Long post alert! 
Typical questions I get - How does a Mac connect to my TV, how does the Apple TV work (both versions), how do I wirelessly watch content from my laptop on my TV? How do I wirelessly sync my iPad (both versions), iPhone, iPod Touch to iTunes? How do I set up my wireless printer, my wireless network, my wireless TV etc etc etc…
The questions I get are getting harder and harder to answer as more and more products come out. It’s not that it’s hard for me to use these products but you have to have them or have access to them to answer many of the questions you get.
In the past, I bought many of them, because I wanted them and because it made me a better tech. Now, I don’t buy anything and the questions are coming in faster than ever. I try and be as on top of things as possible so I got both kinds of technical magazines for the PC and the Mac, or should I say I used to. I stopped them because now I have stacks of magazines dating back to the 1980’s and when I make the decision to recycle them they will all be gone. I haven’t reached that point yet however but I know I will. I hope.
Now, I read exclusively online because the content is now, not a month old or more like it is in the magazines. I couldn’t understand why I was still subscribing to them when the content was stale when they got to me. It wasn’t that often something would surprise me but it has happened a few times. Is it worth it to be surprised once in awhile to build up more and more of these things? I don’t think so.
My Mac Pro is a dual Quad Core monster with 16gigs of memory and all the goodies… well, it was a monster in September 2008. This is about the time I would replace it and Apple is considering doing away with it, why wouldn’t they, it wasn’t and isn’t worth the money they charge for it (this is a whole other post). Anyway, I’m going to keep it, as well as the last PC that I built myself in 2007, a 2.4 GHz Core 2 DUO machine with only 2 gigs of memory and a 1 gig video card. It still works perfectly, is more than adequate speed wise but it’s 5 years old and should be replaced. It’s not really worth anything or I’d sell it but since it works so well, why replace it when I don’t run anything on it that requires fast rendering speed? Funny how logic works…
My HP HDX18, great laptop, fantastic even, my MacBook Pro, bought in April of 2009, runs both Windows and OS X so explain to me why I have 2 laptops? So I sold the HP, not because the MacBook is better, trust me, it isn’t but it does run both OS’s and I need to have access to both so bye bye HP. The MacBook Pro does have one thing I love, a very crisp bright LED backlit 1920x1200 display, none of this HD resolution 1980x1080 crap, that’s for TV,s I hate that laptops & desktop displays use it now as well. 
So, how to stay on top of all this new technology without going into a BIGGER mountain of debt? I’m hoping reading (A LOT) will suffice and I know this is a bit of a long drawn out post to say so but I needed to get into it a bit, technology is getting to a point where you can’t keep up without going flat out broke or work for a company with a lab that loves to test new gear.
I have come to realize I can’t know everything and that’s ok, heck I never did get close to knowing everything so what was I thinking. I have also come to realize I don’t NEED all that new technology.
God I wish I had learned that sooner….
6 comments:
Huh?
Love Di ♥
Craig is really big on updating software as it coms out. My laptop, MacBook Pro is our newest. We have two other desktop Macs, Three printers, And a scanner.
All of which are getting old.
We do not have a smart phone. I bought Craig a Kindle last Christmas, but I read eboks on my laptop, usually using Calibre.
I wonder how much more it will cost us when we are on the road. Mifi? Smartphone? Aircard?
I use the internet constantly. I would hate to be unconnected.
The technology that makes your laptop, desktop, Ipad, etc... connect to the TV to show is called WiDI, or wireless HDMI.
Basically it uses your Wireless connection (WIFI) to stream video from your pc to TV.
However, you have to have a flat screen tv new enough to have this ability and with most you have to buy a little USB Wifi card for it (If you want complete wireless) or run a cat 6 cable from your router/switch/hub to the set (If it has wired capability).
Matt,
I know how it works, my post was about people coming to me to explain it to them. ;)
Sorry Matt, I hit publish before finishing. My problem was buying everything I supported in the past. In fact, wireless USB was one of many devices I have purchased.
If you saw my office, you'd see what I mean. I'm a technology freak and have been since 1968 when I first knocked out the power in my parents home. ;)
I have a storage closet full of old computer parts and various peripherals as well as a farm of old machines slaved together so that I can remotely task them to do one thing or another :p.
I get to play with the prototypes over at Intel as we make them.
Mac/Apple is a branding on pre-existing hardware, always has been, their secret is in marketing ;).
A Macbook = Same Intel laptop hardware that comes in a Toshiba, HP, Dell, etc....
Mac's latest OS is a Linux kernel based system, like I said, they're good at marketing and user-end applications, but they really haven't been "creating" anything cutting edge, just doing a bang up job of marketing it.
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