Thord D. Hedengren

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Tag: MacBook Pro

  • New iPad Pros

    Apple announced new iPad Pro models, with a new and really cool keyboard to boot, yesterday. Yes, I ordered one, because now that I’m lugging around a 16″ MacBook Pro, the 12.9″ iPad Pro is a bit much – they overlap for me – so I got the 11″ model. That is the only reason I’m opening my wallet this time, because my current iPad Pro isn’t breaking a sweat in my workflow. Size is important though, and this lets me go back to smaller bags when I’m not carrying the whole damn office with me.

    I’m looking forward to a smaller device again, both for reading and writing in coffee shops (when the damn COVID-19 thing has blown over, that is). Less so for designing, screen real-estate is key there, but that happens on my MacBook Pro too, which offers even more pixels to push. I think the only time I’ll miss the big screen is when reading comics, and watching something in bed.

    (I won’t comment on mouse support until I’ve tried it. It does look pretty clever though.)

    Apple also announced an upgraded MacBook Air, which looks great. I’d be all over that a decade ago.

  • Five things (March 2nd, 2018)

    Five things (March 2nd, 2018)

    I haven’t done one of these things in a while. Since I’m home sick today, I figured it might be fitting to stick to the lighter side of things.

    Here are five things, in no particular order, that’s been on my radar recently.

    • I’m testing the Kronaby smartwatch at the moment. It’s a Swedish product, resembling a traditional watch more than anything you’d see from the tech giants. No LCD screen or anything, just a mechanical watch with smartwatch features. Intriguing.
    • I’m finally reading I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen, the autobiography by Sylvie Simmons from 2012. It’s interesting and dense, full with anecdotes and quotes from people who, supposedly, were there. It doesn’t have his last few years though. You should check it out if you’re a Cohen fan.
    • Jamstik is a bluetooth guitar controller thingie with corresponding apps to help you learn (or re-learn, as it were) to play. It’s plasticky and small for a big guy like me, but I like it and play it every now and then when I’m in Stockholm.
    • My 15″ MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is getting a lot more use than I’ve planned. I’m in production at the moment, and I do appreciate both the larger screen (coming from the 12″ MacBook) and the keyboard. And yes, I like the Touch Bar, embrace it!
    • Alto’s Odyssey is an enjoyable sequel to Alto’s Adventure, the snowboarding game. Desert sand has replaced snow, and this time the game evolves s bit the more you play. Don’t fool yourself though, this is just more of the same, which is good enough for me in small doses.

    Got something you really think I should check out? I don’t care if it’s a book, a TV show, an app, or a gadget. Let me know on Twitter, because everyone needs more stuff in their lives… Or at least, better stuff. Yeah, that’s the one.

  • Predictions for Apple's October event

    Predictions for Apple's October event

    There’ll be an Apple event on October 16, and it’ll be livestreamed for all to see. The previous event, announcing the iPhone 6 models and showing off the Apple Watch, was a major fuckup for most viewers, so Apple’ll want to get this one right.

    The tagline, “It’s been way too long”, hints at a new iMac, I think. The fact that Apple’s using the rainbow colors makes me think there’ll be color variations of the new iMac yet again. All speculation of course. I’d also expect a Mac mini, but I don’t think there’ll be anything particularly interesting in terms of design there, just a bump and possibly some minor tweaks.

    (more…)

  • My Screens

    My Screens

    Screens are interesting. I’ve got a lot of screens that I interact with. It’s obviously the actual device behind the screen that makes a difference, but I’s still fascinated by screens.

    I’ve got a HDTV (several, in fact). I watch and play stuff on it, but other than that it’s not much of an interaction.

    There’s the retina MacBook Pro too. This screen is gorgeous, a truly impressive piece of technology right there. Having switched to retina iOS devices a long time ago, I now have a hard time using an operating system on a non-retina screen, or equivalent. I love the retina MacBook Pro screen, and I can’t wait to see it on other devices.

    (more…)

  • The MacBook Air, redux

    I have owned three MacBook Air models. Luckily I skipped out on the first one, which had serious issues with heat and sudden crashes. The minor update that led to the second MacBook Air was the first one I got, and then it struck me. This is the perfect typewriter, way beyond any laptop I had ever owned, and those are numerous I can tell you that.

