Monday, August 31, 2009

Apple/Snow Leopard

I took the plunge and purchased a new Mac last week, complete with a free iPod Touch for my significant other. Then Apple released the new operating system, "Snow Leopard," which apparently is a great improvement over the current operating system. So I paid $10 for them to send me the software update, which is on its way to my new Palo Alto address as I write. And then today I got an email from Stanford telling me that there are tech problems with Snow Leopard interfacing with Stanford programs: "We caution against upgrading to Snow Leopard or buying a computer with this operating system until further testing and work to resolve any incompatibilities has been done."

So for those Stanford Class of 2011ers out there who have not yet taken the plunge, this may tip the scales away from a Mac. Just an unpleasant FYI for you this Monday.

PS - Classes start two weeks from today!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Bschool Technology

At the Apple store right now debating my business school laptop purchase. I'm considering both the new Mac Book Pro and the Mac Book Air, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the Air will just barely meet the minimum computing requirements for business school. Thoughts? Should I be considering a PC and if so, which one?

In the same vein, does anyone have a strong opinion on cell phone service and the never ending iPhone v Blackberry debate. I don't have any outstanding commitment to a cell phone carrier and have had positive experiences with both devices.

Wired magazine readers and other technology-inclined business school students: please point me towards useful articles or just tell me what to do. Thanks.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Back.

I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging until school starts in mid-September, but I am back in the same country as my laptop, so that's a start. I published all of the comments that were left over the past couple months and will start to respond to emails in the next week or so.

Highlights of my trip include meeting about half a dozen Stanford classmates along the way, eating amazing food everywhere, becoming comfortable living out of a suitcase for almost three months, and of course, coming home.

While I was gone, I was surprised by how little I thought about Stanford and moving to Palo Alto. I was truly unplugged. I barely went on facebook or email except to coordinate with travel partners, which turned out to be a problem because there are a lot of pre-matriculation deadlines for pictures, surveys, dataforms, and the like, and those Stanford administrators really do take the deadlines seriously. Consider yourself warned.

In truth, I am feeling a little bit lukewarm about blogging at this point. I still feel overexposed and I think the current dearth of information that I'm willing to share here has led to my lack of enthusiasm. I am hopeful that come September, with all of the Stanford action that it promises, my energy to blog will be renewed.