A New Toy...

Gen 6 iPad and Pencil

Some days come with wonderfully pleasant surprises. When I moved back to the farmhouse this spring, I tried to turn on my Gen 1 iPad, only to find that it was completely, irrevocably, and sadly "dead". I couldn't even turn it on. (boo!)

Then, I recently "cracked" my iPhone 6 plus screen, and lamented that I may have to spend the money to purchase a new one. (double boo!) So, yesterday morning, I made an appointment to take my phone to the Genius Bar at the Bayshore (WI) Apple store. Mid-afternoon, Handsome and I headed the hour south for my appointment.

Apple Pencil and iPad Cover

While waiting for my appointment, I was checked in by one of the geniuses, who took a look at my phone. I had purchased a screen protector this spring, and it turns out the crack was in the glass screen protector and not my phone!! We removed it, and my phone was good as new! (This revelation saved us about $150 (or the cost of a new phone), and a couple of hours' wait. (squeeee!)

Getting back to the iPad issue, Handsome decided to surprise me by letting me choose a new iPad. I chose this beauty. Handsome had a brand new Apple pencil (used to "write" on the screen to mark documents, etc.) that he also gave me, so now I'm back in business.

I got a protective cover/stand, and I'll keep everything together in one of my handcrafted cases when I'm not using it.

New Gen 6 Screen and Apple Pencil

 

I'd hoped to write this post on my iPad, but I still have a few things to learn in the new operating system before I can do that. Maybe tomorrow. Today, I'll be learning new things, and transferring a bit of data into my new "toy". Thanks, Husband!!

R.I.P., Laptop...

 As our dear, old friend, Ray Sommers used to say, "Some days it 

just don't go by the book." Today, my friends, was one of those days.

The day started innocently enough. I went to the studio with the intention of

finishing writing my Summertime Quilt pattern. I loaded my DVD into the

player to upload more photographs, only to find that it wouldn't spool up.

To make matters worse, it wouldn't eject either. I was more than a little

frustrated, so I figured that if I restarted the computer, it would behave.

I was wrong.

I've been pampering this for a few months, hoping to limp along for a few

more months. (Remember when I went to see Genius Ben at the Apple store?)

Nothing I did would eject the DVD, and the computer wouldn't boot because it

was trying to read the DVD. I had a "Catch 22" and I started talking to myself.

 If you ever wonder which keyboard keys get the most use, my six year

old MacBook Pro can help answer that question for you. Let's look a

little closer...E...R...A...S...D...F...C...

 M...K...and we have a winner!...N. Can we have a little applause for

the letter "N"? When the computer was on, this key actually just lit

up, with no indication of which letter it was. This old paralegal doesn't

have to actually look at the keyboard to type, so it didn't slow me down,
but the poor keyboard sure looked ever day of its age. Poor thing.

l-r: 13", 2.9 GH NEW MacBook Pro; 6 yr. old 15" MacBook Pro doorstop.

 Handsome and I packed up the laptop, hoping that it was only ill

and not deceased. I really wanted to transfer the information on it

to a newer model. No luck. No Last Rites. No "Goodbye and Thanks".

It's not "mostly dead"...it's "dead dead". No CPR wouldn't help. Dang! 

So, it was a bittersweet day. I purchased a brand new, smaller, lighter

leaner laptop, but I lost most of what I had on my old sweetheart. All

I'll be able to retrieve is what I managed to save on my last backup...

45 days ago. It's the old, "You ought to know better" story. I'll pull up 

my socks, take a deep breath and just do what I have to do. I'll be fine.

After all, I was able to write this post on my new baby, wasn't I?

My old laptop computer will join the ranks of all our previous Apple
"war horses". I may still contact one more individual who might be able
to retrieve the information on its hard drive, but for now, I'll tuck it into
a safe place and get to work on the newest addition to our stable of Apples.

He's A Genius...

 No, really. That's what Apple calls their associates. 

My genius was Ben.

He's British, personable as all get-out, and best of all...

He's a genius around anything Apple!

He's worked for Apple for four years, and Handsome and I

spent all afternoon with him yesterday while he fixed my laptop.

I found out that my MacBook Pro is considered "vintage" at a mere six years

 old. Ben told me that in two years it will be "obsolete" and I'll no longer be

 able to get parts for it. I assured him that it would be "retired" long before then.

The best part was that "vintage" Macs are serviced at no charge.

So, after two days of changing critical passwords, subscribing to LifeLock,

changing my phone number and finally visiting the Genius Bar at Apple,

my laptop has been declared malware-free and our privacy has been restored.

I can finally welcome in the New Year and turn my focus to the studio.

I promise that tomorrow I'll write a creative post...and isn't it about time?

Thanks, Ben!