Of course my MacBook is just the coolest machine ever.
But I'm having trouble with a few things. Not the MacBook's fault of course. Mine. And the world's.
My top 10 computer change over issues
1. The delete key is where I'm used to having a backspace key. It's killing me!
2. The plugs. I need to buy an adaptor thingy before I can hook my mac up to a projector or anything else.
3. Ed Qld can't deal with Macs. Not sure what to do about this. The tech support girl at school didn't have a clue. I want to be able to use the smart boards. I want to be able to use the internet from this computer at work. Tricky with a non EdQld computer. Unheard of with a mac. [Today I was given a school laptop. I tried to download itunes. (Necessary for a music teacher.) The computer/internet connection tried for an hour then gave up. Good times ahead.]
4. I'm halfway through copying my music library over. Oh man. Long process. I haven't even started moving everything else yet.
5. I have a long list of blogs I occasionally check. Haven't moved these over yet. Not sure if there would be an easy way...
6. I'm missing CorelDraw already. If I can't live without it, I'll put windows on here and run it through that. But that seems to be defeating the purpose...
7. I don't know where my files are going. I know I'm saving them, but don't have a sense of where things are. Feel like I'm just chucking everything in a big drawer. I know I'll work this out soon, but I miss my old system.
8. I'm still getting used to the touchpad. Right click isn't so easy to do... but I'm told there are key combinations and stuff that make things really fast.
9. I am a little nervous that someone might steal it at work. Not really nervous. Just a bit. There are 260 computers at school (mostly laptops) and no one takes them. But no one would want to.
10. Deep down inside I question whether I am cool enough to have a mac. Am I worthy of it? Down doubts! I have a mac. I must be hip.
I hear you on 7. Whenever I need to find something during the day I have to ring Chris at work to ask where it is. That's slightly inconvenient so I am going to have to find a new strategy like working it out by myself. I'm sure it's not as hard as I think it is.
ReplyDeleteRe 10. I still feel like an outsider-ish geek. But maybe I should embrace my new cool identity?
Re. #3 - EQ tech support people will always hate Macs because EQ stuff is not developed with them in mind, so as you have found out, trying to get stuff to work with a Mac will always take them hours more work (which they will feel is a waste of time if it is all for just 1 teacher who wants to use a mac).
ReplyDeleteAlso Mac or non-mac - welcome to the world of EQ internet service. Their servers are never big enough to really cope with the amount of internet traffic that the school produces during normal school hours. I used to find if I wanted to do anything big (like download itunes), I had to do it before 8am in the morning (I used to get to school at 7.30am) or give up for the rest of the day (unless you want to hang around at school until 5pm!).
And #9 is a real possibility. I was definitely lock it in a cupboard or drawer during break times (unless you are in the room). At the EQ school I used to work at (typical middle class demographic), outsiders broke into classrooms during daylight hours to steal computers. But not just that, some of the students would sometimes steal the RAM from inside the computer (ie. not obvious to tell anything is missing - computer just stops working - but is valuable either for the kid to upgrade their own computer for free, or for them to sell on ebay)
Ok...
ReplyDelete1. The delete key is where I'm used to having a backspace key. It's killing me!
A. In Mac laptop land Delete = backspace. To get "Delete" functionality, press fn + delete
2. The plugs. I need to buy an adaptor thingy before I can hook my mac up to a projector or anything else.
A. Like I said at church today, you need a mini-DVI to VGA connector for the projector. Anything else made in the last 5 years should just work, unless its something dodgey and non-standards compliant.
3. Ed Qld can't deal with Macs. Not sure what to do about this. The tech support girl at school didn't have a clue. I want to be able to use the smart boards. I want to be able to use the internet from this computer at work. Tricky with a non EdQld computer. Unheard of with a mac. [Today I was given a school laptop. I tried to download itunes. (Necessary for a music teacher.) The computer/internet connection tried for an hour then gave up. Good times ahead.]
A. Where to start with this one...
EQ, as an organisation, has been trying to ignore macs for years, but the Mac guy in EQ is very good and won't let it die. There are about 35k Macs in EQ, and about 350k windows boxes, so that gives you an idea of the priorities. Don't bother with the smart-board, its not worth the effort, just use the projector. Don't try to use the internet at school- its against policy, and its not worth the effort. Get a data plan for your iPhone, claim it on tax and run the internet through there the way I did today through my Nokia. That way you'll be able to look at whatever you want at much higher speeds. Don't ever try to download applications through school internet. Your children will be old by the time you get anything. Keep your school laptop for accessing the G:\ and school intranet (if there is one).
