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I love my Mac
I could not begin to count the ways. But I can give you a list of the things that I adore the most. Not the workhorse applications, you understand. The flash and sizzle. These are not in order of how much I love them, because that would depend on the day and project at hand.
1. Ecto, a desktop blogging client that renders everything Movable Type easy.
2. iTunes, because within this small computer on my lap I have organized 2,000+ songs (by title, artist, band, album, genre, etc etc), thirty plus full length unabridged novels, and various episodes of Lost which I have downloaded just so I can watch it whenever I please.
3. Tinderbox, which is first of all, very expensive but it's the only graphical note taking tool that has ever worked for me. Also, the icon is fuuugly but the innards of the thing do what I need, so really, I have to just get over the icon thing.
4. Bookpedia, my newest obsession. It has an interface like iTunes, I can scan in books in a second using a ten dollar CueCat, and by dog I swear all my books will be catalogued and organized by the new year. (Note: I only allow myself to open Bookpedia if I have written a certain amount of pages in a day. In case you were worried.)
5. StickyBrain grabs whatever I need it to grab and holds onto it. My brain isn't sticky enough. No age comments, please.
6. Widgets. There are hundreds of them. Some are useful, others are fun. Together they make up the Dashboard. You've got to see it to appreciate it. Like having a secretary right there.
7. I have a bit of a love/hate thing going on with Project Timer. It works like a charm. Which means I have to, as well.
8. Airport, which lives someplace inside this machine and makes it possible for me to check email, look things up on the web, and generally go round the world anywhere in the house without physically plugging into the ether. I am Wireless.
9. the desktop, which is easy to keep empty -- not a single icon. a clean slate. Made possible by the incredibly efficient Finder window.
10. Exposé and the splendid F11 key. In the middle of a project with a dozen windows on the desktop, sorting through them all is a pain. Never fear, F11 minimizes them all to the point where they are still legible, and then spreads them out on the desktop. Click what you want, and it comes up on top. I adore this feature.
December 12, 2005 08:03 AM
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Comments
I started on a 128K original Mac back when they first came out an stuck with Macs till a couple of years ago ("A PowerBook costs *how* much more than a Windows-based laptop?!?!"). I still miss the elegant simplicity of a Mac. I envy you deeply -- your new baby sounds like a dream machine.
Posted by: Jena at December 12, 2005 12:46 PM
I also love Bookpedia, it's the best of the lot. I hope they make it like their new Gamepedia app. That one has a new updated look and an improve export feature for Web with index.
Posted by: Andrew at December 12, 2005 02:59 PM
I know this'll sound completely newbish, but the thing I recently got that gave me a whole new appreciation for my iBook is a three-button mouse. For the last couple of years I've been doing most of my computer work on my laptop with the built-in interfaces-- one of which is a one-button touchpad. But since I've been in Cardiff I've built a stand for the laptop and attached a full-sized keyboard and three-button mouse. Just using the right-click to check spelling saves me a lot of messing about with that touchpad.
Otherhow, I'm still weirdly unwilling to use a lot of the bells and whistles. Like F11-- never use it. I just keep hitting [APPLE]-H until the screen's clear.
That said, I continue to be amazed by what this thing can do. We have a wireless router in the house. I can watch TV with it. I can listen to Seattle radio stations. It's pretty incredible.
Posted by: Joshua at December 12, 2005 07:10 PM
I _know_. It's weird to be so in love with a machine, but I do adore it.
Try the F11, you'll like it.
Posted by: Sara Donati at December 12, 2005 10:12 PM