getting started)
  • macOS built-in screenshots / screen recording
  • GIPHY Capture (sometimes)

Writing + publishing workflow

  • Blog: WordPress draft → publish (migrating to markdown files in the bradfrost.com Eleventy site)
  • Newsletter: MailChimp draft → publish
  • Writing assistance: none — no Grammarly or similar
  • Voice dictation: Wispr Flow

Basement recording studio

Studio computer

  • iMac (24-inch, 4.5K Retina) — Apple M4 (10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine), 32GB unified memory
  • Dock: iVANKY FusionDock
  • Portable SSDs: Samsung T9

Instruments

Bass

  • 1974 Fender Jazz Bass
  • Squier Bass VI

Guitar

  • Fender Telecaster

Keys / synths / drum machines

  • Nord Stage 3 (with Yamaha expression pedal and On-Stage sustain pedal)
  • Moog Rogue
  • Novation (MKIII)
  • AKAI MPK Mini III
  • Korg MicroKorg
  • Behringer RD-8

Amps

  • Orange 4×10 bass amp
  • Fender DeVille

Mixer / monitoring / IEM

  • Behringer X32 Rack
  • Old iPad mini running the X32 iPad app
  • Behringer Ultra-DI Pro rack DI (Nord Stage 3, Moog Rogue, RD-8, MicroKorg)
  • Studio monitors: KRK Rokit 6
  • In-ear monitors: Sennheiser XSW IEM

Video — cameras

  • OBSBOT Tail 2
  • GoPro Hero13
  • Insta360 X4
  • GoPro Hero5

Video — switching / capture

  • RODECaster Video