Ahh, I’m back! Sorry about the delay from last week. These past few weeks have been very rough, and I’ve been dealing with some health and personal issues on top of the miserable experience of getting my new computer up and running. Over the past two weeks, I really haven’t been able to do much work besides writing, because my computer situation was messed up.
I’ve been largely missing from the internet for the past two weeks too, with the exception of sporadic ranting about the new computer. 😉 But now that it’s all set up, I do have to admit that it runs very very nicely, and the retina screen is very very pretty. It’s also much brighter than my previous screen. Getting used to drawing on the smaller screen took a bit of time, though. But man, it’s so nice to be able to save big files whenever I want! And to be able to zoom in and zoom out without having to wait ten seconds every time! And to have my brush strokes actually keep up with my cursor! When I switched to the new computer, I slapped on CS6 (which I couldn’t do on the old computer because I didn’t have enough disk space), and that runs very nicely too. I just wish the computer had taken a shorter time to get up and running. I’m too lazy/busy at the moment to post a full description of the ordeal, so here’s the essentials:
For those of you who are considering a Macbook Pro with retina, know the following:
-If you’re coming from a 17″ computer, the 15″ MBP with retina looks and feels like you’re working on a 17″ computer, so that’s some consolation. The highest actual screen resolution you’ll get is 1920×1200. And even though it’s not 17″, the retina display adds a hefty amount to the price. ($600)
-If you’re also upgrading to Mountain Lion for the first time, PowerPC-based programs don’t work on it. That means the only version of MS Office you can use is 2011. I also had to upgrade my VMWare Fusion. (Around $175 for both programs.)
-Optical drive, ethernet port, and Firewire 800 port are all sold separately. (around $150)
-The MBPr’s WiFi runs poorly (or in my case, barely even at all) at 2.4GHz, so if you have an older router, you’ll probably have to replace that too. I’m very pleased with my Airport Express router, but I was pissed at the fact that I even had to buy it. I very nearly returned the computer rather than buying it, because it was the last straw after all the aforementioned expenses. (router was around $100.)
-Even if you pre-sign for delivery of products from Apple, UPS can choose to still not deliver the package at their discretion (a.k.a. laziness). I understand them not wanting to leave potentially expensive products on someone’s stoop, but then check the box that says your signature is required in person instead of the box that says you can leave your signature to authorize delivery. A portion of my shipment was returned to sender because of this.
-My first MBPr came in with faulty/completely broken WiFi, so I had to exchange it at the Apple Store. Just something to beware of.
-My machine on its own (2.7GHz, 16MB memory, 768GB storage) was $3700. Plus $175 plus $150 plus $100 plus lots and lots of troubleshooting and anger because Apple didn’t really want to admit that their new computers didn’t work with old routers.
So yeah. It does seem to be a good product. Just also an overpriced product that causes the customer seethe with fury.
Aaaanyway, onto happier stuff. My Christmas novella is releasing from Dreamspinner Press on December 1! And apparently three of the cover illustrations I did made it to the top ten in the Rainbow Awards cover competition! (I’m utterly shocked.) Check it out!
http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/3357238.html
So I think that’s about it… I’d say I’m still only 60-70% back to “normal” in terms of my health, but at least that’s good enough for me to work and function, which is more than I can say for the past two weeks. Thanks to you guys for your patience while I worked through it!