Robert W GehlInterview
Professor (Communication and Media Studies)
Adapted from Robert W Gehl's interview on Uses This, published 29 August 2024. The kit is drawn from their answers and each reason is an excerpt, lightly edited. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full interview ↗
Is this you? Claim this kit →Hardware
One was a Compaq Presario F700, which was the first computer I ever installed Linux on (back in 2006 or so).
And another was a System 76 Galago Pro 3, which was the best computer I ever owned.
I'm typing this on a Dell XPS 15.
I currently have a home media server, a Raspberry Pi 4.
Communication
That book focuses on Mastodon and the fediverse.
I use Thunderbird as an email and calendar client.
Productivity
For my academic work, it all starts with the mighty Zotero, which is a bibliography and citation manager.
When I need to write up documents, it's LibreOffice Writer time.
Browser
Browser-wise: I use Firefox -- I've used it since the early days.
Notes
Zotero is being pushed aside just a little bit though, by Zettlr, a Markdown-enabled editor.
Security
Media
The server keeps my computers in sync, enables me to collaborate with others, and can even be a viable substitute for Zoom via its Talk add-on.
On my phone, I use the F-Droid app FinAmp to stream from my library.
Storage
When I need to share documents, manage calendars, set appointments, or do video chats, I use my own Nextcloud server.
Other
I also only use phones I can side-load free and open source F-Droid apps onto.
What I like about Manjaro is that I don't need to do full system upgrades -- since it relies on Arch Linux, it's a "rolling" set up, which runs for years without problems.
I also should give a shout-out to Jellyfin, which is home media server software.
And one last shout-out goes to Pi-Hole, which is a self-hosted DNS server with ad-blocking built in.