Chronicles of Nika» Tech Stuff

Moving from Windows 7 to OS X.

Nika — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 02:03:00 +0000

I’m finally taking the plunge. I’ve been a Windows girl since I first had my very personal computer which run on Windows ME. I’ve been stuck using XP until late last year when I still had my old desktop running. Luckily, my Mom’s was given a HP laptop by my aunt which run on Windows 7 so I had something to use while I had no pc or laptop of my own. When my aunt and uncle came back to visit this year, they gave us my cousin’s old Macbook which I never really poked and played with until a couple of weeks ago.

I managed to get it upgraded to Snow Leopard (it was running on Tiger before) and I was able to get a lot of the software I needed on it. I was scared to move before because I didn’t want to lose any of the programs I’ve grown to use for my projects. However after a few helpful replies from people who use it often for their art and coding needs, I finally got all the things I need to get my projects up and running again.

I still need to upgrade some of my Macbook’s hardware since it’s a bit slow when I have a ton of stuff running. I’m hoping to get 4gb RAM to speed things up and 1TB hard disk since I only have around 10gb spare right now. I also need to get a new magsafe and battery since the old battery is already 5.4 years old and it’s not holding its charge very well anymore.

I’m still learning how to use a lot of Apple specific softwares (and the shortcuts) so it’ll be a few weeks before I can use hotkeys easily like I did in Windows.

Tracking local business trucks.

Nika — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 04:16:39 +0000

I have trucker friends in the US and a lot of them speak about how useful a trucking gps is for their work. It helps them stay on track and find their routes easier. Some local trucking businesses here are starting to think about getting gps for their own trucks. They feel that it can help both their drivers as well as their own tracking. They can determine where their own trucks are so it can help them when clients ask how long before their supplies get delivered and it can help them find delinquent employees. However there aren’t as many products available locally because people don’t usually buy gps products here.

If only apples aren’t too expensive….

Nika — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:01:15 +0000

I’ve been reading about Thunderbolt and it sounds really nice. I’m fed up with my USB ports since they take ages to load even on a newer-ish laptop. The Apple site says that with Thunderbolt you can move data at 10 Gbps compared to a measly 480 Mbps on a USB 2 port. >.< That would be really wonderful when transferring my files. Some of my friend who dabble in multimedia arts are anticipating the release of thunderbolt-ready devices for their video and audio projects. A friend who mixes audio can't wait for a thunderbolt audio interface since he just bought a new iMac.

Hopefully I can get an iMac for myself to use for my web projects once money isn’t tight anymore. I hope a big rewarding project comes in for me. I really do.

2011 Gadgets Galore.

Nika — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:45:11 +0000

The emergence of tablet laptops skewed my purchasing plans. I was already planning to get either a simple and reliable netbook or a large-screened powerful laptop that can handle design work, but after seeing the new gadgets coming out this year, I’ve put buying on hold.

I’d like to see what other gadgets come out this second quarter and I might even wait it out until the late part of the third quarter. Some people consider gadgets as expenses and others as investments. I’m with the investment group since I usually use my gadgets for income generating purposes. I tend to be thrifty at times so I’d like to see if I can get more for my money before getting my next gadget.

Looking for a new scanner.

Nika — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 11:44:29 +0000

It’s been ages since I last used a scanner. We had an old HP scanner before but when we moved, we lost some of the cables and the plug for it. When I decided to try if it still works with some of our previous scanner software cds, I found out that the scanner is already broken. We checked out some scanners from Brothers the other day and we found one we liked a lot. Its a printer, scanner and fax machine so it can save us a lot of desk space. We’re just trying to figure out if we can fit it in our current budget so we’re holding off buying it until we get some other debts settled.

Marketing.

Nika — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:33:52 +0000

I subscribe and read a lot of marketing newsletters. I usually find information about email marketing softwares and programs through the recommendation of the marketer I’m subscribed to. I personally haven’t tried them yet because I don’t have my own business product or service that is used by a lot of people like marketers do. I still look for useful information about constant contact reviews in case I decide to start my on online venture in the near future. It’s best to prepare now so I can easily find one that can answer my mass mailing needs.

Renewal time is coming soon.

Nika — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 07:46:14 +0000

I have to start saving up for my hosting payment which will be in a couple of months. Time sure flies fast, the year just started but it’s already February now. I was thinking of getting a dedicated hosting but since I’ve been downsizing my files, I don’t need something big for my hosting needs. I’ll decide if I need to change my hosting plan if I push through with my dream pet sim. I’d need more resources when that time comes so I’ll just save my funds for now.

Replacing my EON is taking eons.

Nika — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:34:34 +0000

Ugh. I wish Unionbank had an automatic replacement process for their EON cards. They’re system is down a lot when I check with my bank so it took some time before they accepted my old card to be replaced. I finally filed the replacement request last Monday and I was told to call them again after two weeks to check if I can pick my card already.

I wish they’d implement a faster and hassle-free replacement feature or facility for EON users. Now I know why they called it eon. It takes them that long to process your card application and replacement. >.<

We have it easy now.

Nika — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 19:28:23 +0000

I remember back when I was in high school, we had to buy rolls of film for our cameras for events and celebrations. We had to make sure we don’t expose the film to sunlight when we take it out of the camera (or when we put it in) or else our pictures would be destroyed. We would spend a lot getting them developed even though we didn’t know how we would look like on the shots. To share these memories with our relatives and friends, we had to get several recopies and send them off in a packet or in an album. These days, its easy to take pictures with our digital cameras, choose the images that shows our best features and use online photo editing tools to make a slide show to post in our blogs and social networking profiles as well as email to our relatives abroad.

Time to save up for a new camera.

Nika — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:37:45 +0000

I’m planning to get myself a new camera a couple of months from now. I wasn’t able to buy the LX3 I wanted before because I had to use the money I saved up for our expenses. I’m currently using our family’s Samsung point and shoot but I would like to get myself a good dlsr if possible.

I’m torn between Nikon and Canon since the price difference between them is relatively close. I’ve been a Canon girl, even back when we still had to use film to take pictures. My first digital camera was a Canon IXUS and I’m used to Canon printers. I haven’t fully decided which to choose so I’m looking over camera reviews to find the best camera that fits my needs and my budget.