Pt. 2
ReplyDelete4. I'm halfway through copying my music library over. Oh man. Long process. I haven't even started moving everything else yet.
A. How are you doing it? There are reasonably fast ways to do it.
5. I have a long list of blogs I occasionally check. Haven't moved these over yet. Not sure if there would be an easy way...
A. Are they saved in your browser favourites? If so, you can export them to a small file, copy them over and import into your new browser
6. I'm missing CorelDraw already. If I can't live without it, I'll put windows on here and run it through that. But that seems to be defeating the purpose...
A. What functionality do you need? There are several applications for mac that do the sane thing. Some of them are free. Failing that, you can run Windows as an application on your mac (through virtualisation) or dual boot via BootCamp. If you want to use BootCamp, you'll have to do it soon, because if you fill up your HDD too much it won't be able to partition the drive for Windows. If you want to go down that road, as an DETA employee you can get Windows from Data#3 for $25. I'll fill you in offline if you're interested.
7. I don't know where my files are going. I know I'm saving them, but don't have a sense of where things are. Feel like I'm just chucking everything in a big drawer. I know I'll work this out soon, but I miss my old system.
A. Check your "Documents" folder. Go to Finder > Places > Documents. Failing that, the search functionality via spotlight is awesome. Go to the magnifying glass on the top left hand side of the screen and type in either part of the file name or something from the document its self. Spotlight (the search engine) indexes document content and metadata.
8. I'm still getting used to the touchpad. Right click isn't so easy to do... but I'm told there are key combinations and stuff that make things really fast.
A. http://guides.macrumors.com/Keyboard_shortcuts
9. I am a little nervous that someone might steal it at work. Not really nervous. Just a bit. There are 260 computers at school (mostly laptops) and no one takes them. But no one would want to.
A. Mel nailed it. If it gets pinched, you're on you own. Lock your screen when you leave it too.
10. Deep down inside I question whether I am cool enough to have a mac. Am I worthy of it? Down doubts! I have a mac. I must be hip.
A. Owning a Mac makes you cool- Just ask Steve Jobs.
Pt. 2
ReplyDelete4. I'm halfway through copying my music library over. Oh man. Long process. I haven't even started moving everything else yet.
A. How are you doing it? There are reasonably fast ways to do it.
5. I have a long list of blogs I occasionally check. Haven't moved these over yet. Not sure if there would be an easy way...
A. Are they saved in your browser favourites? If so, you can export them to a small file, copy them over and import into your new browser
6. I'm missing CorelDraw already. If I can't live without it, I'll put windows on here and run it through that. But that seems to be defeating the purpose...
A. What functionality do you need? There are several applications for mac that do the sane thing. Some of them are free. Failing that, you can run Windows as an application on your mac (through virtualisation) or dual boot via BootCamp. If you want to use BootCamp, you'll have to do it soon, because if you fill up your HDD too much it won't be able to partition the drive for Windows. If you want to go down that road, as an DETA employee you can get Windows from Data#3 for $25. I'll fill you in offline if you're interested.
7. I don't know where my files are going. I know I'm saving them, but don't have a sense of where things are. Feel like I'm just chucking everything in a big drawer. I know I'll work this out soon, but I miss my old system.
A. Check your "Documents" folder. Go to Finder > Places > Documents. Failing that, the search functionality via spotlight is awesome. Go to the magnifying glass on the top left hand side of the screen and type in either part of the file name or something from the document its self. Spotlight (the search engine) indexes document content and metadata.
8. I'm still getting used to the touchpad. Right click isn't so easy to do... but I'm told there are key combinations and stuff that make things really fast.
A. http://guides.macrumors.com/Keyboard_shortcuts
9. I am a little nervous that someone might steal it at work. Not really nervous. Just a bit. There are 260 computers at school (mostly laptops) and no one takes them. But no one would want to.
A. Mel nailed it. If it gets pinched, you're on you own. Lock your screen when you leave it too.
10. Deep down inside I question whether I am cool enough to have a mac. Am I worthy of it? Down doubts! I have a mac. I must be hip.
A. Owning a Mac makes you cool- Just ask Steve Jobs.
Richard, that is all very helpful. Thanks. We'll talk some more.
ReplyDelete