Suzanne Calling

Ever since I got my first laptop in 2003, I've had a love/hate relationship with trackpads. My Thinkpad had a tiny 2/2 square and it was frustrating to get to where I was going on the screen. In short order, I bought a mouse for it, probably because I'd had one with every machine I'd owned, going back to 1991. A couple of years passed, and the want of a newer machine meant I got a newer laptop in 2005 and that HP had a much nicer trackpad. It was 3x3, and I never realized how much of a difference that would make. The next machine, (the Toshiba that GameTeen now uses) however, had a textured surface and doing schoolwork on it all day meant my index finger hurt if I used the computer too long. Then I got the Macbook Pro. I loved the multifunctionality and the smooth surface. At one point, someone suggested getting an Apple mouse, but I was firmly in the camp of 'if it isn't broken, don't fix it,' because switching to the Apple way of doing things took ...

When I started Spanish and had that Stats class I was sure I'd bomb (and I ended up with A's in both), I bought a Digital Voice Recorder.  I loved that thing, because I'd plug it into the iPod jack in my car and listen to Spanish class on my way back and forth to Tampa twice a week.  If I had questions about Stats when I was doing homework (or having one of my many study sessions with my friend, Jenn), I could refer back to the lecture and would be good to go. Alas, it was incompatible with my Mac, so I got the next model up (the Sony ICD dx412), which works with Macs.  It also go a lot of use, but especially this semester with recording audio for my Digital Video class.  As was typical, it travels everywhere with me, which is why it was in my bag the night I had a container of Friendship bread starter open up and pour on everything in there.  It got gunked up but good.  And it isn't working right. Alas, I can't find the older recorder-and I needed to...

Like four months early. My plans were to get an iMac once I finished the Master's program as my present. Mainly because all the software I use for professional purposes is Mac based and well, I have been totally assimilated by the Borg Apple-y goodness. Seems my klutzy ways kind of stepped up those plans, and here I am, typing at a computer with a 21.5" screen. It seems freaking HUGE after using laptops for the past 7 years. I've gotten used to the mouse far quicker than I expected to, the keyboard is especially nice (can I get one for my PC at work?), and the thing has SIX USB ports. Hell, I can charge every portable Apple device in the house from the thing. Down sides? I forgot to get the free after rebate printer, when I know someone who can really use it (going to call the store tomorrow and ask about that one), and I can't sit and veg in the comfy chair while I do school work. Still, I think people like me are the reason why Apple shareholders are going to ...

I ordered this case a few days before I got my iPad. As it was designed for the first gen iPads, it wasn't a perfect fit, but I was okay with that. I had plans to take a dremel to the back to make the opening for the front camera lens a little bigger and create a hole for the back camera lens. Alas, once in the case, it would. not. come. out! I tried several times and since the camera wasn't that big a deal, I didn't press the issue. Today, the iPad was in my bag when I was headed into the supermarket. Somehow, as I was exiting the car, the iPad fell about 3 feet to the ground and the case fell off. A quick glance and everything looked okay, and I was relieved. I left it in the car. Then I got home and found this: Not even a scratch or dent in the aluminum case-just the glass. Ugh! I'm thinking as much as I love my case, I'm going to replace it.

When we got our iPods, Ed and I set up separate iTunes accounts. It made sense, because while I like about 90% of the music he likes, he probably hates about 80% of the remaining stuff I listen to (he HATES 80's music, tolerates my jazz and we won't even talk about my choral music passion.) Anyway, this wasn't such a big deal, we had separate accounts and we each were happy that way. When GameTeen and Chef got their nano and ip (Chef said it was too tiny to get the whole iPod moniker), the size limitations meant their libraries were housed in my account. This worked out for quite a few years, until we got iPhones. For the most part, Ed championed the free app, and I actually started spending the money I'd placed in my iTunes account. We existed without complaint, until I bought a $15.00 app that Ed coveted. GoSkyWatch, a fantastic astronomy application that allows you to point your phone at the sky and it tells you which constellation you are looking at. Fantastic ...

Apparently, QuickTime wants to make things a little difficult. See, my lovely Mac 2.0 came loaded with QuickTime 10 (or X, depending on which nomenclature you're looking through). There is a QuickTime 7 Pro, but since it's an earlier version, you cannot upgrade 10 with 7 Pro. This begins some fun and I'm sharing it here in case others are googling "QuickTime Pro 7 Installation" or "QuickTime X to Quicktime Pro" and wondering what the deal with this install is all about. So, if you're like me and paid 30 bucks for your QuickTime Pro 7, only to find it doesn't install. First, go to the Apple website , then select the OS you have (in my case, 10.6.8). Download that version of QuickTime 7. That version will not show up in your home row. No, you'll find it in your applications menu, in the Utilities folder. Click on the Quicktime icon to launch it. Next, go into the QuickTime pull down menu at the top left of your screen and the third item dow...

