Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Saturday, March 26. 2011

Thanks, friend

An Apple-connected friend sent me the gifts of an iPad and a groovy big Macbook Pro today. Very nice indeed. Slick machines. They work with my wireless, and have come with abundant Apple assitance from my local Apple Store. Plus he had them set up with my own new email etc. Am I ready for this?


But exactly how do all these Apple things work? My fingers are not trained for this, much less my brain. He says "Now, mind you, I am not an Apple evangelist, but..."  Right.


I'll give it the old college try before dinner out on the town, while I listen to Dylan Radio. Me think me needs an Apple mouse in my house.

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 17:25 | Comments (20) | Trackbacks (0)

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It may not be a perfect interface but it's remarkably intuitive. Just get used to when you click and when you double click and you'll be having all kinds of fun in no time.
#1 BlogDog (Link) on 2011-03-26 17:41 (Reply)
Probably your worst problem will be unintentionally making things too hard!
Congratulations, that was an awesome gift to be given. What a great friend.
Apps to investigate: Dropbox, TeuxDeux, and Simplenote. Oh and I just discovered Thicket which is great for creative fun.
#2 Macrina on 2011-03-26 20:53 (Reply)
Dear BD: YOU WIN !!!

Apple let's me sleep at night!
Apple let's me get my work done without becoming a geek!
Apple let's me feel comfortable with the security!
Apple let's me focus on what it is that I am trying to create--not what some twit in Seattle is trying to create!

Apple is a greater blessing than you can imagine right now--but, you will--shortly you will understand!
#3 apple pie on 2011-03-26 23:47 (Reply)
Oh by the way: be sure to spend the $100 bucks to sign up for the year's worth of tutorials. You will learn how to run your machine in a few days--but, the tutorials will enable you to use all the aspects of this divine system. Yah, yah, I know there is some connection with the manufacture of the memory, or some damn thing. But, there is no comparison between the two worlds. Now, if you are REALLY courageous, you will refuse to have any Microsoft product installed on your machine. I have lived for five years with out Microsoft word, or excel, most importantly DH uses only Keynote--neither of us permit any Microsoft software/applications to be installed on our computer. We use Safari or Firefox. We use Pages in place of word, and Numbers in place of Excel. YUP YOU REALLY CAN DO WITHOUT MICROSOFT. And, if you care so much about individual liberty you will be sure to stop supporting Microsoft whenever you can. People from around the world send us material in Microsoft Word, but our sweet machine translates it into a PDF, or a Pages document. We do not support the hundreds of attorneys Microsoft has working to destroy the liberty of the internet system. We do not support the hundreds of people working for Microsoft stealing other people's work and ideas. NOPE, if you lived in Seattle and knew how very bad Microsoft is--you would'nt allow any of their products on your beautiful new APPLE!
#4 apple pie on 2011-03-27 00:22 (Reply)
I wish I knew a friend like that, lol. Welcome to Macintosh, it is very very different from Windows-but after a day or two, you will never want to go back to any windows box again. No more updates that break things, no more updates for virus scanners etc that take all your processing power.
I used windows for 5 years, between macs. Macs are wonderful, I hope you enjoy.
Also, the boys and girls at the apple store near you, are actually happy to answer any questions, show you simple tricks-all without being geeky about it.
#5 James Irvine on 2011-03-27 01:35 (Reply)
Once you leave Windows, you NEVER go back. I was addicted to MAC with my first encounter.
#6 Cilla Mitchell, Galveston, Texas (Link) on 2011-03-27 05:59 (Reply)
Traitor.
#7 Tom Francis on 2011-03-27 07:07 (Reply)
Mac users are much like horses - evolutionary dead ends. I will stubbornly cling to Intel or Windows 7 or Android or anti-Apple sentiment in an effort to hold back the tide of Apple product zombies.

Apple is the Anti-Christ and Steve Jobs is his Prophet.

There - somebody had to say it.
#8 Tom Francis on 2011-03-27 07:16 (Reply)
I forgot to say, the Apple Magic Mouse is pricey but it is brilliant. A trackpad surfaced mouse. Best mouse in the history of EVAR for scrolling.
I think there's now a similar non-Apple product but I've been using the Magic Mouse since it came out and I will not use anything else. Apart from the wireless mouse with the dongle I have with my Hackintosh netbook.
#9 BlogDog (Link) on 2011-03-27 08:51 (Reply)
When I used a university computer lab back in the '90s, I started out on Macs, but stopped using Macs when they crashed too often. Granted, that was some 15 years ago, and undoubtedly Macs have improved since then, but I didn't have the crashing problem when I switched to PCs.

I bought a Dell 6 years ago. The price was much lower than a Mac. I have upgraded some components over the years, such as adding memory. My primary use of the Dell is work-generated heavy data crunching with MS Access. I have no complaints with my old Dell's hardware. Granted, Dell customer service is the pits, but as Dell gave me a good refund after I got out of using their customer service, it is all evened out.

Perhaps Apple products are the greatest things since sliced bread, but I am satisfied with my PC. It gets the job done.

A childhood friend of mine has been a Mac user for years. Her level of computer skill is essentially limited to turning the machine on and off. As she works in upper level personnel jobs,earning around $150k/year, she is not a doofus- just when it comes to computers. And she loves her Mac.

I see no need for an iPad. Some day I will purchase a Kindle, but not until I have read considerably more of the books I already have on my shelves.