    I loved that Air, all its 1,6 GHz of low voltage processing power, the touchpad and even its awkward two buttons, the whole package. It was underpowered with its 2 GB of RAM and the 4200 rpm hard drive, combined with heating issues that firmware updates and some sensible usage sorted out for me personally. Still, best typewriter ever, thanks to its wonderful keyboard and the form factor. Love it. (more…)

  • The wonderful Mac App Store

    Last night I finally switched my old hard drive in the MacBook Pro, to the new SSD from OCZ (the Vertex 3, 240 GB if you’re curious). The move is long overdue, but I haven’t had time up until now. And you know what, while my pretty pimped workstation was fast to begin with, adding an SSD drive has made it lightning fast. Of course, this being a fresh Snow Leopard install might help.

    One thing the experience have taught me is how wonderful the Mac App Store is. I knew that already of course, but it truly shines when you’re on a new machine. While I can copy-paste most apps from my old hard drive to the new one (using a Deltaco encasing with USB that cost me about €9/$11), just getting them from the Purchased tab in the Mac App Store is so convenient.

    In fact, it is so bloody nice that I’ve re-purchased a bunch of apps I already own licenses to, from the Mac App Store, just to get them there.

    If all goes to plan, the home computer (a 27″ iMac) will arrive next week. Thanks to the wonders of Dropbox (aff link), syncing apps, and the Mac App Store, I don’t dread setting that up one bit. Well, except for the Windows BootCamp partition, but that’s an entirely different beast.

  • Getting productive with change of scenery

    I’ve been told I’m crazy, in the “you’re stupid doing all that” way. You see I’m not only addicted to words, I’m also addicted to projects. I love firing up something new, I get ideas and jot them down, revisit and suddenly I find myself building something.

    You might say I’m a doer.

    But that doesn’t mean I don’t hit walls, getting bogged down with what is commonly referred to as writer’s block (I’ll save my thoughts on that for another post), and just get the feeling that I don’t want to do what’s necessary. A ton of projects will do that to you, it’s a mental battle.

    A change of scenery will help. I’ve been meaning to get Notes Blog ready for the public beta for two weeks, but I just haven’t been able to pull myself together to actually do it.

    Today I am. In five minutes time I’ll have a Talisker single malt by my side and I’ll be watching the 17″ Macbook Pro fire up, leaving the Air for the first time in a long time. The change of scenery is my tool – which Macbook I’m working on – this time around.

    But it helps. Change is good.

  • Min nya arbetsstation

    I ett steg mot ett annat sorts liv så byter jag arbetsverktyg. Från en stationär Mac Pro med trippla skärmar och ordentlig arbetsplats där jag spenderar mer eller mindre all min tid för närvarande (skriver gör jag dock fortfarande på min skrivmaskin), till en släpbar laptop. (more…)

  • Mer porr i TV, Facebook dominerar, kändisfajt och Vassa Eggens konsultbolag

    Lite länkar till morgonkaffet kanske? Ja, varför inte – något skall ni väl göra medan jag kollar RSS-läsaren och vaknar, eller hur? (more…)

  • MacBook Pro uppgraderad – ny iMac nästa vecka?

    iMacApple har uppgraderat MacBook Pro – köper du en nu så får du mer gröt för (typ) samma peng i sedvanlig Apple-stil. Jag är inte intresserad av den, är väldigt nöjd med min MacBook på 13 tum, det är max för en laptop enligt mig. Min förra, en Acer Travelmate, var bara 12 tum, men inte widescreen, så den här är smidigare ändå.

    Den 11 juni, alltså på måndag nästa vecka, börjar WWDC. Det har ryktats om nyheter – jag gissar på att vi får se och höra om (mer eller mindre) nya iMac-modeller på tisdagen. Apple verkar ha tisdagsfetisch, det är deras utannonseringsdag. Jag har avvaktat att införskaffa en 24-tummare i iMac-serien eftersom den inte uppgraderats på så länge, visst är det dags nu Apple? Visst är det?