Ok, we have the $199 pickup truck Dell computer which dual boots Ubuntu and XP. It has 500gig disk drive. Is slow as can be. Has no bluetooth or wireless. As of now the work is divided up as follows:
- Online stuff – Ubuntu (except for iTunes)
- Personal record keeping and finance – Ubuntu (except for taxes)
- The Paperless Project – Ubuntu
- Photo catalog – XP
- iTunes – XP
- DVD collection and copies – XP
- Taxact software – XP – but last year’s version did run fine under WINE. But, the fonts were funky – so, I copied it over to the XP side for the final tweaks and printing.
- Downloadable audio books from the library – XP.
- Travel – the little Fujitsu U810 with Ubuntu. This boy will be retired to the closet shelf.
At this instant the new $$$ MacBook Air’s only function is “Travel”.It has a 128gig solid state disk.
Still basking in the glow of my new computer – I think I would like to move the personal record keeping and finance over to the MacBook Air. Not a problem – Open Office is running fine on the MBA. And my records don’t take up much space. The MBA isn’t connected to the printer and my old printer doesn’t network very well. But, I can print to PDF’s and use the Dell to any actual printing.
I would like, I think to move iTunes to the MBA. Which would require converting my iPod touch at least to a Mac iPod. That is a little spooky. Also, my tunes library is lavish. 35gig – takes up a lot of disk space. But, if I don’t do the conversion – well then my Touch can not be tweaked when I am traveling. I can still download apps and single songs – but no books or movies. I can live with this.
The photo catalog is just too big for the MBA. Some day I absolutely must finish the never ending photo organizing project. At this instant I have done 2000, 2001, 2005, and 2007.
If the MBA were connected to the scanner it would do a good job handling the Paperless Project – but we have the space problem.
The DVD business involves some highly suspect Windows software. It might run under Bootcamp. I might should spring for a copy of XP.
So, this is how I see things evolving… For now the MBA will be the Travel Toy and maybe the personal finance computer. Long range, I see replacing the Dell pickup truck with a Mac mini or iMac with lots of disk space. And run Bootcamp for the DVD’s and library audiobooks and using some flavor of Windows. This is sort of like the old Soviet Five Year Plans.
Also need to look into some sort of external drive action for the MBA.
CYSTOSCOPY tomorrow.