YUP YOU REALLY CAN DO WITHOUT MICROSOFT.
Since my work uses MS Access, not really.
#10 Gringo on 2011-03-27 09:19 (Reply)
True story. Back in the day when Mac first came out, I was working on a development project for Heald Manufacturing (the inventors of the internal grinding machine without which, the modern internal combustion engine would have never existed). I visited their software group just to get a feel for how we were going to accomplish the project (and get a gage on their willingness to cooperate with an outsider). Sitting on three of the desks were Macs. So I asked the group supervisor what the Macs were for and, I she said that she was very impressed the Mac and she was devoting three of her senior programmer's time to developing an OS for the Mac that would interface with the DOS driven machine tool software. I asked him how long she had been working on this Mac project - six months. Then I asked her why she just didn't work with the DOS Kaypro's I saw sitting in the corner (Heald's machine controller was DOS based) and, I swear this is true, she said it was because the Mac was a superior computer. Less memory, less storage space, smaller screen and a DOS that was incompatible with the machine software, but it was a superior machine.

Flash forward to 1996 - our E-911 system was revamping and moving over to computer based 911 dispatch system. I worked with the local dispatch agency to develop a Windows based system for logging, dispatching and notation. The head of the working group, however, was a Mac/Apple zombie and wanted Macs for the dispatch center. I (and a few others) fought him tooth and nail, but he kept insisting and finally, without authorization, went out and purchased two high end Macs based on the sales weenie stating that they could have the correct software in two months.

Those Macs were finally scrapped two years ago after sitting in a closet for fifteen years. They still don't have the software that was promised. :>)

To tell you the complete and total truth, I do want an iPad for reading and casual web surfing away from my office. I think it's the one product that Apple has produced that actually has significant relevance to the way modern society is heading. For the rest of their products - phooey. :>)
#10.1 Tom Francis on 2011-03-27 10:12 (Reply)
You will find that the latest OS is the best, most wonderful operating system that Apple ever produced. That is, until the new one comes out and they start talking about all the problems with the old version. Stay away from Mac Mail, which they've redone every version and still is a mess. I'd steer clear of Safari too. Apple hardware tends to be really good, as long as you only buy the products they approve of. Apple has a tendency to make perfectly good hardware obsolete at a whim (as they did when they went with OS X and got rid of the special, proprietary printer port they'd used.)
#11 Teri Pittman on 2011-03-27 11:48 (Reply)
Stay away from Mac Mail, which they've redone every version and still is a mess.

My childhood friend and Mac user who is a computer doofus got her e-mail overwhelmed with spam several years ago. She could not find her genuine e-mails that were hiding among the 2,000 odd spam messages.

I am not enough of a computer expert to place the blame for that. But it did happen with a Mac user. All I know is that I use an e-mail from my ISP - not MS Outlook- which does a very good job of filtering out spam. I use Firefox for my browser.

As I am content with the e-mail from my ISP, I see no need to go with MS Outlook, or Firefox Thunderbird e-mail, for that matter. If it ain't broke , don't fix it.
#11.1 Gringo on 2011-03-27 17:14 (Reply)
I use both Windows and Macs, the latter almost exclusively for Photoshop. Both systems have their merits, but the Mac infuriates me with its inability to resize a window anywhere but the bottom right. This is aggravating and something that I rub up against constantly.

With a 27 inch iMac, the screen text is tiny. With Windows, you can easily set font size globally. The Mac? It's impossible until you download a freeware app -- if you're lucky enough to know it exists.

Want to "cut" a file? Control=-X on Windows? Mac doesn't do that.

Apple also inflicts the crappiest mice and keyboards with their iMacs.

I like the iMac for what it is, but the cult of Apple sickens. And anyone who thinks they're perfect or even better than Windows just doesn't know.
#12 Jim Bass (Link) on 2011-03-27 12:11 (Reply)
I cancut files any time--one click. I believe if you are going to compare 15-20 year old Macs with today's PC that is ridiculous argument. How about this--let's compare todays Mac with Windows 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, oh and let's not forget Vista !

So, if your manhood is based on how many old PC's you can run--too bad. I prefer a machine does what I ASK it to do--not what some Seattle Weenie wants me to do.
#13 apple pie on 2011-03-27 12:20 (Reply)
All you've done is substitute a Seattle weenie for a Cupertino weenie? :>)

I have nothing against Apple - good for them. I used an Apple II for years until I got smart and went with the PC and Windows.

The Apple Zombies like to pretend that the Apple OS isn't anything like Windows and its updating, but the simple truth is that Apple OS has a constant stream of updating and bug fixes only its transparent to the user. And their OS does not play nice with Flash which is the web video standard.

Security in Macs? Not so much. And its getting worse by the week.
#13.1 Tom Francis on 2011-03-27 13:01 (Reply)
I made two whoopsies - I meant to say Cupertino weenie for a Seattle weenie and opaque to the user, not transparent.

Sorry. :>)
#13.1.1 Tom Francis on 2011-03-27 13:03 (Reply)
College trained in MS - used it and clung to it religiously for almost 2 decades - husband literally threw new PC in the trash 2 years ago after trying to rid it of already loaded crap and spyware - I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO MICROSOFT.

Mac is all it claims to be - and more. Wonderful system.
#14 milabro (Link) on 2011-03-27 12:41 (Reply)
To Apple Pie: we were discussing Macs and PCs. The fact that you felt the need to bring up anyone's manhood says more about you than the topic at hand.

Sheesh. Do you get this worked up over your brand of toaster? Your favorite flavor of chewing gum?
#15 Jim Bass (Link) on 2011-03-27 18:48 (Reply)
Actually, I've been known to advance strong opinions on fishing rods.

UGLY STICKS RULE!!! :>)
#15.1 Tom Francis on 2011-03-27 20:54 (Reply)

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