Strawberryland Forum

cpd2009 Wrote:

Angel Wrote:Hello, hello again. Most wonderful of dorks.

Hello again. It's been awhile since we seen you here on our little forum.

Lately, I have been doing well. I have been getting back into Macs after MS seems to want to push a Windows 10 update as of late. I have nothing against Win10, I just don't need any of it's new features. I also don't like Lilly, my mid-2011 Mac Mini just sitting around unused. So I set her up again and updated to the latest OS X release. I'm pleased, so far.

I also recently upgraded my HDTV to a 40-inch LED model. It's from a lower-tier brand, but at least I have a bigger screen to watch MLP G4, LPS, and all my other cartoon favorites. Oh, and some Wii U as well. Yep, I acquired a Wii U console while on a road trip to Washington state. You may have seen my photos of it on my Facebook page.

On a sadder note, it appears that David has taken another leave from our forum for another length of time. We don't know when he will return, but since he left, the forum hasn't been as active. I have been keeping the Spam Thread going most days.

I have a question... were you ever into MLP G4? I can't remember if you were or not.

I was into it for a bit. I generally don't have much of an issue for it. I prefer the writing and moral plots of your standard Sofia the First episode, and the cuteness and innocence and commitment to the aesthetic of a Lalaloopsy episode. It's still cute enough though!

I really like Diamond Tiara, Sweetie Belle, and Fluttershy. Diamond Tiara is very much my type of character, although I wish she was handled with the same kinda depth that Amber from Sofia was. Please? Maybe someday?

You probably have, but just in case you haven't.. have you seen these? Super cute. ♥

Angel Wrote:I really like Diamond Tiara, Sweetie Belle, and Fluttershy. Diamond Tiara is very much my type of character, although I wish she was handled with the same kinda depth that Amber from Sofia was. Please? Maybe someday?

You probably have, but just in case you haven't.. have you seen these? Super cute. ♥

I haven't seen them until now. It's a very well done piece of art that you found. It's interesting to think about what SSC would be like if they were ponies in Equestria...

As for my favorite MLP character, it's Fluttershy. I can relate to her a bit as I can be timid at times, but I'm also very friendly and kind.

Well, Mac OS X El Capitan has been wonderful to me so far. Lilly has basically become my main computer once again, so later, I will need to get Patsy connected to my 40-inch TV and get my documents transferred over. One program that helped ease transition was "Vox", a very simple mp3 player for OS X that can also use your iTunes library. Before Vox, I couldn't really find a simple Winamp-like MP3 player for Mac, and VLC doesn't read some MP3s properly (namely, it plays some stereo files in dual-channel mono)

I'm also going to try another weeklong experiment. I'm curious as to how much advertising has infested the internet. I normally use an AdBlocker with a whitelist for some sites that don't have annoying ad styles. So, for a week, I shall use Safari without any adblock tool. So, I will end up seeing many advertising styles I don't like, but then again, I also perform such experiments like this for some strange reason. Maybe because i'm a computer person.

Hmm, Vox seems interesting. Might give it a try some time. I usually resort to playing stuff on Winamp regardless of platform save for Linux or Classic Mac, but Vox sounds like a worthy alternative.

Oh and I know you mentioned about expressing some interest with getting an AG doll before Angel, but do you have any plans on buying one, e.g. Maryellen?

huckleberrypie Wrote:Hmm, Vox seems interesting. Might give it a try some time. I usually resort to playing stuff on Winamp regardless of platform save for Linux or Classic Mac, but Vox sounds like a worthy alternative.

Oh and I know you mentioned about expressing some interest with getting an AG doll before Angel, but do you have any plans on buying one, e.g. Maryellen?

About as much plans as I have on buying anything else, the list is super long. That being said, I totally just looked at the doll in question and she's a cutie. How many do you have?

