In a wonderful parody of the now famous Apple Switch ads, John Bender provides his story on a different kind of switch altogether. Watch it here.
Updated: I goofed on the link earlier. But it is fixed now.
Last May for my birthday, Michele gave me a Palm m515. It is a wonderful device that I use everyday. This is my third Palm, following a Palm Vx and a Palm Pilot (the original!).
It came with a USB cradle that worked for about a week. Then all I could get were messages about not being able to connect to my PC. I called Palm and they said they’d send a new USB cradle, free of charge. In the meantime I purchased a serial cradle so I could synchronize my Palm. When the new USB cradle came I put off swapping since it meant crawling around on the floor behind the desk to undo and plug in cables. Eventually I did the swap and was very disappointed that the new USB cradle wouldn’t work either. I tried the original on my wife’s PC with no success either. So I took the path of least resistance and went back to the serial cradle.
With my recent acquisition of a Powerbook G4, and my subsequent switch to it as my sole machine I needed to have a working USB cradle. So I once again tried both USB cradles and neither worked on the new machine. Other USB devices worked just fine so I was starting to suspect my Palm as the problem. When I called Palm they confirmed my theory, saying that some m515’s had a software problem that could be fixed with a reset chip they’d mail to me.
The chip came and I followed the instructions: backup the Palm to the chip, and then run the reset program it contained. This process took 8 hours, but once completed I was able to sync again, using the USB cradle on my Powerbook. Hubba hubba.
One of the cradles (I think the original) is on my desk at home and the other on my desk at work. The one at work works famously. This weekend I decided to try the one at home, only to get the same message I got last May. Phooey. And now the Palm refuses to sync using the previously ‘good’ cradle here at work. Double-phooey.
My thinking is that the original cradle is in fact damaged and it causes the OS in the Palm to not work with any cradle. At least I have the chip and can reset everything once again. This time I’ll be throwing the ‘bad’ cradle away.
Once again my job is in jeopardy. My client, the State of Illinois, is having their annual budget crisis. Even though this occurs every spring it is impossible to be emotionally prepared for its arrival. This year Illinois? first democratic governor in 30 years enhances the festivities. Although the press releases insist that a witch-hunt isn’t going to occur firings are happening daily. It is a scary place and time to work.
Last June the project to which I am contracted was canceled in the published budget. Only through some fast-talking, and a 3 million dollar loan, was our team restored. Now we are in the barrel once again. We are nearly ready to release a product that is the culmination of 4 years of work. Our pilot date is April 7th, and we are reasonable certain we will make that date. Once the application is in the hands of the end-users we hope there will be more reason to extend the project. If we don’t release on time our tenure here will almost certainly come to an end.
Given the current climate of fear here it is very hard not to sink into some emotional morass. Daily I find myself reaffirming that I need to stay positive and upbeat. At the same time I am fully aware that no one else is looking out for my best interests. The mere fact that there is no assurance from the client of continuation, even if we complete the pilot on time, tells me everything I need to know about being too trusting.
So I have started to examine my current options and I am beginning to lay the groundwork for the very few remaining options here in Springfield. Financially we would be devastated if we had to move this year. I know that I will get what I need to continue my growth, but trusting that my needs will be met without the need for lots of chaos is hard. In the past I have needed some major upheaval to grow. I think I am past the need for drama and chaos. In fact as I say this I realize that I am the one who controls how dramatic this contract renewal process plays out.
If I keep myself emotionally centered and focused on meeting my needs while addressing my fears I will be able to keep working here. Only if I give into the fear of losing this position will I be faced with the chaos and upheaval of having to move. In the past I felt that I had to talk to people and nail down every last detail in order to ensure getting what I wanted. Now I know this isn’t true. I need to let go of the need to control the situation through others or events. Rather I need focus on myself and trust that the TAO will take care of the rest. Knowing that this is the best approach and implementing it are two vastly different things.
Writing about it here helps because I can hear my own voice and council. When I just think about these issues it is too easy for my false-personality to insert fear into the flow of thoughts. And fear is what keeps us trapped in the same cycles. Only by voicing the fear and naming it can we defeat its hold on our lives.
