Nick Matthews

iMac - My First Week

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 21:07:19 -0500

After nearly 4 years with a Macbook, I finally decided that it was time to get a new computer. I was really wanting something to be the base station for all my stuff. I was wanting to get away from a laptop so I decided to get a 27 inch iMac. I own an 32GB iPhone and a 32GB Wi-Fi iPad so I have mobile items capable of handling anything that I may need. Now all I had to do was find a solid setup without going too crazy on the price.

I got the 3.4 core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM (upgrading soon because I didn’t want to pay for Apple BTO prices), 1TB + 256GB SSD (SSD has OSX loaded on it), and 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics processor.

The first thing that was very noticeable was the size of this machine. It comes in at over 30 pounds and over 2 feet wide. This thing is a monster! It will take over any desk that you put it on. You will also notice the sheer size of the screen when you start up the OS. The screen will take immerse you into what task you are doing because there is nothing to distract you except for what is on the screen. My personal favorite feature is the SSD with OSX loaded on it. It boots up almost instantly and is ready to use in a matter of seconds. The SSD will take the brunt of your wallet but the investment is WORTH IT.

The main problem I ran into almost instantly was having the HDD and the SSD work together in harmony. I did not want all of my media loaded up on the SSD because I didn’t need to bog it down already. The problem was iTunes puts all my media on the SSD by default, so I had to learn how to consolidate my media and move it to the HDD.

I actually thought that not having a portable computer would be a problem but it has not been a problem once. I kind of like the fact that I can’t take the computer with me. It makes my office the place where work gets done again, instead of having the temptation of going to the coffee shop anytime.

Finally, the iMac is leaps and bounds the best computer I’ve ever owned. It’s fast (geez is it fast), it’s quiet, it’s immersive, and it’s simple. The only wire that is permanent is the power cord. It makes me want to completely clean my desk and just enjoy it for what it is…beautiful.

New Ideas

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:18:39 -0500

It’s been a long time since the site has been updated. I think its time for an overhaul. There’s really been no specific focus to the site…it’s been more of a whatever I feel like at the time. One thing I really want to focus on is technology. Keep things practical and straight forward.

So look out for new look and feel soon…

Why the iPad 2 is not for me

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 20:43:28 -0500

As we’ve all seen the iPad 2 is selling like crazy. No no, I mean CRAZY. I think this is a bigger deal than the first iPad and I was apart of the crazy last year. I remember arriving at the Apple store last year around 6:30am and still being about 50 to 80 deep in line. By 7:30am I was on my way home as one of the lucky thousands to get the iPad day one. I love my iPad!! It’s the second thing I look at in the morning (the first being my iPhone). I’ve read about 5 books on it via iBooks and I’m replacing my Macbook with an iMac to have my iPad become a bigger part in my mobile life. That being said, I feel like I could kind of care less about the iPad 2.

I’m not saying go buy one, I highly recommend them and wish everyone tried out an iPad!

The things I do care about when updating the iPad are the CPU and the GPU. I think it’s crazy that duel core processors are making it into mobile devices. Just think about something that’s as thin as a pencil having the same processing power of most laptops these days. It blows my mind. It puts my IBM Aptiva (my first computer ever) to shame. Also the GPU update is pretty cool. Apple claims to improved the GPU up to 9x. You can even edit video on your iPad. It wouldn’t surprise to see a version of Final Cut in the next couple years. The games are also starting to compete with console games in some ways. The CPU and GPU are huge updates that gets me tempted but not completely sold.

When I first saw the keynote announcing the iPad the big things they boasted, besides the CPU and GPU, were the cameras, the new design, and smart cover. I think we all saw the cameras coming. I totally see the benefit in having this on the iPad because this may be the first apple product in the home and you want to be able to facetime with family members who have every Apple product (like me). I have a Macbook and an iPhone 4, which can both facetime and take photos and videos…so I’m good there.

The new design is crazy thin. Apple basically cut of the flat part from the first iPad and left the rounded back. The new design is really nice but my iPad one is perfect the way it was. I was a little surprised by the new design but if you remember the iPhone 3G was a new design change from the first iPhone. I’m still impressed with the thinness of my iPad.

The smart cover is really interesting because all it is the evolution from the Apple iPad case. I really liked the case but I always was nervous to show it in public because I felt I was ousting myself as having an iPad and increasing my chance of getting punched in the face for my iPad. I don’t need to be punched in the face for my iPad so I bought a Dodo case. I think is will kind of offer the same problem. The biggest problem I have with the smart cover is the price: $40 for the polyurethane and $70 for the leather!! For a cover!! A COVER???!!!! If you drop it, it really won’t protect your iPad so you better get Apple care or a descent case that will handle a few drops.

Like I said before I think you should totally buy an iPad 2 if you want one…you just won’t see me in line for one.