In the past year, I seemed to go through an anti-Apple phase. I don't know why, but maybe it's because a large number of tech sites were spinning various stories about issues Apple products were having such as the infamous "bendgate" to App Store security. Turns out that a lot of these issues that Apple was having weren't really any different from what Microsoft or any tech company experience.

In short, I shouldn't have been so negative towards Apple products. If anything, the only thing I still think they could change is allowing the use of microSD cards with their iOS devices. There is probably a security-related reason why Apple chooses not to do that, but I digress.

I have been using Lilly as my primary computer for a little over a week now, and I'm impressed. In fact, I may have wasted money by purchasing all that new media software for Ruby. :/ Well, at least when it comes to audio recording and creation. GarageBand does that well, and so does Magix Music Studio. But I didn't think about using Lilly for that purpose. iMovie.... well, iMovie works for home video creation and TV commercial compilations, but it's really not that advanced for YouTube Poop creation. Thus, I still need Magix Movie Studio for that.

In the end, Lilly will stay put. Patsy will be reassigned to the HDTV, and Ruby will stay put for playing with Windows apps and using Magix Movie Studio. Though I may end up switching her to Windows 7 as MS is beginning to get desperate with Win10. Not only are they trying to tempt users to upgrade to Win10, they are also trying to push Edge (their IE replacement) in your face if you try to change your default browser, though the latter has only been seen in beta builds of Win10. Who knows if user backlash will get them to back off.

I will admit... I'm starting to get tempted to retire Greta and go for a MacBook Pro. One problem... they are expensive. I was only able to get Lilly during my college years with assistance from a student loan.

Then again... Greta is still perfectly useable for a PC, running Win7 and all. I could just switch her to Linux again since I only use her on trips these days.

Hmm... wait and see.

I like MAC stuff, but I admit it's more of a girly aesthetic appreciation on my point. Angel isn't the type who worries about the tech side of things and stuff, and I guess just more like.. "What sorta functions will this give me, what kinda stuff can I do, etc."

It's so nice to not be worried about money stuff around here anymore, I'm a happy happy Angel.

If you ask me, I'd stick to a Hackintosh more as they're cheaper, though a used Intel or PPC Mac won't hurt.

huckleberrypie Wrote:If you ask me, I'd stick to a Hackintosh more as they're cheaper, though a used Intel or PPC Mac won't hurt.

Normally when I buy a new pre-assembled computer, it has to be brand-new-in-box, especially laptops since they tend to have batteries of varying condition. They are more expensive as a result, but at least you would be able to get an all day battery life from a current MacBook. Plus, it also seems that Apple will give OSX support for at least five or six years. El Capitan can be installed on Macs dating back to 2009 without third-party hacks, which is amazing. Thus, a new MacBook is far more appealing than a used one.

But, if I had no choice but a used one, they are indeed a more affordable option. I would have to be careful so I could get a model with a decent battery and an accurate description of condition, preferably acquiring one that was obviously used in a corporate environment and refurbished, like the one below....
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacBook-2-4Ghz-2-4GB-250GB-13-3-Unibody-Laptop-MC516LL-A-May-2010-M2W-/181838690808?var=&hash=item6ffb21fd9e">http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacBook-2 ... 6ffb21fd9e</a><!-- m -->

The upside is that I could get a decently performing MacBook for cheap. Downside is wondering how long Apple will continue to provide newer OSX versions for older devices? I don't have to upgrade to the latest OSX, but I want to have at least five to seven years of good use out of a MacBook before switching to a newer laptop or computer.. perhaps longer. Lilly just turned four, and still runs good for the most part.

If I really wanted to get adventurous, I could make a Hackintosh out of Greta. She has an Intel B960 CPU (Sandy Bridge I think) with Intel HD Graphics, and GeForce 610m. Unfortunately, I doubt Macs support Nvidia Optimus, so if I wanted to Hackintosh her, the 610m would need to be disabled. :/

My current desktop background from the official "Guess How Much I Love You" site.

Wonderful show with beautiful artwork like this, but they chose Flash animation. GHMILY would be even better if it were hand drawn....