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Comment by jgrahamc | Hacker News Reader

Whenever I read one of these I keep wanting them to do Patrick Bateman. These descriptions of products that people use give me the creeps (on occasion).

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I generally like to hear how people work, but it gets a bit boring if it's all web developers & TED circuit guys, where it all comes down to "list of apple devices + GTD apps". I would love to see the setup of some people. A few screenshots would be nice, but a short screencast would be even better. Even if it's all pretty standard (e.g. Eclipse + Chrome, Sublime + Safari, Blender + XCode), I think one could learn a few things here and then how other people hop around between applications and accomplish tasks.

At least I think it would be interesting, it might also just lead to me freaking about because someone is doing it wrong (As Sartre said, hell is seeing other people google).

I think screenshots and screencasts would be awesome for this sort of thing. A lot of things get lost in the descriptions. I'm more interested in how people use their chosen stuff than I am in what precise gadget they use.

Feel free to clone the site and do a version with screencasts!

I don't really think people would be up for this. It's nice to think about, but for a lot of folks this would mean messing with some hitherto unknown to them screen recording software, finding a project they can transmit freely without copyright problems etc.

But one can dream…

I think it would be cool to watch videos of people doing the work we respect them for. The same way that Notch occasionally posts of video of him hacking for many hours straight.

That would be interesting from a UI design point of view. Bo Staake springs to mind

http://youtu.be/S7qUKv7XVx4

I think the best one was

http://william.gibson.usesthis.com/

followed by

http://mark.pilgrim.usesthis.com/

Then it is a toss up between

http://jason.rohrer.usesthis.com/

and

http://rob.pike.usesthis.com/

I tend to skip the ones that go straight to 'Apple blah'. Yes, I'm addicted

So are you saying that I sound like a serial killer? Oh my. :p

Not you in particular. It's the whole genre.

Gear fetishism.

Don't get me wrong, I read nearly every technical interview on The Setup, but some of it is creepy or bad. Especially the people who claim they are minimalists and then rattle off a long list of expensive, high-end gear.

"My dream system would be a modular CPU slightly bigger than my iPhone with a display that I could use as a tablet while mobile and plug into a docking station when I’m at my desk"

Ubuntu-phone man, simples.

Investigating org-mode babel as a consequence of your page.

I know what you mean, a lot of the time these things read a bit like this:

> In '87, Huey released this, Fore, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip to be Square", a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself.

I'm just waiting for the bit where the interviewer gets bashed in the head with an axe, or the interviewee has to cut the interview short to return some video tapes.

I quite like my head.

Hah! I'm not sure if I should be weirded out or upset over that. But you have given me an idea for April 1st.

DO IT.

PS: how about more of the non-computer ones like the baker and the coffee maker.

Yeah, I love those! Did you see the woodprint maker one?

http://david.bull.usesthis.com/

Also, feel free to suggest people!

Yes! I was just telling my coworkers how these interviews sound like they're lifted straight from American Psycho.

Why happy4crazy, you're sweating.

Hehe, the best scene in the movie.

I never realised how accustomed I have become to the very same language I found quite odd when reading American Psycho. Very insightful posting, thanks!

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