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Surya Mattu

Artist, engineer, data journalist

in artist, data, developer, journalist, linux

Who are you, and what do you do?

I am an artist, engineer, and data journalist (in no particular order). Currently I work as an investigative data journalist at The Markup. I look at the ways in which algorithmic systems perpetuate systemic biases and inequalities in society. Most of the work I do involves writing code or words, with the occasional new media project, I also teach occasionally.

What hardware do you use?

My main machine is a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 running Ubuntu. I transitioned to Linux when MacBook Pros got the butterfly keyboards. For my phone I use an iPhone XR, though I still miss my iPhone SE which finally gave way last year. Considering switching to the new SE which was recently released. I have used Raspberry Pi's for projects in the past. I am also a software defined radio's enthusiast and own a HackRF, Ubertooth and pretty much anything else Michael Ossman and the folks at Great Scott Gadgets make.

And what software?

I spend most of my time between VS Code, Google Docs (on Firefox) and a Markdown editor.

I have just started using Notable and am enjoying it so far. I use kitty for my terminal with a fish shell. I followed some of the steps in this blog post a few years ago and it really improved my terminal experience. Especially the 'tldr' recommendation.

What would be your dream setup?

My current setup works pretty well for pretty much everything I need to use it for. The one dream addition would be a Linux-based PDF reader/editor that is as good as Preview on OS X.