Lugging my MacBook was a labor in and of itself yesterday morning. I am used to just carrying my iPod Touch which I have learned to use as a savvy mini computer. The urge to buy it came when I wanted to work on NaNoWriMo, and I figured I could use it to write on. I would say about three-fourths of the story was written on the train with the Touch. I would not have been able to finish it without it. But the MacBook was needed because I was planning to post a new Bits and Pieces today--which will appear here in two weeks--and I cannot edit well on the Touch because it is hard to position the cursor among other things.
But sitting in my favorite ubiquitous cafe, I could not get WiFi on the MacBook, only the Touch which I could not edit on and found out much to my dismay that I was not going to be able to do edits the way I had planned to. I was so frustrated this post was born right then, as I ordered a decaf soy cappucino. As much as we are able to enjoy mobile writing, Internet and social networking, there are downfalls to those very things.
I hate when I am on Twitter and I want to retweet something and it is too long to retweet on the Touch, but if I was on the MacBook it would be a non issue. Or when the network drops and you do not even realize it has dropped and then realize that you have been offline and missed out on a lot of things that you thought you did. Or when you have WiFi in some apps and not in others--the others that you want like Mail or Twitterific!
If I had not had the weird WiFi issue, here would have been my newest Bits and Pieces, instead is my rambling about the downside of a good thing. Believe me it is a good thing when technology goes right, when I am able to work offline in Mail and type a story or blog post and it updates as soon as I have WiFi. The current story I am working on I have never even written on a computer, it was all written on the train on the Touch. Once I was talking to a guy who told me he could tell I was a native New Yorker because I told him I could only read on the train. Now I read and write best on the train, cafes are reserved for social networking. Usually it is a very good life until technology reminds me with all of its advances it is not infallible. Sigh.
Oh, no! Sorry you were having technological woes yesterday, Fidencia. I'm incredibly grateful to be married to my husband. He is a Certified Apple Consultant and runs our business that helps small businesses with all their Mac needs...obviously, I benefit greatly. If I need internet on the go, he has multiple ways of getting it for me. If I'm having trouble syncing books to my iPad, he walks me through it. If I forget how to update my website, he shows me. You get the picture. I am one lucky girl :) Though, clearly, he's a crutch and I never actually remember anything!! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI'm getting ready to take the plunge on an iPad myself! Anyone know how well it works for writing/editing? Seems like the perfect device to take to Nationals... maybe Jerrica can bring her husband along to help us out! LOL!!
ReplyDeleteIf I am away from my desktop, I just write with a pen and paper. I use anything--steno notebook, blank page in back of my dayminder--and tend to jot outlines or a couple key sentences and then outline the rest...sometimes I'll write a whole scene. I am in and out of my car on most days, driving through the incredibly scenic and inspirational mid-Hudson valley. I have to park to write, and try to pick a place like the Vanderbilt Mansion parking lot overlooking the Hudson. When I get home at night, I sit at my desktop (Dell Dimension 2400 circa 2004) and incorporate my jottings into a real manuscript. I get a lot done this way, and then don't have to stay up so late at night. Elizabeth Palladino
ReplyDeleteI still use whatever is handy--usually my favorite pen, the Pilot Easy-Touch fine point (with ink, not the gel stuff) and a steno notebook or the back blank pages in my Dayminder. I drive all day through the scenic mid-Hudson valley, so have to park to write. I try for a gorgeous location like the parking lot of Vanderbilt Mansion, which overlooks the Hudson. I usually just jot a few key sentences and rough-outline the rest--might possibly do a short scene--then at home at the desktop do real manuscript pages. I get a lot done this way without interrupting the "day job" too much, and also I don't have to stay up so late at night. I'm thinking about getting a Kindle or other ereader to download my epaperbacks. I get tired of reading them on the computer screen--and sometimes I want them Right Away and don't want to wait for real books to come by mail. (I like technology, but pick and choose what I want to learn and use.) Elizabeth Palladino
ReplyDeleteFidencia, I feel your pain and agree. When everything's working, the gadgets, whether they be iPods/Pads, laptops, whatever are amazing. And, when they don't, I myself have wasted hours trying to (ha!) fix computer-type mishaps.
ReplyDeleteBeatriz, my hubby will definitely be at Nationals, and I'm sure he'd be willing to talk shop with you :) As for the iPad, I LOVE mine! I've created presentations on it and as long as my nails are cut short, I can type pretty quickly on it. I highly recommend getting the Pages app. Everything can convert to .doc from there :)
ReplyDeleteSorry for the two posts. The blog "ate" my first one, and I couldn't remember what I said--so I tried again. I can't believe they both appeared. Glitchy technology. Sheesh. Elizabeth Palladino
ReplyDeleteI have the Alpha Smart. It weighs a few ounces and runs on 3 double A batteries and I don't have to wait for it to boot up. On and off with a press of a button. Then when I finish I hook it up with my USB to my Mac and download. Voilia! I have my work there.
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