Get the most out of your computer
A step by step guide to computer tooling
the terminal, Git, Vim, servers, Chat GPT and more!
Maximize your productivity
Python. Pandas. Web Scraping. Databases. SQL. Machine Learning. APIs.
the terminal, Git, Vim, servers, Chat GPT and more!
This 257 page book is an opinionated guide to being maximally productive with your computer, from the author of the Learn to Code with Sports series.
It includes all setup files, assumes no prior knowledge and covers:
- the terminal and shell commands
- text editing and notetaking with Vim
- backing up projects and quickly protyping with Git
- setting up your own server
- Chat GPT
- and more!
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
Why read a book on computer tooling?
It's pretty simple actually —
Mastering your computer tools will make you more powerful, efficient and faster at the everyday tasks you need to do.
This means getting more done — including things you wouldn't even have been able to do with inferior tooling — with fewer mistakes, in less time.
And by more done I don't just mean more coding, the tools we cover in this book are for learning, thinking, writing, note-taking, web-browsing and emailing too. Even if you don't code, the tools in this book are still extremely valuable.
They're the same tools I used to write 7 books in 5 years (two of these years at a day job), while running a subscription SAAS business and maintaining a dozen websites.
“I was amazed by how you broke down complicated concepts and made them easier to understand.”
Like keyboard shortcuts? You'll love this book!
One of the most important tools tools this book will teach you is Vim — the free, open-source text-editor.
"Vim has been one of the greatest things in my life for most of my life."
— Hacker News user Epicide
What makes Vim awesome? Mostly, it's really fast. Reddit user u/mackstann sums it up pretty well:
[Vim is] a language for manipulating text with your fingers. It has verbs and nouns. It replaces a lot of awkward and inefficient hand movements with much more comfortable and efficient ones. It actually feels good. It's satisfying. ... if you edit text ... it'll pay back manyfold, not just in efficiency, but in joy.
It's not a coincidence that Vim users often express how they feel using Vim with gifs like these:
In my estimation, going from hunting and pecking on the keyboard -> fast touch typing is a similar jump to going from typing fast -> Vim.
Some people think Vim is hard to learn, but it's really not. I've made learning
it easier than ever by rewriting the classic, interactive vimtutor tutorial.
It's included in the files that come with the book.
Plus I'll show you how to talk to Chat GPT inside of it, set up a "second brain" note-taking system, and more!
What People Are Saying
"The book here was really, really well done......"
"This is amazingly awesome. I’ve recently slowly crept into data science driven by a pet passion for fantasy sport analytics. ...the way the learning is framed here is 10x what you’ll get someplace else...."
"...probably the best / most complete Pandas walk through I've seen."
"I really loved your book. You did an amazing job on it. ... I've been trying to get my son more into programming, and your book has been perfect... really clicked for him."
"Fantastic... literally feels like it was written for me!"
"...picked up more, and at a better pace, using this than a lot of the free online tools I’d been trying the past few months."
"Love the book... My python has come a very long way thanks to you."
"I have always wanted to learn a language but always seemed to get discouraged by the 'Hello World' chapters that were never ending. I like that your book cuts out the riff raff and teaches the important things! I'm flying through the book and feel like I'm learning a ton! Best wishes from a satisfied customer."
"I have tons of coding books. Yours is a favorite"
"Dear Nate, I'd like to thank you for a brilliant book. ... It's distilled, without extra and unnecessary... info and challenging at the same time. I'm writing you just to thank you."
"Loving this so far!""
"...much more engaging for me personally because it’s info I’m interested in. I’ve taken automate the boring stuff, python for finance, etc and while those courses are great.. I seem to be understanding it better because its about a subject I like."
"...exactly the course I was looking for a long time! :)"
"I really like your approach to teaching data science! I usually work with... R, and your book is one of the resources I'm using to teach myself Python... So far it's the best one!"
"The only Python course that's kept me engaged from beginning to end."
"Been loving your book so far, it progresses at a great pace and has easily been the best mode I've used to understand coding. I'm excited to learn more, thank you for creating this book that's allowing me to have fun learning again, it's been ages."
"...absolutely superb... definitely understand the acclamation"
"...really helpful and a fun way to learn."
"You're an absolute legend!"
"I am enjoying refreshing my Python knowledge with your book very much."
"I am going through your book right now... and I love it!"
"I bought LTCWFF and love it!"
"...so helpful and enjoyable."
"The book is great!"
"... helped me way more than my grad school class did."
"Thank you Nathan ... You ARE an amazing teacher!"
"Can I just say that this is the simplest and best explanation I have ever seen ... Awesome!!"
"I was amazed by how you broke down complicated concepts and made them easier to understand."
"I can't tell you how many times I've tried to get into programming and gave up because it was so dry. This has been such a nice change of pace and I'm loving it."
"I just bought your book and have to say I enjoy it immensely so far."
"...exactly what I needed to finally get past tutorial hell and apply Python to something I love."
"it's been great refreshers for basic Python... I appreciate the Anki cards ... they're helping cement the terminology..."
"...it helped me tremendously ... I wouldn't be where I'm at with the Python language today without this book to kick start things."
"...very engaging so far compared to some of the other online resources I've tried to pick this up with."
"...could not be more satisfied with the content. ...it has been great to work through your in-depth examples learning new skills. I had a previous interest in this sort of analysis and have had intermediate programming experience, but never could tie the two together."
"Incredible work! Bought it right away. Only 3 chapters in and this book is already better than expected. Worth every penny. Thank you!"
"...can definitely recommend it. It's so much easier learning coding with a subject that is familiar and one is passionate about. Thank you!"
"I’m flying through your book and loving every bit of it so far. The way you lay everything out is incredibly intuitive and easy to follow."
“Thank you Nathan ... You ARE an amazing teacher!”
Get the book
Tech Tools
Product information
$79USD
Maximize your productivity with this guide to key computer tools. Covers the terminal, Vim, Chat GPT, Git, servers, building a 'second brain' note taking setup and more.
Good for both coders and non-coders. Includes:
The 257 page book in PDF format
Windows, Mac, and ChromeOS Setup Configuration Files
Interactive tutorial
Lifetime updates
30 day money back guarantee!
30 Day Money Back Guarantee
Try it! If you're not satisified, contact me within 30 days and I'll refund you the purchase price.
About the author
Hi! My name is Nate and I'm a self-taught programmer and data scientist based in Milwaukee, WI.
A few years ago, I didn't know anything about the command line, Git, servers, or any of the other topics covered here.
So, I taught myself. It took a few years and I ran into a lot of dead ends along the way, but ultimately I figured it out. In this book, I distill everything I've learned to provide a step-by-step guide to being as productive as possible with your computer.