Jan
28
As I alluded to in my last post, I bought a MacBook last week. “But”, I hear you say, “don’t you already HAVE a perfectly good computer?” And of course, the answer is “Yes,” but I had several reasons for getting a new one.
First and foremost, I’m a student, and as such have several hours of class each week. Most of those classes require me to take extensive notes for at least an hour. Since I’ve been using a computer for 15 years (since I was 6, I believe), I’m a fairly fast typist. I also have terrible handwriting, and write (relatively) slowly. So the laptop helps me take better notes faster than when I’m writing.
Secondly, I spend a few hours on campus every week between classes. Having a laptop allows me to keep up with everything I keep up with (RSS feeds, facebook, IM conversations, etc.) on the internet during that time (especially since my campus is blanketed with WiFi). It even lets me stay in the well-heated Syd Smith for the 6 hours between my classes on Thursday rather than having to walk home in the sub-zero temperatures.
Thirdly, I do a fair amount of traveling. I go to my parents’ place in London about once a month, and go on vacation with the whole family a few other times, plus some random trips to Montreal (to visit my grandparents) or New York (to visit my brother). I used to have to rely on either my mother’s laptop or my brother’s (both Macs, as I can’t stand using my dad’s XP machine), which can get annoying for all of us, when we’ve all got work to do.
This laptop fixes all those issues. It gives me my own place to work with my own data anywhere I am (as long as there’s Internet, such as this train, [kind of]). And with a few tools, it serves as an extension of my main machine which is sitting at home.
The first issue I needed to solve was a way to keep some files synchronized between the two machines. I don’t need my music on this computer (if I’m not at home, I’ve probably got my iPod). And I don’t really need most of my home folder. The one thing I do need is my Documents folder. After looking around online, and talking to my friend who has the exact same setup, I set up Microsoft’s [I know, I know!] FolderShare. It’s a relatively simple program which is setup online. Just install the program on at least 2 machines, tell the website which folders to keep in sync and it ‘just works.’ I’m pretty sure its conflict resolution isn’t all that robust (it probably just picks the newer one), but regardless of firewalls or anything, it gets the files synchronized. I just don’t ask questions.
Secondly, I wanted to be able to access files outside my Documents folder. That way I’d be able to edit files on my development web server (a MAMP installation on my iMac) no matter where I was. There are actually three steps for that. Firstly, I signed up a dynamic DNS service from DynDNS.com, which allows me to access my router without having to know the IP address. Secondly, I forwarded some ports from my router to my iMac in order to expose them to the Internet. Finally, I enabled SSH and FTP (and thus enabling Secure FTP) on my Mac, by going into the Sharing Preference pane and turning on Remote Login, then under File Sharing clicking Options and selecting FTP. This setup allows me to use any FTP client (Cyberduck is my client of choice) to access any file on my computer with just my username and password.
Ubiquitous Internet access has really changed the way I work. With connections at home, school and even on the train, my new MacBook lets me work anytime, anywhere, while, with some minor tech know-how, keeping copies synchronized and backed up to my iMac in Toronto. It amazes me that I was able to work for so long without this computer. It’s small, it’s light and it fits perfectly into my life (and my backpack!). If I had to do it again, I’d buy it in a heartbeat. Besides, look how pretty it is. 