I recently sold my Mac Pro system (with 3 monitors) and pared down to the latest 17″ Macbook Pro i7. This idea initially scared the hell out of me, as I’ve been a “full-size” computer user since my very first Packard Bell 286 computer back in the 80′s. But I decided that I spend way too much time staring into my screens all day, and thought that this might force me to start thinking outside the box in terms of where I work, as well as give me more freedom to travel around the world while still being fully connected.
One month in, I must say I’m still pretty in love with the idea. I mean, I haven’t actually taken it on a road trip to Starbucks or anything, but I’ve gotten quite used to living with just one monitor (granted, it’s a 30″ Cinema Display, but still). My biggest adjustment was in data storage… Going from 4 internal 1TB hard drives down to a laptop with a meager 500GB internal drive and a few extra 1TB USB drives was extremely difficult to get used to. But it did make me realize what a pack-rat I am when it comes to files. For example, I have a copy of every email I’ve ever sent or received from anyone – clients, friends, family, etc… I suppose I figure if I ever want to look back one day and remember where I was in that period of my life and what was going on, it’s a good reference. But in the case of clients, I certainly didn’t need copies of files I had sent or received back from 2002! And the same goes for actual work files… It really forced me to take a look at what I REALLY need to keep on-hand, and what is no longer necessary to be physically attached to. It was actually quite liberating doing a mass delete, and getting rid of the clutter!
Of course, Apple just announced the upcoming Mac Pro upgrades, and I’m already drooling, but the truth of the matter is I just don’t need the power that machine has at the moment, and I like to think I’m actually saving some cash in my monthly electric bill by not powering that huge beast of a machine… So for now, I just need to find a prime opportunity to take my laptop on a journey to the outside world!