One of my major frustrations with Facebook, is that there is no way to contact them directly. When I had the annoyance of my house listed as a location, there was only a report box, and no listing of department emails or live chat or even a way to Tweet them. (OTOH, I had a Twitter question, posted an @Twitter on their feed and had an answer in 20 minutes.) Yeah, so that lack of direct contact is annoying, but most of the time, it's not a big deal. The latest dislike, the one you may not have noticed is that in the last two weeks, is that every post you make, or picture you place on your wall now has a location on it. Last week, I posted a picture of my new chair, and it took four tries and about twenty minutes on my phone and computer to finally post a picture that didn't have that 'near Tampa' when I was at school or 'near mytown' when I was at home. I hadn't even noticed it until my ex-husband's sister posted on my wall and sent me a message to ...

I ordered my phone last Friday and was told I'd definitely have it today. I do, but not without a bunch of questions. See, I was at the AT&T store at 8:10 am, made my purchase and the salesperson told me it'd be shipped directly to my house job (which is why I went to the store, instead of ordering it online. Hassle free, right? I am an avowed package stalker. I want to know exactly where my stuff is and when I can't, well, I get antsy. So, starting on Tuesday, I went onto the AT&T site, where there was no record of my order, by phone number, by receipt number, by zip code, nada. I called 611, and I was told they don't have the records, I have to call the store. The receipt gave a website, but when I entered my TWO digit order number, it obviously thought I was on crack and said "call customer service." So, yesterday, after hearing of people checking their status and even someone getting one in hand, I called the AT&T store and was told ...

Before Ed and I started dating, he earned the moniker "Mr. Incompatible." Most of our friends got VHS camcorder, he bought an 8mm. We all bought PCs (286s and 386s), he bought a Mac(LC II). It took a long time to realize that he had the right idea. Quite a few years later, a group of my online friends (YaYa sisters) started getting iPods about a year after they'd come out. The more my friends talked of their iPods, it sounded like a really cool device. I wanted one, the idea of putting many of my CDs onto one portable device just seemed like a great way to kick my butt into gear on exercising again. That Christmas, Ed bought me one. While most of my friends had Nanos, Ed got me the a big one, 30 gigs. A few months later, he confessed that he was convinced I would grow bored of this gadget and I'd proved him wrong, because my iPod went everywhere with me. After my hard drive on my HP crashed (probably from the flash MahJongg game), I even bought MahJongg and ...

FaceTime. When the commercials came on last year for the iPhone 4 and the 'cool new app,' I wanted to gag. The wife, obviously in the bathroom, Face timing her husband about that 'project we've been working on' and getting this goofy look on her face? She does all but show him the HPT in the commercial. We had some fun around here picking on the cheesiness of the commercial. Apparently, we weren't alone in thinking they were lame, because You Tube is filled with parodies that are a little more risqué than I'd prefer to post. I didn't realize it at the time, but MacBook 1.0 (a/k/a Mi Manzana) was outfitted with the program, as was MacBook 2.0. At work, many of the staffers were given iPads a few weeks ago. As a contractor, I didn't get one, but I have Apple savvy that my coworkers have called upon a lot since the devices were distributed. A few days ago, my boss calls me and asked if I had my laptop with me, then if it had the app. Yes to on...

I only touched on it briefly back in March, the experience of Mi Manzana (MacBookPro 1.0) having a taste of Riesling and rejecting it. Seriously rejecting it. I tried various tactics of drying it out, such as paper towels in a closed laptop that was stored upside down, then standing it on its end, and taking the cover off of it. Despite being quick in trying to get the liquid out, it did not work. About a month ago, I tried turning it on and there were signs of life, and it quickly died again. Troubleshooting and noticing that the machine does get power when plugged in, I thought that perhaps it'd need a new battery. However, I got liquid in it. My Applecare warranty doesn't cover damage of this type. So I didn't take it to the Genius bar, because I really didn't have the funds at the time to fix it (online searching brought up repair costs of at least $350.) Reports I'd read suggested keeping the mouth zipped on the source of the problem. That didn'...