Tim Russell
Russell is chief technology officer of Whitewater-based RoofMarketplace, an insurtech startup trying to shake up the way roofing claims are fulfilled. While his career requires him to be immersed in all things technological, he also uses technology as a way to unwind when he’s off the clock.
Wisconsin Public Library Consortium
“I’m an avid reader, but I don’t feel the need to own every book I read. Enter Wisconsin Public Library Consortium, Wisconsin’s digital library. It’s an easy way to get a digital book loan delivered to the e-reader of your choice. Not all titles are available, and there’s often a decent wait, but it’s easy to queue up a list and read whatever comes up next, or snooze one for a week or two if you’re deep in something else. (Don’t tell anyone, but if you put your device on airplane mode, your loan never expires.)”
Mechanical keyboard
“There are DIY enthusiasts when it comes to keyboards, I am not one. But for typing speed and accuracy, nothing beats the tactile feedback from a good keyboard with mechanical key switches. These aren’t (all) your grandmother’s loud clickety-clack. Consumers can choose from a variety of noise, feel, and pressure options. Mine is a full-size GMMK model with brown switches.”
VPN
“A virtual private network is essentially a secure, encrypted connection to the rest of the internet. No one between you and your VPN gateway can read your traffic. For business, they’re integral to ensuring that your critical resources aren’t accessible on unsecured networks like coffee shop Wi-Fi. We use Perimeter 81. For personal use, I’d rather my ISP not know my every online move. I use Mullvad to prevent that.”
Factorio
“Imagine the flow state of your favorite hobby with none of the hassle. This is Factorio to a software developer. It’s a game where you crash-land on a planet and need to mine resources, turn them into other products, kill aliens and eventually build a rocket to escape – except instead of doing it all by hand (a la Minecraft) you build machines to do everything for you. There’s a reason it’s affectionately known as Cracktorio.”
