Ed Downes

Web dev PM by day, thriller fiction author by night!

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@just_sahitya_ Trs-80 Basic (circa 1981)

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@EvaSamxpxic 18

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

Youngest daughter, Jessica graduated college from NC State. Way to go, Jess! ❤️

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@RonaldMalfi Hey there! Anything scheduled in North Carolina?

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

Hot date with my daughters to see Project Hail Mary. Lots of fun, and a great movie! 🎥🍿

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@avinashjoshi @Dell It is close! The vivid OLED on the XPS 16 is breathtaking. And the battery life on the 14 with the IPS is unmatched. I might try to keep both since 2 XPS’s is still cheaper than 1 loaded MacBook Pro.

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

#Omarchy on the new @Dell XPS 14 and 16 is not just for techies and developers! It is also perfect for fiction novel authors like me :)

My debut novel, Frozen Echoes, was brainstormed, outlined, written, edited, and published all on Omarchy and Omakub. One of the main reasons I love creating on Omarchy is the distraction-free environment that is perfect to keep me focused and productive. I write and publish much faster when I am focused and not distracted.

As for the new XPS 14 and 16, I got both. The 16 is perfect for writing when I am in my office with its big, beautiful screen, while the 14 is great and compact when I am on the go!

Thank you to @dhh for creating Omarchy (and previously Omakub). And, thank you @SpencerGBull from Dell for showcasing the XPS 14 and 16 at #Omacon2026.

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@_avdept @Dell No, unfortunately not yet. I reached out to @SpencerGBull to see if they were still available, but I have not heard back yet. I am hopeful 😀

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@afOrtunado124 @Dell You should! Best computer ever and it was built for Omarchy!

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@primex001 @Dell Send it over, I would love to give it a try!

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@sspaeti @Dell I love your Blog site. What did you build it in? Love the styling :)

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@sspaeti @Dell What kind of writing do you do? I am into thriller fiction.

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@maietta @Dell My previous computer was XPS 9510 from 2021. Loved that thing, but when the new XPS was announced, I could not wait to get my hands on it :) It was so worth the wait!

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

Here is what I am using on Omarchy
- Research: Chromium
- Brainstorm: Obsidian
- Writing: OnlyOffice
- Edits: https://t.co/rUXbDKlMB9 Web App
- Formatting: https://t.co/y77m8SjjhY Web App
- Cloud Storage and File Sharing: DropBox
- Recent Experimenting: Scrivener on Crossover Emulator

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@madhukarkumar @Dell The keyboard took a day to get used to, but I think I am really enjoying how it feels to type on these XPS’s. It feels fresh and great feedback. And I type a lot lol

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@russellcravey @dhh @Dell It arrived with Windows preinstalled but I fixed that right away :) I installed Omarchy, it took 4 min and everything worked without any issues. No Windows for me, thanks!

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

New book arrived: The Hive, by my friend and talented horror author, @RonaldMalfi . Can't wait to dig in for some sleepless nights!👻

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@SpencerGBull @Dell Yes, dotfiles is on my radar. Got some learning to do! I was on an XPS 15 9510 from 2021 until I got these. What a difference. I am telling everybody I know to look at the new XPS!

Any chance those Omarchy keycaps still available, or am I out of luck?

[Ed Downes @EdDownes]

@dhh @Dell I love them both for different reasons :) Now, I just need to eliminate the annoying Windows + Copilot keycaps as you did!