Digital Woes and Questions
I've spent the bulk of today writing and I feel so good. Part of it is because I began the day by actually getting a start on my resume. I dug out the laptop and searched all the external drives but couldn't find the last version of it. Since the laptop was out, I started up Word and began to type the thing up. I've been working solely off of the iPad and a wireless keyboard for about two months so it was SHOCKING to me how slow my computer is. I tried to reply to an email on Gmail and the lag from my typing was so bad I had finished a paragraph and the email had only finished the second line. I watched the computer ghost type the last three sentences, saved the draft, and then opened the iPad to finish because it was so brutal.
I don't think I want to invest in a new laptop, but I also don't like the way any word processing program works on the iPad. Currently I'm just using Notes on the iPad. I've tried CloudOn and am not fond of that either. So here I am stuck in this weird cycle of using LJ, Gmail, and Notes on the iPad to do all of my work. Oh, Google Drive as well. That's ok, but it doesn't have the Excel stuff I need or the word processing tools I want. I don't know if there's anything that is going to work and give me all the stuff I need without actually opening the laptop and using Word. Blah on that, though, because the laptop is so damn slow. Literally the only thing it is is a very expensive typewriter with some nifty features like spell check. It's also excellent at holding down papers on windy days.
So I'm sort of stuck. I do know that whatever I do, I need to find some way to back my stuff up that's not online. I mean it's great to have the stuff on LJ and on Gmail, but I am sort of crazy about keeping copies of my stuff myself. As witnessed by my three external hard drives that were searched for my resume today. I gave some serious thought to organizing the drives because they're a mess of digital debris and have no organization at all. It makes me crazy just to think about it. I decided not to start today because there were so many other things to do. I just want a neat, concise way of keeping my files in order without all this extraneous hardware and yet I know that for me to be happy with it, I'm going to need to sit down with these beasts and deal with them. One's half a TB, another is 80G and the third is actually the old processor from my first iMac that I built myself. Don't know the memory capability of it, but I couldn't get rid of that one because it's sentimental. I know... sentimental hard drive. It's absurd. Regardless, the chunky thing is probably going to end up in the same box as my old Nintendo and Sega Genesis.
I have a capsule for my iPad, totally nice, self-contained. I loved it. Simple to use with an attached keyboard. You might be thinking... but you said you were using a wireless keyboard. I am. I have this totally ghetto setup with a wireless keyboard sitting on top of the capsule's keyboard because I broke off the charger in the back of the capsule. So now all the thing is just a really expensive iPad holder. I don't like having to schlep all this stuff around when I take it out, plus it's really heavy. I need to find something lighter, with a keyboard included, but also sturdy because I'm terribly clumsy sometimes, especially when I'm in my own head. So if you have any suggestions on nice capsules for iPads with a good keyboard, let me know. Right now I'm working on an iHome wireless keyboard and it's pretty decent. Sometimes it sticks, but I just realized today that that has nothing to do with the typing or the bluetooth and everything to do with low batteries. D'oh! I changed them out and I haven't had any of the problems I was having and getting so annoyed over. I'm considering just making myself something out of found materials. I've seen cool iPad cases made out of composition notebooks and hollowed out books. Maybe I can figure out some way to incorporate the keyboard in one of those. Hmmmmmm must google.
I don't think I want to invest in a new laptop, but I also don't like the way any word processing program works on the iPad. Currently I'm just using Notes on the iPad. I've tried CloudOn and am not fond of that either. So here I am stuck in this weird cycle of using LJ, Gmail, and Notes on the iPad to do all of my work. Oh, Google Drive as well. That's ok, but it doesn't have the Excel stuff I need or the word processing tools I want. I don't know if there's anything that is going to work and give me all the stuff I need without actually opening the laptop and using Word. Blah on that, though, because the laptop is so damn slow. Literally the only thing it is is a very expensive typewriter with some nifty features like spell check. It's also excellent at holding down papers on windy days.
So I'm sort of stuck. I do know that whatever I do, I need to find some way to back my stuff up that's not online. I mean it's great to have the stuff on LJ and on Gmail, but I am sort of crazy about keeping copies of my stuff myself. As witnessed by my three external hard drives that were searched for my resume today. I gave some serious thought to organizing the drives because they're a mess of digital debris and have no organization at all. It makes me crazy just to think about it. I decided not to start today because there were so many other things to do. I just want a neat, concise way of keeping my files in order without all this extraneous hardware and yet I know that for me to be happy with it, I'm going to need to sit down with these beasts and deal with them. One's half a TB, another is 80G and the third is actually the old processor from my first iMac that I built myself. Don't know the memory capability of it, but I couldn't get rid of that one because it's sentimental. I know... sentimental hard drive. It's absurd. Regardless, the chunky thing is probably going to end up in the same box as my old Nintendo and Sega Genesis.
I have a capsule for my iPad, totally nice, self-contained. I loved it. Simple to use with an attached keyboard. You might be thinking... but you said you were using a wireless keyboard. I am. I have this totally ghetto setup with a wireless keyboard sitting on top of the capsule's keyboard because I broke off the charger in the back of the capsule. So now all the thing is just a really expensive iPad holder. I don't like having to schlep all this stuff around when I take it out, plus it's really heavy. I need to find something lighter, with a keyboard included, but also sturdy because I'm terribly clumsy sometimes, especially when I'm in my own head. So if you have any suggestions on nice capsules for iPads with a good keyboard, let me know. Right now I'm working on an iHome wireless keyboard and it's pretty decent. Sometimes it sticks, but I just realized today that that has nothing to do with the typing or the bluetooth and everything to do with low batteries. D'oh! I changed them out and I haven't had any of the problems I was having and getting so annoyed over. I'm considering just making myself something out of found materials. I've seen cool iPad cases made out of composition notebooks and hollowed out books. Maybe I can figure out some way to incorporate the keyboard in one of those. Hmmmmmm must google.