The Journal, Thursday, February 22

Hey Folks,

I probably shouldn’t post anything today. Prepare for a slight rant.

So, any former PC users out there who now use Apple computers?

I’m in the midst of enduring the umpteenth (this year) “update” from Microsoft. Like all their other updates since the inception of Windows 10, this one is mandatory.

I’m not good with that. I’m not good with being told some faceless company wants to update MY property and there’s nothing I can do about it. I guess I just don’t care for suppositories.

I don’t like people who do things to me that I don’t want them to do, then smile smugly and say it’s for my own good.

So if you Apple users can tell me you don’t endure suppositories from The Almighty Businessman on High (whoever the Apple version of Bill Gates is now), I’m gonna make the switch.

I’m just annoyed. Too annoyed. I’m not gonna put up with it anymore.

Is making the switch a hassle? Yes. Is it worth it? If I get the responses I suspect I’ll get, ohdeargawd YES.

So talk to me, Apple users. Especially if you have previous experience with a PC. Gimme your comparison notes. Teach the old dog a new trick or two.

Until I make the switch, I’ll tranfer everything back to my HP (the writing ‘puter) where I can disable the trackpad manually.

So no writing today, beyond this. I have only a half-day on Thursdays anyway, and I’ll be spending the rest of the morning dealing with this issue. Grrrrrr

Back tomorrow.

Of Interest

See “Podcast and Cool Video” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/podcast-and-cool-video/.

And strictly for fun, see “Actors Who Served: Hollywood Stars Who Are Military Veterans” at https://www.moviefone.com/2011/04/12/actors-who-served-in-military/.

Also for fun, I used a Facebook note to send an open letter to Bill Gates, not that it will make the slightest difference. You should be able to see that at https://www.facebook.com/notes/harvey-stanbrough/an-open-letter-to-bill-gates/1733139333390947/.

Fiction Words: XXXX
Nonfiction Words: 310 (Journal) 410 (Letter to Bill Gates)
So total words for the day: 720

Writing of
Day 1…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX

Total fiction words for the month……… 8193
Total fiction words for the year………… 46349
Total nonfiction words for the month… 8940
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 16960
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 63309

Calendar Year 2018 Novels to Date………………………… 1
Calenday Year 2018 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
Calendar Year 2018 Short Stories to Date……… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)………………………………………… 28
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)……………………………………… 4
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……………………………… 182

2 thoughts on “The Journal, Thursday, February 22”

  1. So in my endless pursuit of ways to _not_ work on my current WIP, I decided to check on some blogs I irregularly follow and found this post. (I see there are follow-ups, but what would be the fun of reading all those before shooting from the hip with my response?)

    I made the switch from PC to Mac a long time ago. I think it was Windows 7 that was the deciding factor for me. My XP machine could not be upgraded because of hardware incompatibilities, and it seemed as if the best feature of Windows 7 was that it was more Mac-like. Additionally, I’d been wanting to try Scrivener, and at that time, it was only available for Macs.

    I have never regretted the switch.

    Before you get too excited, I will admit that there are updates to deal with. Hey, it’s a computer. However, they are not nearly as frequent as the constant Windows updates that plagued my XP machine, particularly toward the end. Every time I turned the thing on, it insisted on spending an hour or so downloading and installing “fixes.” It seemed as if I could never just get any work done. Mac OS updates are a lot less frequent and take a lot less time. I have also only once had a problem with one. (The upgrade to Mavericks slowed my MacBook Pro to a crawl and it took me a couple of weeks to chase down the cause and the cure.)

    My biggest problem? Microsoft. LOL. There was recently a major Mac OS upgrade (High Sierra) and Microsoft announced they would not support Office for Mac 2011 under the new OS version. I’d bought Microsoft Office because of the need to work with Word documents from other people and my familiarity with Excel. But I use them very little. Not enough to buy the latest “upgrade” from Microsoft. So far, Office still works. But I’m spending the time to learn Pages and Numbers which, while not as sophisticated as their Microsoft equivalents, are adequate for my simple needs.

    • Thanks, Elise. For now at least, I’ve decided Mac is out of my price range, even for refurbished. That plus the new learning curve would be annoying, especially as I’m just gearing up to plunge forward with my writing again. I don’t have another character/story as good as Wes Crowley yet, but I can feel it quickly approaching. The main reason I wanted Mac was so I could use Vellum to format my own print books. (grin)

      Thanks for checking in on me here too. I’m almost shocked (but very pleased) when I get a comment on the Journal.

      I’ve been looking at WordPerfect again (sadly, a mere shadow of its former self) and OpenOffice, both of which, I believe, are compatible with both Mac and Microsoft Word. Might be worth checking into.

      I think you’re the third person to mention Scrivener (the others in private emails). I looked at it, but it seemed far too organized for the way I write, so I guess I’ll stick with what I have.

      Harvey

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