Getting just a wee bit too close to technology

Hand on heart, I don’t give a damn about technology. If you know me above a minute, you think I do because I’m dripping with Apple gear and I talk a lot about how great certain software tools are for my work. But if you are technology-minded and you know me above 90 seconds, you know I’m not in your league and I know nothing.

Specifically, I know nothing about gigahertz and processor speeds and for one example, I can’t follow why one Android phone is better than an iPhone because its processor runs at twice the clock speed yet when I hold them in my hand, the Android is slow as a dog and I’ve already finished what I’m working on with the iPhone.

That’s really my interest: the work. I could not have the career I do without all these tools and when something is that useful to you, when something has directly and measurably changed your working and your actual life, it’s hard not to get attached to it.

I freely admit I may have gone too far. But late last month my iMac got recalled by Apple because of some potential fault. They took it in, they fixed it, they returned it and they did all that for free – but it still meant I was without my frankly beloved iMac for about a week.

I did get two articles out of the experience, though, and actually I really like both of them. Consider this a weekend read and do have a laugh at how broken hearted I got. Here’s Living Without the iMac part 1 and Living without the iMac part 2 – it’s back over on MacNN.com.

Beaten to it: the Christmas productivity gift guide

Well, it’s really the techie or geeky Christmas gift guide. And there’s much in it that I wouldn’t have thought of, let alone picked. But if they only picked the things I would, there’d be no point telling you about them.

And them is Katie Floyd and David Sparks of MacPowerUsers. The latest edition of the podcast is their annual gift guide. They have a thing about not repeating gift recommendations from previous years and I see the point but I don’t see the point: if it’s still the best thing to buy, it’s still the best thing to buy.

Still, here are the best things to buy for Christmas according to MacPowerUsers.