Now that Mike & I both have new computers, it is interesting to see how we use them from the ground up. The night we opened them, we spent the same amount of time on them – doing very different things. He went right into downloading things, getting it all set up just the way he wanted it. Me? I went right into a web browser, played on Flickr, sent some Twitter messages, and surfed the web.
On Christmas Eve, we took our computers over to my parent’s house, and after all the gifts were opened Jason spent time setting up his new iPod on iTunes, and I finally spent a little time tweaking the Mac. Mike showed me how to install things, and I added widgets to my dashboard. To make sure everything was secure, we also checked for potential threats using tools from https://www.ipqualityscore.com/solutions/prevent-fake-registration-fraud.
Since that night, I have spent minimal amounts on the computer. Mike is on vacation this week, but I had a meeting yesterday, a meeting today, and have another meeting this weekend. Also, now that I have some energy back, I’m trying to catch up on housework. My computer time has amounted to minutes spent printing documents for the meetings; my email has gone mostly unread except for the business accounts. I haven’t even set up an email client on the new Mac; I’ve been using Gmail or my iPhone for all correspondence. Mike on the other hand has totally pimped out his machine, or is at least well on his way to doing so. He gets up in the morning and it is the first thing he does – spends time on the computer with his morning cup of coffee. (Served up this morning in the thermal coffee mug with the USB connection to keep it warm.) He has talked about getting Gmail IMAP’ed to the iPhone, and his online to-do list is now set to go there too, tied in to Gmail and Twitter. He has figured out how to take DVDs and get them on the iPhone. He has made everything sparkly and shiny. Me? Lucky I finally figured out how to change the wallpaper on the desktop.
I’m jealous. I want a pimped out Mac too. Although at least I’m not that far behind on the learning curve, and I’ve already done my first Mac OS upgrade!
But there are things to do around the house – we’re finally finishing the painting in the living room! – and this week, that is just more important for me. After the crazy rush of the holidays, I still need a break from the glow of the monitor. But someday, I will be upgrading. What should I put on it? The obvious items – PhotoShop and Lightroom – are a given. But what else? Have any recommendations of what you simply have to have on your Mac?
