Who are you, and what do you do?
Jason Forrest, Founder and Creative Director of Network Awesome (but also: Musician and Father)
What hardware do you use?
I have a beyond shitty "black" Macbook from 2006. It has served me extremely well as I have done nothing but worked furiously on it over several albums, record labels, a few iOS apps, and ultimately the creation of Network Awesome. It has been my main instrument and accomplice on global travel for years and has survived beer spills, sweat and literally pounds and pounds of confetti - which it actually perpetually carries around inside a clogged internal DVD.
And for this sort of premium service I have defaced it with lazily applied stickers, dirt, and duct tape.
And what software?
I used Ableton Studio 8 for the last few years for producing and performing music. I personally hate external MIDI controls as they seem like an unnatural extension of the computer for me. I like the touch pad, that feels honest to me - control by caress - and as such, I always performed with only this laptop and a microphone.
I have used Photoshop, Illustrator and Final Cut extensively over time, but like most I have probably used Internet browsers even more. I am also working with Adobe CS6 and I have recently moved from Final Cut to Premiere because Premiere just works better and has a flawless integration with the rest of the package.
What would be your dream setup?
As far as computers go, I have used the newest, fastest apple MacBook Pro and it's great - but really, what I want is a team of people to help me build something that has a value that is measured in generational terms.