[1:29 p.m., local time today, outside the Bon Profit restaurant]
As Gannett's looming mass layoff moves closer, I'm never without five things I need to report breaking news, as I move between Wi-Fi cafes:
1. Sunglasses, hand fan. (Today's BBC forecast.)
2. Loose-fitting, cotton-linen drawstring pants.
3. Comfortable Puma walking shoes.
4. Bose noise-cancellation headphones. I listen to trance and other dance music to keep me energized, and block street noise. Playing now: Precious Life (Lost Witness Remix), Trance Sessions, Vol. 3.
5. inCase messenger bag with: reading glasses; iPhone with AT&T high-volume international data plan; camera; notepad and pen; cables and American-to-European power outlet converters; MacBook Air (about half the weight of older MacBook Pro, to ease my back).
Related: Mojo? The News-Press at Fort Myers coined that phrase
Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green rail, upper right.
[Photo: Ramon Tur Fotografo; his family owns Bon Profit]
Cool! As a bike/bus/foot commuter myself I always take notice of what works for other commuters.
ReplyDeleteI've never worked for Gannett but I used to work in newspapers and I've followed the industry's decline with interest (and sympathy to those who still toil in print). I enjoyed reading the blog and congratulate Jim as he moves on to new adventures. Best wishes to all of you.
ReplyDeleteI do lots of Dreamweavering, Photoshopping, Illustrating and basic video editing. Jim, assuming I don't get laid-off, any MacBook would suffice?
ReplyDeleteA less-expensive MacBook ought to do you just fine. Because I blog a lot, I need the fastest processing power possible.
ReplyDeleteNow, I lost some of that when I bought the MacBook Air. Plus, I'm CONSTANTLY looking for power sources because the smaller battery drains pretty quickly.
But it's so much lighter than my older Pro. That guy's a brick when I pick him up. I bought the Air also because I worried someone would spill something on my laptop at one of these WiFi cafes, and always worry about needing to replace it. (I don't have Internet access in my apartment, so I can set boundaries around blogging. So far, it ain't working; I'm rarely home!)
I've had a few close calls, which is why I always, always set liquids on chairs, nearby tables -- or the floors. And when the server approaches with drinks, I watch very carefully.
Replacing a MacBook here would be hugely expensive: Probably would require a flight to Barcelona (300 euros on short notice, or about $450). I live on my laptops, especially during times like this.
Indeed, I contacted Google last year to seek assurance that they would respond if I had problems with their Blogger platform. I explained that tens of thousands of journalists depended on its dependable performance. And they responded! Thank you Google/Blogger!
On other interesting thing: Macs appear to outnumber PCs by about six or so to one here on Ibiza. Might be a reflection of the anti-establishment nature of the island, or European design sensibility. I'm not sure. And the 3G iPhones are much-coveted.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jim! I'm a Web Developer at a newspaper group and I'm making a personal migration to the land of the Macs. I've been so tired of seeing the "Blue Screen of Death", watching my built-in webcam bustin' out after a Vista upgrade and seeing a virus taking over my computer.
ReplyDeleteI'm truly looking forward to a product that's durable, that makes me more productive and save some time. Heck...after all I could run a PC via Boot Camp or VMware. :)
Jim, your advice on how much processing power is needed is so very wrong. I know NOTHING about Macs, but I know you need very little processing power to update a blog. It is a web browser. You need a significant amount of processing power and RAM to use Dreamweaver(yuck), Photoshop, and basic video editing.
ReplyDeleteAgain, no clue which Mac is appropriate for those purposes.
Sorry about that. All I know is that these puppies are fast. I always say: I use technology, but I know less about it -- and definitely don't build it.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI do lots of Dreamweavering, Photoshopping, Illustrating and basic video editing. Jim, assuming I don't get laid-off, any MacBook would suffice?
7/07/2009 11:13 AM
Blogger Jim said...
A less-expensive MacBook ought to do you just fine. Because I blog a lot, I need the fastest processing power possible.
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NO! You have it completely backwards.
Photoshop, Illustrator and video editing are graphic-intensive operations and require processing power. Dreamweaver is code rendering, and is less as intense a program.
The user who blogs a lot, as you do, doesn't require as much processing power. Nowhere near as much, as all that's going on is text editing. You could do that with Notepad or any simple word processor. The Blogger.com platform does the rest. What you do require is bandwidth, and that's not a function of the laptop you use.
You steered that guy completely wrong, Jim.
Yikes! Thanks for correcting me!
ReplyDeleteOMG! What a hunk! And Size 12!!!!
ReplyDelete5:07 pm: ;)
ReplyDelete