My Shiny New “Bestest” Buddy, The New MacBook

I consider myself a somewhat intelligent guy…after all, I have 2 engineering degrees, several US patents, do engineering consulting for a company in Virginia, worked in the Disc Drive Industry, Medical Industry, Nuclear Engineering Industry, for some 15 total years and now am in Real Estate.  So I am no knuclehead.  I have been a PC guy since I can remember.  I started out with the Radio Shack TRS80 Model III, then went to a PC somewhere in there and built my first PC in college and just kept heading down that path.  I at one time looked at Apple but found that their machines were Proprietary and expensive so I veered away.

I have 6 laptops in the house, 1 desktop, a plethora of printers and faxes, and all either running or run by Microsoft Windows XP or Vista.  That is all I know.  I have friends that have been telling me to go get a mac and I have resisted for a very long time.  But now recently, I decided that I was going to be doing some heavier than normal graphic manipulation and video creation and have always heard that the mac is the way to go…so I did some research and decided that I would take a closer look at the Mac’s.  I knew that the new Aluminum Unibody MacBooks were out and I wanted something with a smaller footprint for easy portability.  I went to the Mac store and was greeted by one of the Mac guys that call themselves Geniuses (not sure if that is true but this guy knew alot about the product).

We talked about the MacBook and he began to push me toward the MacBook Pro.  Had the MacBook Pro been a 13″ Screen, I would have probably gone that route but the MacBook with the 13″ screen seemed perfect.  As the Genius went thru the ins and outs of the machine, I started to drool…thinking “Why have I been resisting this for so long”.  The Mac OS is graceful, works without issue or confict with other applications, never seems to slow down and everything seems to perform as it was designed to.  Wow, what a concept.  A computer that runs per design.  The MacBook itself is eyecandy, all aluminum case, glass covered LED screen, crisp, beautiful, sleek.

After 5 minutes I told the Genius that he need not continue with his presentation, I was hooked and going to buy one now.  What he said next really impressed me.  He said “No problem, but let me show you a few more things”.  Not something I had ever heard at a Best Buy, or CompUSA when ever I wanted to buy something, they usually just ended there and got me the hell out of the store.  This guy wanted to show me more.  So I said “OK, do you have these in stock…yes…OK then… keep going then”.  He went for another 5 minutes or so and then ended. All the time my wife was drooling as well.

I got the MacBook 2.4GHz model with the standard 2Gig Ram (wanted to test out to see if I need more first) with the 250Gig HardDrive.  I must say, after about 4 days of using this new machine, I don’t really understand what the heck I have been doing without it.  The machine is absolutely beautiful, the keyboard- functional and easily read in the dark, runs everything ‘fantastically’ fast, interacts with my network well (having it speak to my PC on the network took alittle messing around but now they all play well together).

I must say, that although this is my first Mac, it will not be my last.  Steve, you have made a believer out of me.  First with the IPhone (I was a blackberry guy) and now the MacBook.  The way things are going, I will pack up and move to San Fransisco so I can drink coffee at some trendy coffee house just so I can show off my new shinny toy.  Move over Bill…Vista had its time, and there’s a new kid on the block, and he wears turtlenecks!

Hey Dude, I didn’t Get a Dell, I Got a MAC-Book

OK, I am a big PC guy.  Not because I love them, but that is just the path I took some many years ago (I think the price of the Apple machines were out of my range at the time).  So I have goon through many desktops, laptops, have 2 PC Windows Vista Laptops currently (both Dells although they, meaning Dell, are a pain in the butt but the machines are pretty solid).

So I want to do some more graphic intensive stuff.  Video creation and editing, photo editing, graphic design (you see where I am going with this) and I am always told, you gotta get a MAC.  Ok, so I broke down and headed off to the Apple store in Brandon Florida to check it out.  I own an Iphone so I have ventured into the Apple store before but was usually met by some stuck up Apple Knucklehead, I mean Genius, and just got what I was looking for and got out.  Well, this time was different, maybe because I was the knucklehead and they were the genius this time.  The Sales guy, Donny, was great.  He spent about 30 minutes with me and my wife showing us what the machine could do.  We were very impressed.

I pretty much knew I was going to buy one about 10 minutes into his demo.  Anyway, got the machine, the 13″ 2.4gHz version with 2Gig Ram (for a PC this would be kinda low on Ram but lets see with a mac).  First impressions…awesome.  Truly a machine that is eye candy.  It performs very well in terms of speed of accessing files, the net, etc.  Since I don’t have a great grasp on how it truly works, this will take me a week or so to get use to it.  One of the most interesting features is the new touch pad.  Different from windows laptops, and different for MAC, this laptop offers multi touch access.  You have to try it to understand it.

Anyway, as I progress with it, I will issue a new update.  But from a windows guy going to a MAC, first impressions are usually lasting…like I said, AWESOME!

Testing out the New Ping.fm service…lets see what happens

Real Estate Agents, Can Your Phone Do This…?

I am a huge advocate of merging technology with about anything I am involved with.  Nowadays, I am involved in both Real Estate and Engineering (that is another story).  Anyway, I love the IPhone if you don’t know this by now.  I find myself playing with this thing about anytime I can.  In either event, the IPhone has made it simple for Buyers and Real Estate agents to get up to the second information on just about anything real estate related.  Some of the great things that have come about is what I would consider as localization.  This is where the phone queries the gps satellites to determine where you are on the planet, grab all the listings that are available within a preselected distance and criteria, and all schools, restaurants, clubs, etc within range.  What a great way to see the much bigger picture of the neighborhood.  Many times people pick homes based on the home itself not really venturing out to see what is truly around it.

The IPhone and now the GPhone by google are changing the way people use their phones.  Basically phones with built in computers.  Our jobs continue to get better and more advanced daily.  Make sure you take advantage of it

A Break From Tampa Real Estate, Lets Talk about Food and the IPhone!

Hey, everyone has to take a break every now and then…my break is usually food.  I find that being from New England, that I speak alot about food since the food is so much better up north (sorry, but it is, and if you don’t believe me, take a trip up to Boston and you will find out what I mean).  Anyway, my new best friend on the Iphone is Urbanspoon. 

Urbanspoon is this great free program that lets you find food/restaurants in whatever area you are in.  I tried it while a short vacation in St Pete Florida and ended up finding, thru the use of the program, a great Thai Restaurant that I probably would not have tried otherwise.

I put in the type of food I was looking for, the relative cost of the meal, and it found this great little Thai place/hole in the wall.  On another note, I tired it to find an English Pub and found this great restaurant in Tampa, another one that there is no way I would have found…and it turns out to be my new favorite restaurant in Tampa.  If you are looking for good grub British style, Mad Dogs in Tampa is absolutely great.

So take a break, fire up your Iphone, and grab a beer and fish and chips, you’ll be glad you did!  It’s in the App store and it’s free!