I was getting bogged down with work that I’m not even supposed to be doing in the office, so I moved myself away from the other employees. Yes those are all my computers.
Don’t call me a nerd or I’ll kick your ass…online.
I’ve been an Apple user for a long time now. I’m not one of those people that was using a IIe. I’m not even one of those people that were using the first iMacs that looked like rainbows threw up on them, but I am one of those Apple users that had a Mac before everyone and their mother had one.
My first Mac was the Titanium PowerBook. OS X hadn’t even been released yet and OS 9 was terrible! The processors were PowerPC processors. They were slow and ran hot. All the good games were written for Windows back then too. Still, when people saw me sitting on campus with that bad boy, it drew stares especially from the ladies.
Apple products have come a long way. They are leaps and bounds better than when I first started out with them. Still there’s part of me that longs to be a part of that club that wasn’t all that cool but it was special. Now you can’t step foot into a coffee shop without seeing a few glowing apples.
Maybe I’ll get a Dell. No one has one of those.
Gas stations are busy paying to fix these things.
Seriously, Microsoft? You can’t even get the displays on the gas stations to work properly. What kind of curve balls are thrown your way on this device? There isn’t even any user input on these things.
To make a long story short, I broke my computer. It’s fixable, but I don’t have the software tools at my disposal right now to do the work. So what am I writing this post on then? I have my MacBook set up so I can boot into Windows for work, but for all my design tasks for work and my personal computer use, I boot back into Mac OS X. So pretty much I am at work without Windows. I’ve been trying frantically to borrow the disc from someone, not because I want to get back to work but because I don’t like not having my computer running in top form. Until I get my disc, I’m kicking my feet up and browsing the web.
Work is hard.
This is where I (pretend to) work. I actually have my own office now, but I haven’t moved away from this desk in the middle of the bullpen. I am a mess. Unlike the rest of the guys that have L-shaped desks and shelves in their cubicles, I resort to pulling out drawers and using the top of my computer. It’s a miracle I get anything done.
What’s your work space like?
This man is my hero. Why do I assume it’s a man? If you are seriously asking that question, perhaps you should question your understanding of current social gender roles. Take a look at the rest of his office setup. I think I should become an Internet vigilante and fight injustice from a secret hideaway like this.
I almost flunked out of college freshman year. I won’t completely blame Quake 2, because if I didn’t have that I would have found something else to do instead of going to class. Still, if I had someone to kick my ass and tell me that I was heading for trouble, I would have been much better off. Actually if they just gave me grades for playing Quake 2, I would have been excellent.
That’s what they’re doing now at UC Berkeley. They have a lot of programs, where you can create your own curriculum. Personally I believe the intentions are good, but this is bullshit. They want to create a broad spectrum, where you can learn the things that interest you and hopefully apply them to make the real world better. Instead you probably get mostly jackasses earning credits off of goof off time.
I’d love to take a class on maintaining a planted aquarium or playing the ukulele. A unicycle riding course would be awesome. They could make it a two course series and add juggling to the second class. I’m pretty sure if these were courses, I would still find something else I would rather do and fail these too.
If you have any love for things technology, you know the hottest trend in the past year has been netbooks. They’re light in every sense of the word. They are easy on the wallet, low on the processing power, and easy to carry around. Every company has come out with one. Dell, Asus, Acer, MSI, HP, Lenovo. You name it. They’ve made one.
A lot of these little netbooks come with Windows XP as an option, some with Windows as the only option. Unfortunately with as light as they are on the processor power, XP does not provide good user experience. Fortunately, there is a great alternative OS for these netbooks. Lots of documentation and support is available online on how to install Ubuntu, a very popular version of Linux, onto these netbooks. The beauty of it is that it’s 100% free.
For those of you that have made the jump to Ubuntu but don’t know where to go next, there is an awesome reference guide. You can pick it up here for free as a PDF or if you prefer, you can pick up your own hard copy on Amazon for a price that is recession friendly.
You have alternatives to Windows that aren’t Apple. Be free.
I never got into computers until late into high school, and I never had my own computer until I went to college. Since that time I have always been interested in computers and software, but I never really considered myself a huge nerd until about a week ago. I was arguing with my friend about UI and spitting out a whole lot of terms that left him scratching his head.
It finally dawned on me. I know a whole about computers.
There is one area of computer use that I have not conquered yet. Linux. I had a brief encounter with Linux in college, which involved my friend coming all the way down to UCLA from Berkeley to sleep on my (filthy) floor for a couple days and install Redhat for me. I spoofed people on ICQ for a few days and uninstalled it.
I decided to take another crack at it. I have been wanting a Netbook for a long time and I grabbed an MSI Wind. I was fortunate enough to get mine as an open box item, so it was significantly less expensive, but I could tell it was brand new when I opened and booted it.
First time booting it. Windows?! We will have to fix that.
Second time booting. Now how do I remove the Windows sticker and button?
I just opened it last night and wireless doesn’t work right off the bat with Ubuntu on this particular model, so with some guidance tonight hopefully I will get that up and running. Other than that, this computer is pretty nice. It’s got a decent response time. I just have to get used to the cramped undersized keyboard. This is going to be great on trips, whether half way around the world or just to the couch.
Hooray for new toys! I’ve got some more in the pipeline, so stay tuned while I single handedly bring our economy out of this doldrums.
This weekend thus far has been strange, kind of all over the place. There was a little bit of work involved in the process, but it’s still better than being stuck in the office. Here’s a quick photo recap thus far of the weekend.
Although work has been kicking my ass so bad that I haven’t had time to read the manual, that hasn’t stopped me from getting some time with the D90. Here is my freshwater tropical tank. The sensor on this thing is so awesome. This picture is taken without a tripod and no other lights on in the room.
Stewie arrived on Friday. Creepy, huh? I put him in the family room window to watch our naked neighbor. Yeah, I have a naked neighbor.
If you’ve ever wondered what goes on in Stewie’s head, it’s the Family Guy Total World Domination Collection. I bought this collection for $60.00! How can you beat that?
I’m sure you’ve all heard that fires are raging in California right now. I’ve been watching the news all day. Fortunately I’m in an area that is safe from the fires, but just to show you how bad it is, this is the view from my backyard. What you’re seeing on the left before the smoke clouds consume it is the beginning of the Redondo Beach. Normally the view goes all the way up the coastline to Ventura. Hopefully the fires will be contained soon and people can get back to their normal lives as soon as possible.
This is what I am currently doing. Work. Beer. Computers. That’s Michelle from michellewoo.com on the left.
This weekend is shaping up to be strange to say the least but definitely fun.
Hello, there. My name is Matt, but on this website I just refer to myself as m@. I love all things Star Wars, food, beer, and music, especially The Beatles. I'm one who likes to be noticed and will sometimes say or do inappropriate things to get your attention. I'm perfectly complimented by my online and real life partner