At left, the 2012 MacBook Air. At right, the 2006 MacBook.
Well, shit. After railing against Apple in comments for relentlessly driving us toward machines we can’t repair, upgrade or otherwise alter without a visit to the Genius Bar and/or the Devil, I’ve gone and bought myself a 2012 MacBook Air, the top-shelf 11-inch model.
So, yes, I’m a hypocrite. But I’m also the new owner of a pretty cool mini-laptop.
Longtime consumers of the DogS(h)ite will know that I manage a road trip about as often as does Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Still, I do manage to slip the leash from time to time, and when I do, my companion generally is my most “modern” laptop — a 6-year-old, 13.3-inch Intel MacBook that has already blown one hard drive, smells worse than Mister Boo on a hot day and weighs as much as a WorldTour pro’s bike (with the WorldTour pro sitting on it).
I can wrench a bit on this old black MacBook. Change batteries, upgrade RAM, swap hard drives and perform other basic tasks. But it’s not exactly cutting-edge technology.
And as the road test dude for Adventure Cyclist (harumph), with Interbike looming on the horizon like a carbon-fiber meteor from Hell, I do have a certain responsibility to embrace new technology, no matter how ridiculous and/or expensive. Right? Right.
Plus I had the money and Herself said OK.
So, yeah. I have a new laptop. It’s bound to make me smarter, funnier, thinner. Ask anyone in Cupertino.
Tags: Interbike 2012, Macbook Air
September 14, 2012 at 9:50 pm |
Sometimes new stuff is good.
September 15, 2012 at 7:56 am |
I’ll be looking forward to seeing your thinner, smarter and funnier self in Lost Wages next week. Haven’t got my hot-rodded Toshiba Portege configured yet after it came back from the shop, so rather than haul around the cheapo Dell that’s been pressed into service, I’ll probably be COMPUTERLESS! Imagine that – I guess I’ll be fatter, dumber and not-so-funny there in Bugsy Siegal’s funhouse but who cares? One less thing to offer up for inspection at the airport at least.
September 15, 2012 at 9:42 am |
Computerless? Say it ain’t so. Isn’t that illegal?
Where are you gonna be hanging out? I have a few appointments, most of them in the afternoons. We should get together for an ale or something.
The BRAINiacs and I always get lightly Scotched up at some point during the show at Ruth’s Chris on Paradise, generally on Wednesday or Thursday, if that’s the sort of thing that blows your kilts up.
September 15, 2012 at 10:13 am
I’ll be there Thursday all-day and again on Friday AM as the guest of my friend Gianluca of Albabici – so the Italian Pavilion’s the place – never too far from the espresso machine! Rumor has it some other curmudgeons we both know will be there and have cooked up some sort of scheme regarding dinner on Thursday night.
The cracker-box I’m staying in has a computer in the lobby so I can check email instead of lugging my own brain-box around. If my super leggera unit was ready to go I’d bring it but it’s not quite ready yet.
September 15, 2012 at 10:33 am |
Speaking of Franco…. is he still dead?
September 16, 2012 at 4:59 pm |
Last I heard they were upgrading his condition to “zombie”…
September 15, 2012 at 10:59 am |
You won’t ever need to repair it and the Airs are the best computers ever made. Trust me!
September 16, 2012 at 12:41 pm |
“Plus I had the money and Herself said OK.”
That’s the key right there. I am about to begin lobbying the husband for an extended cycling vacation next summer. Though I don’t know as a 32 day transcontinental exactly qualifies as a “vacation.”
My daughter got a new MacBook Pro just before leaving for college a month ago. I must admit I be a little bit jealous.
September 16, 2012 at 1:14 pm |
3000 .miles in 32 days doesn’t sound like a vacation, MD. Sounds more like an ordeal that only a serious cyclist would love.
September 16, 2012 at 1:34 pm |
busted….
September 16, 2012 at 8:16 pm
Just avoid NM4 going into the Jemez. Its still a mess from the chipseal work the NMDoT did last month. I picked my way down from the mountains today saying the rosary at every curve.
September 18, 2012 at 7:13 am |
Don’t feel too bad about upgrading now, my newest laptop was purchased in 1995 and just limps along really.
September 18, 2012 at 2:22 pm |
I’m coming to you from my “new” computer, recently recovered from a viral infection that was cured by erasing everything and installing Ubuntu. It’s a Hell of a step up from the 733MHz PIII with the half-gig of memory I was using before today. Now I have a 2.6GHz Celeron with 1.5 GB of memory and 80 GB of hard drive compared to 10GB before.