Wading through the wonderful world of technology
After a week of waiting, my MacBook Pro is finally here. It has been five years since I last plunked down some change to get a G4 Powerbook. The G4’s hard drive had less than a gigabyte in space, the lower RAM slot was fried, and the warped case would pop out the power adapter every five minutes. What’s funny is the MacBook Pro looks almost identical. The real differences are under the hood. Compare this to the old laptop:
With all these additional features, I am debating loading my laptop with some additional software. In particular, I’m wondering if I should upgrade the Microsoft Office and Adobe Design Suites. Both software suites cost a fair bit money. I also tend to find them a bit bloated for my needs. I’m debating whether I can dodge Adobe by using Pixelmator and VectorDesigner. I think I’ll be able to get by with Bean and iWork instead of Office. I know iWork is a bit bloated, but its integration with iLife and lower price give it some clear advantages. I’m beginning to question each application and document I put on my hard drive. Like any diet, the trouble isn’t losing the weight, it’s keeping it off.
Matt Cronin is middle school educator and technology coordinator at a small middle school in Marblehead, Massachusetts. He enjoys breaking things, tearing them apart, and putting them back together again. In his spare time he also finds joy in making square pegs fit into round holes. His geekiness is only limited by vagaries of his attention span. Chronobits.com will serve to contain his ramblings on education, technology, and whatever else may be lingering in his grey matter. Contact me via Twitter or Email - jmpcronin@gmail.com
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