Apple has recently been getting a lot of attention from the online press and tech enthusiasts for something that it really should’ve done a long time ago. The company replaced its standard issue Mighty Mouse with the new Magic Mouse, a completely new design which features touch sensitivity in addition to standard mouse functionality.
It took a while, but I finally found one in stock at an Apple retail store, and I’ve spent the past couple days using it as my primary mouse. How well suited is it to web work? I suppose that depends on your work environment, but it won’t be replacing my usual desktop mouse anytime soon, and I’ll tell you why. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m not gonna lie, a big reason that I like my current freelance tech blogging gig is the gear. But even if I wasn’t in this particular line of work, I’d still take an unnatural amount of interest in outfitting my office or workspace, regardless of whether it happens to be in my home or not. Computers, gadgets, office supplies, office furniture — these are the things that get me truly excited about doing my job, from the lowliest stapler to the most extravagantly outfitted desktop computer.
While just acquiring and setting up new gear is cause enough for celebration, better still is getting great deals on new work-related stuff. For instance, re-purposing an old SLR camera bag as the perfect clandestine portable HDD/DVD-RW/cable tote, or having Best Buy match the deep discount a much smaller competitor is offering on a 16GB SDHC card. Read the rest of this entry »
As some of you may be aware, when I’m not writing here, I’m writing for another blog on The GigaOM Network, TheAppleBlog. TAB’s focus, as you can probably guess, is Apple products and software. Some of my latest posts there have been about the new Mac Mini, which I recently purchased for use as an HTPC, connected full-time to my TV and stereo.
My first thought was that this would be a productivity killer, since it makes my TV and home theater in general that much more distracting. Generally speaking, I resist the urge to have the TV on in the background when I’m working, and instead listen to music at a relatively low volume. For the past couple days, though, since the arrival of the Mac mini, I’ve had the TV on pretty much the entire time I’m working, and I’m noticing an improvement in my work practices, rather than any negative effect.
I find I can more easily keep up with a steady flow of information thanks to having a net-connected desktop constantly attached to my television, in addition to having another laptop or desktop (in this case, my MacBook or iMac) as my primary workhorse machine. At a very basic level, I can have fewer applications running simultaneously on my MacBook, which lessens the system’s use of resources, decreasing fan noise.
The real benefit is that I can keep potential distractions contained, while still making them available for consultation should I need them. Applications like TweetDeck can run on the Mini and be at hand should I require Twitter, without intruding if I’m on a roll, work-wise. I can even background email and IM in the same way if I’m working with a particularly tight timeline. Read the rest of this entry »
In advance of tomorrow’s Apple media event, rumors are swirling about a sub-$1000 laptop – with most sources pegging it at an $800 or $900 price point. This would be a $200 to $300 drop from the current cheapest MacBook – but perhaps more importantly, it would also be the first time for an Apple laptop to break into a 3-digit price.
Of course, there are plenty of sub-$1000 laptops on the market already – you can buy Dell’s Inspiron line at prices from $499 up, and if you’re willing to compromise down to the “netbook” level of machine, with a 9-inch screen, you can find pricing under $400. But those cheaper machines are not, of course, Macs.
Read the rest of this entry »
Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
