Now I Can Be Smug, Too!
Monday, December 10, 2007 at 09:05amFriday night, Lisa and I visited with my girlfriend and her kids. It was a nice night, made even more special because we watched Frosty the Snowman with the kids, and it was their first time seeing it. Magical! When I got home later, the geekboy was watching tv in the living room and I asked him why my laptop wasn’t where I left it. My old, refurbished, heavy, workhorse laptop that’s gotten progressively slower and more obnoxious with each passing year. He told me to look under the blanket. So I did, and guess what I saw?
ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME? I couldn’t even process what I was seeing. I put the blanket back down and said, “No, where is my laptop?” He just started laughing. When I finally realized that it WAS my laptop, I almost died. Merry Early Christmas! I spent about one minute being angry about money and feeling guilty about hinting I wanted a new laptop. Then I got the fuck over it.
OMG YOU GUYS! I love this thing. It’s fast, it’s light, it’s bright white, it’s just beautiful. I wish I could sleep with it under my pillow. Thank you, GeekBoy. You are awesome.
So, Mac users! I am new to Mac, so I’m looking for your input. In the comments, let me know your favorite tips and tricks. Lessons learned. Best resources. Cool widgets. Anything you think would help me make the most of my shiny new toy. (I’ve already found MacLamps, so I’m all set on that, heh.)
And here’s the obligatory PhotoBooth picture.
Nicci J on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 9:15 am
I cannot recommend delicious library enough, fo’ reals. It seems dorky, but it’s one of my favourite things ever
Then it’s Adium (with H.K dock icons!) and all the usual suspects, that you’re never going to hear the end of. Woot!
kyle on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 9:18 am
Oooh, fun. I’m still in the PC world, but everything I’ve read about the Quicksilver software has been intriguing.
Maggie on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 9:29 am
I got rid of Adium when I got Leopard because now I can have all my iChats open at the same time.
Susie on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 9:40 am
I almost spit out my coffee when I saw that photo. I am SHOCKED. GB, you are messing with my head!
Congratulations on the new arrival, FG! She’s adorable.
GeekBoy on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 9:42 am
The Mac came with Tiger installed. But I was able to go to the Apple website and order the Leopard upgrade for just $10. So I’ll install that when it comes. Have any Mac users out there had any problems with Leopard?
patrick on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 9:47 am
Yeah, I’d recommend iChat over Adium now, if only for the better integration. Keeping up with the Address Book gives you good contact integration among all the apps— iChat, Mail, iCal, etc.
I do like Delicious Library too. I mean… just show it the barcode! And then there’s Smackbook and MacSaber…
I can’t really think of anything else. The rest is just personal preference.
J.Go on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 10:24 am
I am so freakin’ happy for you! I am mad about my MacBook! I subscribe to the Apple QuickTip video podcast (through iTunes, of course) and get tons of 1-minute tips on OSX. Just yesterday I learned things about screenshots that I never knew. Check it out.
Let us know if you’ll be using Safari vs. Firefox. I keep going back and forth between the two. I love Safari for its look and speed and Firefox for its plug-ins and effectiveness.
I also left Adium for iChat because of the Address Book/Mail integration, but I never chat to my yahoo people as a result. They suck, I guess.
I was LOVING NewsFire as my RSS reader, but recently switched to Netvibes for my RSS just to keep up with the web while I’m at work.
YOU ROCK! Happy holidays, beautiful. Let’s hang in 2008, since we’re like equidistant from NYC.
freakgirl on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 10:28 am
J.Go! I’ve missed you!
patrick on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Maybe I need help finding the right Firefox plugins, then. I’m Safari all the way (except when a web app won’t work in it), mostly because I haven’t found any FF plugins that make the speed hit worth it– it’s just a total memory hog, especially on my twilight-of-its-years Powerbook.
Kyla on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Leopard has been absolutely lovely to me. I’m still not entirely sure what I’m supposed to do with Spaces, but since I went from 10.3.9 directly to 10.5, it’s ilke living in a whole new world.
I mostly love Safari, but for some reason it doesn’t always let the keyboard/Return = enter on a webpage. Apart from that, it’s terrific.
Welcome to the MacWorld, Freakgirl!!
Chuck on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Well, well, well - look who joined the cult. Let’s just hope the cd eject situation doesn’t present any issues!
GeekBoy on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Chuck, I tried to find the old post that I know you’re referring to, but couldn’t track it down. Perhaps it’s for the best, since I think the discussion got pretty heated!
Anyway, for the record, I don’t think we’ve quite “joined the cult” just yet. I’m still not sold on the idea of switching to a Mac desktop. But the more research I did, the more it seemed that where laptops for personal use are concerned, a MacBook was the way to go. Lightweight, quiet, and powerful. As the iPod has proven, Apple really seems to know how to do portable well.
And I have to say, what a difference just 6 or 7 years makes. I had to use a Mac laptop for work back around 2000-2001. I think it was running OS8. And that thing was a nightmare to deal with compared to what we just bought. There are still some Mac learning curve issues to deal with, but for the most part, the OS seems much more intuitive now.
freakgirl on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 3:59 pm
I don’t plan to ever switch to a Mac desktop unless I change my career. In all the years I’ve been doing what I’m doing, I don’t think I’ve ever needed Mac anything except for user testing. And I get Maggie to do that for me.
But I LOVE it as our family laptop. Serious, serious, love. I want to take the MacBook out behind the bleachers and get it pregnant.
Chuck on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 4:04 pm
I found that sex with my mac is extremely intuitive.
Let me know if you ever have any questions.
Michael on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Great. Now I’m picturing Chuck having sex with the Mac guy. No, really. It’s great.
freakgirl on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Ky Eliza on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at 1:20 am
apple key + c is copy and apple key + v is paste. It took me a stupidly long time to figure that out and it’s one of the most handy things ever. I use it every day.
Congrats! It’s a beauty.
freakgirl on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at 8:21 am
I had to ask Maggie how to do that, Ky. Hee.