I talked about my new laptop, the Apple MacBook Neo, just a few days ago. Now that I’ve had some time to play around with it I’ve learned a few things.
The main thing is that the BATTERY LASTS FOREVER.
I’ve had Mac laptops in the past and the battery life was on par with the Windows laptops I also own. This little piece of awesomeness doesn’t have a backlit keyboard, and I’m sure that saves on battery life… but get this:
I charged it to 100%, spent just over an hour on X/Twitter reading and watching video clips, and the battery was… drum roll please… 98%!!
Same chip as an iPhone!
I learned that this laptop is powered by the same chip that’s in the iPhone 17 Pro. I have zero complaints about the laptop speed or ability… and certainly am thrilled with the battery life. But that leaves one BIG QUESTION:
Why do I have to charge my Apple watch so often??
If Apple can make a laptop run that long… why on earth can they not also improve the battery life of their flagship watch?
Now you know: The author of the original “The Outsiders” novel began writing the book when she was just 15, and was published when she was 18. She released it using her initials and not her full name so the book wouldn’t be dismissed offhand by male book reviewers.
The demand for “dumb” devices, such as feature phones, non-smart TVs, and other low-tech electronics, is growing, particularly in North America and among younger generations like Gen Z and millennials. This trend is driven by concerns over digital overload, privacy, mental health, affordability, and a desire for simpler, distraction-free technology.
We’re so saturated we’re sick of it! I may not be part of the “younger generation,” but I’m sure tired of the exposure. Tired of being exposed to constant advertising I don’t want — and tired of my every move being exposed to the world.
Options are incredibly limited.
I started out as a mac girl 100 years ago. Close to 10 years ago, I got pretty darned tired of the Apple ecosystem. The “your computer is too old to update to the new stuff but we’re going to remind you to update anyway by nagging you with a pop-up every single time you attempt to use your device,” put me over the edge. Not quite able to totally give up my love for Mac, I simply added a PC.
At that time, the PC wasn’t requiring an update every 10 minutes like the mac, and you didn’t have to login to do anything. That’s all changed! Microsoft now nags me constantly to sign in to my one drive account. It’s about security they tell me. Updates are frequent and here lately, it’s like a totally new set-up experience in every update.
Linux is currently the choice for minimalists wanting to get away from proprietary systems like Windows or macOS, which often come with preinstalled, non-removable software.
Smart TVs — and the devices and apps you use to connect — are horrible.
I personally prefer Apple TV for connectivity to the apps required to watch a streaming service because there aren’t ‘in your face’ ads. Roku? Amazon Fire? Your smart TV options? All are simply AWFUL! But even if you get a “dumb” TV, you still have to connect it to some kind of casting device if you want to stream anything — and they’re going to track you.
Now you know: 100 year old actor, Dick Van Dyke, was 18 when he learned that his parents lied to him about his birth date. He thought he was born in March, but was actually born in December. They lied to him to cover up the fact that he was a love child and was conceived out of wedlock.
It’s not just phones I want to talk about… but phones have a big part of what else I want to mention.
Apple stuff is still better. Period.
We switched our phone plans because Perry gets a whopping 80% off with AT&T through work. By switching plans, he and Ben got new phones. But not me! I was waiting on the Apple announcement yesterday regarding release of a new iPhone.
I have an Apple watch so if I keep that, I’m pretty much married to an iPhone. The announcement yesterday regarding the iPhone Pro has me so excited I set an alarm to order mine the second ordering opens on Friday. In the meantime, Ben and Perry continue to brag about the cameras in their Note 10+ phones.
Note 10+ photo left — iPhone 8+ photo right
Even my old iPhone 8+ didn’t do horribly shabby taking a photo of the table fire, but I guess Perry’s photo is better. Obviously, a whole lot different at least. I’ll admit the cameras in those Note phones pull in colors — especially in dark conditions — a whole lot better.
I’ll have my new iPhone in a few weeks and my expectations are high. Of course, there’s a new watch now too — I have the 4 – the 5 came out yesterday. Disappointed in the trade-in value — a little over $100 bucks toward the $600 new price — and all I noticed is the 5 stays lit. Not sure about that one.
And finally, I wish I would’ve put the money I spent on this big honkin’ PC toward a new Apple computer because I’m not a fan. I’ve now walked on the other side.
I’m primarily writing this post because about every other day I open up one of my email programs forgetting what it was I hated about it — only to switch again because I forgot what I hated about the next one.
But before I go into my email woes, I want you guys to see a happy bee (and a photo bombing hound dog):
So here goes…
We are a Mac based G-Suite email office. My greatest struggle is finding an email client I like that serves all my needs. I hope to refer to this so I remember which is the lesser of evils.
Outlook: Contacts do not merge with IOS contacts and no calendar subscriptions… just the Outlook calendar and I don’t need another one to manage.
Airmail: Either 2 sent messages or none are saved on the server and search criteria is poor even after indexing my bajillion messages.
Postbox: No way to set a “timed” reminder. No calendar integration.
Mac Mail: Some clients can’t reply to messages and fonts/sizes vary on what the recipient uses for mail retrieval.
Cloze: AMAZING… but no desktop client. I’m not a fan of webmail.
I could list many, many more — but they are even worse than the 5 above.
What’s a Mac girl to do? Please share any suggestions. 🙂