My fear is losing this position and having to return to working in a more traditional way. Well, that is what my false-personality would have me believe. In truth, my fear is about continuing to have this good situation that is easy and comfortable for me. I see other people working hard to deal with the chaos and drama in their lives and I think I am doing it wrong because my life isn’t like theirs. Knowing that I am motivated differently, and that I meet my needs differently doesn’t always make it easy to continue to head in my own direction.
I think having the life I want is like baking biscuits. The recipe is so simple it is very hard to do well. There is little room for error. In life, at least my current situation, there isn’t much I can do to keep it going, other than stay out of my own way. There are, however, a myriad of things I could do to over mix my biscuits, and that would ruin them.
Trust of self is never easy, often lonely, and always rewarding.
Yesterday, when I stuck my hand into our mailbox, I discovered a large envelope from the Oregon Justice department labeled “Private and Confidential” addressed to my wife.
It seems she, along with several other people and the State of Oregon, is named in a lawsuit over events that happened over 4 years ago while we were living outside Portland.
It was a surreal experience to read over the documents included with the summons with her. You hear about lawsuits and watch them as drama on television, but it is an entirely different thing when your wife’s name is listed as a defendant.
Over the course of the evening, and again this morning, we had several conversations about this situation. Mostly she was trying to remember what had happened and when. On my own I tried to remember what specifically I was working on 4 years ago, and other than using my resume to provide some detail, I can’t remember.
Our feelings have naturally run from gloomy to cautiously optimistic. As an employee she is covered by the State and the Attorney General will defend her. It appears that our liability is minimal in this instance. Still it is sobering to think that dimly remember events that may or may not have occurred why she was employed at that agency may impact our lives today.
I think we have talked through most of our fear about this, but we are still both somewhat apprehensive. Will she get called to testify, will she be contacted at all? If this blows over will we be notified? You want to call people and ask questions but at the same time you don’t want any more notice brought to yourself because you just don’t know what is going to happen.
In the end I think this will be okay. For today it is scary and somewhat unsettling.
All last fall, as I was trying to buy a Powerbook G4 via online auction, my rally cry was escrow or bust. If the seller refused to use escrow then I refused to participate. I had several seemingly great deals fall thru only because the seller refused to use an escrow service.
I was certain that if I used an escrow service I’d be protected in the event that the item never showed up or wasn’t what I had purchased. Now it seems that even this protection may not be trustworthy. It seems there is a new scam on the Internet, one that involves the use of a fake escrow site, or one controlled by the seller.
In this MSNBC News story an unfortunate victim of this new fraud scheme tells how he lost $55,000 using an “escrow” service.
I guess the moral of the story is: use an escrow service you pick and you research. And listen to your gut, especially if it tells you the situation feels wrong. And don’t spend an amount online that you aren’t prepared to lose.
It seems that the web-based keystroke counter I was using is gone. The dolphin project at bitdevil.com has been shut down as the project leader wishes to pursue other projects.
Since May 31, 2002 I typed a total of 1,921,551 keys at home and at work. Assuming a continuation of the same typing pace I would have reach about 3,200,000 keys in one year.
I’ll have to look for another way to track this useless, but fun, statistic.
Okay, it has been just over a week since Michele and I took the Apple plunge by purchasing a Powerbook G4 and 17 inch wide screen iMac. Michele was able to transfer all her files and leave her Windows ME machine behind in just a couple of days. I managed to convert and transfer my e-mail files, and copy over all of my data files, with only a little difficulty.
On Friday I unplugged my Windows XP Pro desktop and took it out of the room. I am now totally dependently on Mac OS X and my new Powerbook. So far this has been a wonderful experience.
Jaguar is very easy on the eyes and very easy to use. There are some functions that I am having a hard time adapting to and others are far easier than Windows. Installing software is amazingly simple. Removing software is just as easy.
I was stunned at how easy it was to hook up a second monitor to the Powerbook. Plug in the cord and instantly spread the desktop across two monitors. No software to install, no setting to fuss with. It just works. Every USB device I have plugged in has worked the first time. My Nomad Jukebox MP3 player worked without any software installation at all. On Windows I had to install software and re-boot twice before it worked at all. On the Powerbook I just plugged in the USB cord and turned on the player. Wow.
Michele is playing a couple of games that are OS 9 based. The “classic” environment within OS X works perfectly. She is able to bounce between the two operating systems without any trouble.
