Arch + I3-gaps. (yes just like the running joke, also my dot files are heavily based on https://larbs.xyz) I use these IDE'S: Eclipse, Atom, VScode and (neo)vim.
Then I have these eco systems: - Luarocks - npm - composer - LLVM - android studio
I use this laptop/mobile workstation for both work and at home so it's all over the place.
Specs: - Intel I5 hex core - 16GB ram (ddr4) - Nvidia GTX1060M - mSATA 128 GB (linux + tools) - HDD 750GB (data, steam, etc)
I boot my laptop -> log in on tty1 -> keyring unlocks for session -> I3 launches(with video from the Nvidia card via passthrough) -> default stuff launches (firefox, thunderbird and terminal(tmux)) in their workspaces.
For text editing I use vim, and for email I use Heirloom-mailx, and for Usenet/Unusenet I use bystand, and for IRC I use my own IRC client (which even has syntax highlighting).
4GB RAM, 500GB hard disk (although I only use 5% of the available disk space so far), DVD writer drive.
i5 8th gen 4 core 8 threads, 24gb ram, fullhd screen and ~11h battery life.
I switch os often, right now I am on kubuntu lts but until some months ago I was on Manjaro and as soon as wls2 is stable I will try windows 10 again.
At my workplace I connect it to an external 23-27 inches display.
I install instantly docker, dropbox, npm/yarn/npx, webstorm, vscode and intellijidea.
Desktop looks like this:
https://i.imgur.com/xH3mMU7.png
(that's in a VM atm, but my linux install is identical (except for workspace 9 being forced to my 2nd monitor) across physical install, VM under windows and laptop
As for what it physically looks like, it's a fractal design C case so it looks like this:
https://www.fractal-design.com/media/f05c4b6e-d88d-4962-af3a...
imposing but featureless
Apps: reddit - rtv rss feeds - newsboat email - mutt music - mpd + mpc + ncmpcpp video player - mpv image viewer - sxiv
Ryzen 1700 (8 cores), 16gb RAM, Nvidia GTX 960 (still works well enough), Arch + GNOME. I've been trying to switch to openSUSE, but I keep finding little things that make it hard to switch.
Towards the software: I'm a Linux user since 15yrs. I ended with vanilla Ubuntu, because that's a good compromise of unspectacular updates ~ every year. I enjoy Linux for having access to the developer setups I love: Plain, easy. I code C/Cpp projects with Kate and GNU make. I am frequently vowed for my artwork done with Gimp, Inkscape, Blender, Libreoffice despite I am not a designer. I frequently install "fat" non-distribution codes such as http://visit.llnl.gov at ~/bin, where also non-open-source codes such as Mathematica or Maple go. Generally, I prefer minimalistic tools over fat solutions, despite I acknowledge the power of Mathematica or a Microsoft Windows installation inside Virtualbox or KVM/libvirt/virtmanager. I even have to admit, I enjoy KDE and, as I said, I enjoy a decent graphical editor such as Kate. I work on command-line-only tools on servers very often, but I could never warm up with vim. I just never took the time to climb the learning curve of vim. But I also don't want to work on servers with VNC/X2Go, because ssh is just faster. That's why I use the tools available when in place. I'm probably a Linux opportunist: I use the Linux desktop because it is accessible, on any machine -- much more accessible then Mac OS X or Windows.