Web Designer Hardware and Software

I switched from Windows to Macintosh in 2008, buying a refurbished MacBook Pro 15-inch. In 2010, it was having some video card issues (that turned out to be a recall problem), so I got an iMac as a “loaner” machine while they fixed my MacBook Pro.

I didn't think that a 27-inch monitor was really going to be that different from my previous dual screen set-up with two 20-inch monitors. But it was really nice. Losing that gap between the monitors and giving me a much bigger main monitor was too good to pass up, so I kept the “loaner” machine and now use the MacBook Pro as my backup and travel machine.

The iMac has a 2.8 GHz Intel core i7 processor, 12GB of RAM, and a 1TB hard drive. I got the i7 processor because I do video editing, and it’s easier on a faster processor. And I maxed out the RAM because I like to run lots of programs at once like Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Firefox, Parallels, and so on. I strongly recommend that no matter what system you buy, you always max out the memory to as much as you can afford if you can’t max out the machine. More memory never hurts.

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I use a wired Apple USB keyboard for my day-to-day work. While the iMac comes with a wireless keyboard, I found that it was just a little too small to be comfortable. And I miss having the arrow keys and number pad. Apple no longer sells the larger keyboard, but you can find it online and sometimes at other retailers. I do still use the wireless keyboard, but I use it with my iPad.

I bought an iPad when they first came out and absolutely loved it. So, when the iPad 2 came out, I bought another, and gave the iPad to my husband. I’d like to say that when the iPad 3 comes out I will resist the urge to buy it and donate my iPad 2 to my son, but it’s so shiny!

I find the iPad invaluable for my work as a web designer because so much design is focused on mobile devices. So I can do testing of my sites from there and feel confident about how they will look. But I primarily use it for keeping current in the field. I have all my RSS feeds loaded in my iPad and I browse websites whenever I can. I also use it to keep up with email and I have used it to make changes to websites, post blogs, and other web design related work. It doesn’t replace a full computer for doing work, but for quick fixes it’s great. And so much fun!

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We got this multi-function color laser printer and scanner (and fax machine, although I’ve never used that) in 2008. I prefer laser printers as I feel that the printouts they make are more professional looking. Plus, we have only bought ink once in the two years we’ve had it. The color of the prints is good and it scans really nicely. One of my favorite features is that it is a network printer, so I can print from every computer in the house. It is also fairly small for a multi-function printer.

Dreamweaver is my web editor of choice these days. Sometimes I use Komodo Edit for editing text and HTML files, but I do most of my design work in Dreamweaver. I like how it maintains and manages entire sites for me, so that all I have to do is switch to the site I need to work on and start working. It also has great integration with other Adobe products like Photoshop and Fireworks.

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