Comedy is me sitting at the old PC and trying to use it. It seems I have properly adapted to the Mac world and to having a computer that works when you use it, and now I am incapable of doing the simplest thing on the old computer. My heavens, that thing sucks. It sucks worse than I thought it did. I had just grown accustomed to it sucking. I’m not kidding, my old PC SUCKS!
The iMac, on the other hand, is pure heaven to work on. :)
I had planned to keep the old PC around, near the desk, to be used as a web cam server and so I wouldn’t have to give up those few programs that have no Mac equivalent. I have changed my mind. I now want to get my data off that computer as quickly as possible and put the thing somewhere I don’t have to look at it … at least for a while. It will make a great server for my web cam, but right now, I just don’t want to deal with it at all anymore. Maybe after I get around to wiping the hard drives and reinstalling Windows it’s performance will allow me to tolerate it for that purpose, but as much as I a going to miss some of my Windows only graphics applications, I have decided I can get over it. Eventually I will find cool little Apple graphics programs that I love just as much, if not more.
I am repeating my mantra: change is good … change is good.
One thing I have realized through all of this turmoil is that my ideas about computer usage have been largely dictated by having a crappy computer. One of my rules has always been … no games on the computer. I’m not talking about stuff like solitaire or chess or other silly little games. I mean hardcore games the likes of which I play on the PS2. What a silly rule, but I know where it came from. Games have never been fun on my old computer due to it being slow and cranky. Now that I have a new speedy computer, I am wanting to play games on it, because I can. Another one of my rules was radios and stereos are for music, and computers are not. Also silly, but once again, a rule brought on by the crankiness of my old PC. It never did audio well, and eventually it stopped doing it altogether (unless I wanted to reboot the thing every 30 minutes). I also said many times that my life and my computer should never be so intertwined that if something happened to the computer I would be lost without it. I’m rethinking that one as well. There’s really no reason I shouldn’t have all my recipes, knitting patterns and other personal reference materials on my computer instead of paper. I’m going to start merging my existence with my computer … for better or worse.
Change is good. Change is good.
Lin is playing Resident Evil 4, so I am puttering around the house and transferring files from one computer to the other. I got tired of working on the music files, and have started in on the photos. I’m not even making an attempt to organize them as I go. I’m just transferring them and burning them to CDs. Then I can deal with them at my leisure and pull out the keepers. The other day when I spent all day sitting here working with all these files, I got really burnt out on doing it. It’s something I am just going to have to do in bits and pieces when I feel like it. Right now, I don’t feel like it at all. I want to work on new things, not waddle around in the past. Onward and upward, right? :)
I’m hoping to convince Lin we need to go to Comp USA this weekend to look at software (and tablets). I have come to the firm conclusion that getting a Wacom tablet of some sort is the first thing that needs to happen. It comes with older versions of both Photoshop Elements and Painter Essentials, and that should keep me content on the graphics creation for a while. Economically, this makes a lot of sense. As Lin said the other day, when I was telling his what all I needed/wanted … we could spend $1000 on software, and there would still be things I needed/wanted. We can’t spend that much right now or all at once. The tablet and it’s bundled software would be a good start and enable me to do the things I need to do … like work with photos, create web designs, and get a little artistically creative. What I decide I need and want may change with time anyway. I’m essentially starting my computer life all over again. It feels weird, but I think only good things will come of it all if I am patient and remain calm. :lol:
Change is good. Change is good.
I’m going to go watch Lin play his game for a while. I am trying not to spend too much time sitting at the computer desk this weekend. Lin and I haven’t seen much of each other the last two weeks thanks to his busy schedule and my being excited about getting My Precious. I think I need to drag him away from the TV for a while, if you know what I mean. ;)