Q&A with Peter Cooper

I'm Peter Cooper, the founder of Cooper Press, a programmer-focused micropublisher currently mostly oriented around e-mail newsletters like JavaScript Weekly and Node Weekly. We have just over 160,000 subscribers in all. We also do training, sell screencasts, and similar publishing related things. I started the company because some side projects of mine were working out very well and I realized there was a business in them. It's definitely the best job I've had so far!

Hardware

I used to be a real hardware junkie with almost every Mac and high-tech home-built PC configuration possible floating around but now I'm settling down with my family, I've become more minimalist. 99% of my work is now done on a single 15" MacBook Pro from either my sofa or plugged into a Thunderbolt Display at my office. The Retina screen has made it possible for me to finally use a notebook full-time because I use a lot of space in my work.

Software

Chrome is my most used piece of software because most of my time is spent reading Web pages, working in our Web-based CMS, or handling my e-mails in Gmail. I do still code though and use Sublime Text 3 as my editor along with a myriad of open source related tools. The Adobe Creative Cloud is another favorite of mine and I love paying a small amount each month for the latest stuff they have.

Dream setup

My dream setup would be having a bigger house so I can have a home office again. I gave up my room for my kids but I miss working from a dedicated place in the house. I'd almost certainly switch back to a desktop (probably the new Mac Pro when it's out) and a couple of 4K screens if I had the space. For now though, the Retina MacBook Pro is ideal as a day to day machine, but I'm considering adding a 13" MacBook Air to the mix for when I'm travelling.

Inspiration

I'm just constantly reading things that come along in a wide variety of areas. I'm subscribed to tons of sub-Reddits and peruse sites like Hacker News and Lobste.rs all the time. I try to take things I see working in other niches and implement similar ideas in the world of programming and technology and am constantly inspired by the ingenuity of people online.