One area of difficulty was our printer. We had an HP OfficeJet T45 multi-function printer. It was just old enough to not include a USB port. I purchased a print server only to discover that it only supported Windows operating systems. Using our Windows ME ThinkPad I was able to configure the print server, but I was not able to get either Mac to print. So we cheated and bought a new HP OfficeJet 6110 all-in-one printer. Except for having to go back to the store to get a USB A/B cord to attach it with, its install was simple and we are now both printing again.
I am very pleased to have taken this step forward.
I have to say that I am very impressed. At home I have my Powerbook plugged into a KDS Visual Sensations 19" monitor. The OS immediately recognized the monitor and the settings it was capable of supporting. The OS also immediately setup a multiple monitor desktop. Just like that. How very cool.
As I write this one screen is showing Lord of The Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, and the other is supporting a chat client, my e-mail and this browser window. There is no visible delay or screen freeze. This is simply amazing. After years of trying to get enough power to support the applications and their usage that I wanted I finally have what I want.
All it took was switching to Macintosh. My hat is off to Apple.
Michele and I took the Apple plunge this past weekend. On Saturday, pretty much on the spur of the moment, we headed south for St. Louis and the Apple store there. Initially we were just going to look and play, as the salesman in the Springfield store wasn’t helpful. Once in St. Louis however, things took an interesting turn for the better.
At lunch, over Mexican food, we talked about our game plan at the store. Were we willing to buy today? Or was this just a look and see visit. We were willing to buy, furthermore, we were willing to consider using the Apple Load program to finance some of the purchase.
Our goal was a 17" iMac with Superdrive for Michele and a 15" Powerbook G4 for myself. In for a penny, in for a pound.
The first place we went turned out to only service Macs and sell used equipment. He was willing to order a set of Macintoshes for us, but admitted that there was an Apple store just down the interstate a few miles where we could get them today.
After turning the wrong way and spending some time getting turned around we found the West County Mall and inside the Apple Store. A friendly woman helped us by not interferring with our play and by answering our few remaining questions. We applied for the loan and were instantly approved.
After some paperwork and collecting a few extras we led Leslie and a hand-truck with our new Macs to the car. The ride home was exciting as we were certain what lay ahead. Playing with a computer in the store is one thing, actually having it in your house is another altogether.
We set Michele’s iMac up first and within minutes she was registered and playing. The machine itself is beautiful and sexy. The 17"LCD is bright and incredibly readable, even from wide angles.
After a quick dinner of sloppy joes, I unpacked and set up my Powerbook. After months of drooling over this beauty I finally had one of my own. Wow. It is a truly incredible machine. And Mac OS X is a treat to use. As Michele put it, “I keep expecting things to be harder to do than they are, this is going to take some getting used to.” Take that Windows.
The switch hasn’t been without its difficulties, but most of them have been more about the paradigm shift for us than any problem with the new computers or their software. I’ll write more about that later in another posting.
For now we are both enjoying the new lightness in our daily computing experience. My Powerbook has drawn raves from my envious co-workers, and Michele is very pleased with her new iMac. In fact after just two days we tore down her old Windows PC and moved it to another room. The iMac is now her primary computer. The switch took on 48 hours in her case.
I should be ready to make that same commitment in the next day or two. I’ve managed to get most of my files copied over to Eeyore (this machine is so beautiful I had to call it Eeyore), even my collection of 44,000 e-mail messages. The biggest remaining hurdle is getting our printer plugged into the LAN using a print server. Then we can print again. Once that is done I’ll be ready to tear down my PC and move the Powerbook to center-stage.
More later…
Conversation at the cafeteria check out this morning:
Me: Two sausage and three bacon Cashier: $5.20 Me: Say what?! Cashier: The prices went up, bacon and sausage is now $0.50 each. Me: So…. Cashier: So it’s $5.20 Me: I don’t think so. 5 times $0.50 equals $2.50. Cashier: But the machines says $5.20 Me: Then the machine is wrong. Cashier: 2 sasuage… Me: …is a dollar Cashier: and 3 bacon… Me: … is another dollar fifty for a total sans tax of $2.50. Cashier: Oh… I did it wrong Me: (inside my head) No shit. Cashier: (after void and subtracting for a minute or so) $2.25. Me: Thank you!
Gotta love people who can’t add.