KevinStoverBlog.com » Randomness

Mac From A PC Perspective p1

Kevin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:50:25 +0000

I’m probably going to be ostracized for saying this, but: “I don’t find Macs to be intuitive, at all”. Maybe it’s because I cut my digital teeth on Dos prompts and command lines, but it’s true. We recently purchased a Mac for church presentation use, and I’ve had the privilage of getting it all ready to go. Now, I’m not an elitist, this post isn’t about about how PCs are better than Macs, its simply an explanation of my early enteractions with the Mac. Here are some of my issues:

There isn’t a delete button. Ok, techinically, there is a delete button, but it’s really a backspace button. Why’d they have to call it delete? It’s backspace!
The touchpad lacks a right click button. To right click you have to put two fingers on the touchpad. Come’on Apple, join the 20th century, get a two button mouse.
Shortcut keys are a pain. I really didn’t expect to be able to use my old ctrl + b, i, u, etc. standbys, but on the Mac you have to use the Command Key instead of the Control key. The problem is that the Command Key is very awkward to reach from the home keys.
There are archaic looking runes on some menus that aren’t even printed on the keyboard. One kind of looks like a tilde, but weird. Well, even weirder than a ~ normally looks.
Do the window control buttons have to be in the upper left hand corner?? That just makes no sense.
When I alt+tab I don’t see every instance of a program (every Firefox window, for example), just one program icon. That’s just frustrating.
Why do I have to drag things to the trash to eject them? I’m confused.
Why can’t I just click a button to install a program? Why do I have to drag an icon over to my applications directory? Just give me a button to press that says: “install”.

Those are some of my observations, I’ll try to come up with some positives for the next post :)

Twitter Updates for 2009-03-19

Kevin — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 03:59:59 +0000

Really tired and not wanting to be at work today. I hate bureaucracy. #
Re-installing windows xp pro. yay. #

Twitter Updates for 2009-03-13

Kevin — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 03:59:59 +0000

Leaving work early today to get some church stuff done. #

Re-Post: Friday the 13th

Kevin — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:38:15 +0000

I posted this about a year ago, but I thought, since I was reminded about Friday the 13th by Jeremy Moore, that I would repost it for your enjoyment.

For all of our readers with Triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13), I thought I’d give a little bit of the history behind your fears. There are lots of theories about the origin of the unlucky nature of the number 13. They range from the number of disciples that Jesus had (12 + Judas = 13), to the disbanding of the Knights Templar in the 14th Century AD on Friday the 13th. Despite the origin, it appears that the number 13 only became associated with bad fortune in the 1900’s. Some fast facts about Friday the 13th from our good friend Wikipedia:

“It’s been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do.” ^[4]

Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they are simply unable to get out of bed when Friday the 13th rolls around. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimates that more than 17 million people are affected by a fear of this day. ^[5] Despite that, representatives for both Delta and Continental Airlines say that their airlines don’t suffer from any noticeable drop in travel on those Fridays. ^[6]

A British Medical Journal study has shown that there is a significant increase in traffic-related accidents on Friday the 13ths.^[7]

On Friday the 13 you must beware of 3 am. For that is when the devil mocks God’s worshipers. On this day many people have claimed to have noticed a presence of a spirit. Is the spirit harmful, related to you, or the devil? This depends on the time place and person experiencing this spirit.

I’d think that most of these facts were made up but during my 7 or so years of retail experience, I had at least a few hundred people refuse to pay for a purchase that totaled $6.66. They would add items to their order or take items off, but felt like it was wrong to pay for a purchase totaling to the devil’s number. Sometimes I think I’d like to write a book about Christians and their superstitions. It would be fun.

I broke a mirror today and a black cat sat in my lap. I guess we’ll have a few more weeks of winter. Happy Friday the 13th!

Twitter Updates for 2009-03-12

Kevin — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 03:59:59 +0000

Off work today, lots of loose ends to type up at different medical offices around town. #

Twitter Updates for 2009-03-11

Kevin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:59:59 +0000

Just got to the computer at work, trying to get some stuff done… #
Reading “Pause” http://tinyurl.com/bl3cjg #

Twitter Updates for 2009-03-09

Kevin — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 03:59:59 +0000

Company just faxed an invoice for comp. supplies never ordered. I hate that. Lesson for the church somewhere in there? #
I really miss basketball. Shot a little bit yesterday, about 30 minutes worth. Can’t wait to get to actually play again…. #
@prodigaljohn I think Jesus said it this way: “The harvest is plenty, but the workers few…” #

Twitter Updates for 2009-03-07

Kevin — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 03:59:59 +0000

Working on the new LifePoint website. Getting ready to head out to geek-fest. #

Twitter Updates for 2009-03-05

Kevin — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 03:59:59 +0000

My wife’s surgery postponed till April 4th. Gotta love insurance. #

Twitter Updates for 2009-03-04

Kevin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:59:59 +0000

Gave up caffeine for Lent…the afternoon lull really makes me regret that decision… #