It’s been a year since I made the “switch” and I’m slowly and gradually moving the way I work with computers from a Windows to a Mac paradigm. With regards to normal computer use, I’d like to think I’ve done a lot already — organized my stuff, installed several applications, setup a backup strategy among other things.
However, for productivity and development, I think I’ve barely touched the surface. I’m still learning about Folder Actions and AppleScript. I’m remembering how much I loved doing things on the command line (during the DOS days) when I use Terminal. I’m still figuring out how to customize TextMate (which I’m starting to really love) with the way I think about code. I’m also picking a whole lot of things from the community of indie Mac developers, which I want to be part of really really soon.
I’m still learning and I guess sometimes it’s harder for me to learn how to do things in another way after being so used to Windows for most of my life. But, I’m enjoying the process and I’m still happy that I did make the switch.
Finally, Apple has updated its desktop line of computers, which means that my long wait for an updated Mac Mini has actually paid off.
Early this year, I was contemplating on either getting a netbook or a desktop as an alternative machine to my MBP. After much contemplation and discussions with the gf on what to get, it was decided that getting a desktop would be the most optimal for both of us. But, I was still in a bit of a dilemma on getting either a Mac Mini or an iMac.
Continue reading ‘I want a Mac Mini’
My laptop’s back from the service centre and it looks and feels new again. They had to replace the whole top case to replace the LCD. So my laptop’s now shiny new and the hinge is still tight. It’s good to note that they were quite fast. Their supposedly standard wait time was 5 working days. So kinda got on a mindset of having no laptop for a week. But I got it after 3 working days. I brought it in Tuesday lunch and it was already available for pickup by Friday. I only got to pick it up Saturday since I didn’t have time to go to Funan on Friday since it’s always a busy day for us at the office.
Continue reading ‘My laptop’s back and then some’
I’ve sent in my MBP for servicing because of a grey spot that looks like a smudge inside the LCD. It’s not that noticable before because I’ve always kept my dock on the left side of the screen to maximize the vertical space available for my apps. Lately however, I’ve been using an external monitor so I had the luxury of putting the dock at the bottom. When I disconnected it from the external monitor so I can use it on my lap, that’s the time I saw the smudge. I wonder how it got there though. The lady at the service center told me it’ll take around 5 working days before I get it back. I hope I get it soon though. I’ve heard of stories that it can take a month or two for LCD screens to be replaced.
Finally got myself an apple keyboard so I can use my underutilized external monitor with my MBP’s lid closed (I only learned I could a couple of days ago, goes to show how much of a n00b i still am in the Mac world).
As for first impressions, the keys are light to the touch but still responsive enough for touch typing, which is good for people (like me) who are having RSI or CTS. It is a whole lot better than the keyboard I use in the office which is a generic one that comes with Dell Vostro machines. I think I’m gonna enjoy coding with it and one more reason for me to develop a blogging/writing habit. It even looks good with my E71.
I think I’m pretty much bent on getting Apple’s MobileMe once I do get an iPhone. Hopefully all the launch glitches would be ironed out once the iPhone is available here in Singapore.
I’ve tried out the Push technology for mail, calendar and contacts with an iPod Touch and I’m satisfied with how it works seamlessly across platforms (deskop app, mobile app, web app). I won’t have to worry of syncing between devices since it’s synced at one central location. And it’s an added appeal that I’ll be using very similar interfaces across all three platforms.
For the moment, I’ll try testing this setup at least for my calendar and contacts until my MobileMe trial expires.
About a month ago, I’ve decided to make the switch from Windows to OS X. So far, I’m a happy camper. I’ve been enjoying a lot of the features on OS X that I don’t find in Windows XP. Every week, I hope I can post one thing I like about OS X.
One of those features is Exposé. I usually prefer using two monitors when doing web work since I need to have several open programs. For example, I would have three browser windows, a coding window, a terminal window and an SQL window. In Windows XP, unless you have a very very big monitor, transferring information from one window to another can be quite cumbersome. Somehow, when working on my Mac, I don’t feel a deep need to have 2 monitors since I can easily sift through open windows using Exposé. It just makes the simple task of copying info from one window to another easy and fast to do.
