Notes to self about buying tech

Always spring for the biggest hard drive possible. On any device. Yes, even if it costs several hundred dollars more than the option you think is big enough. It’s not.

Always get AppleCare now that it covers screen breakage and water damage (at least sometimes; non-binding; consult your local annoying Genius for details; not a Genius).

Always get the most RAM possible.

Always get the best processor possible.

Always check the MacRumors Buyers’ Guide in case they’re about to release an update to whatever you’re about to buy.

Always set up as a new machine instead of importing old machine stuff, even though it’s 2014 and this probably shouldn’t have to be on your list at this point.

Always get at least one extra charger/charging cable. Always buy them first-party. Quit wasting time with the Amazon Basics cables whose heads are too big to fit elegantly into any port ever. Also quit wasting time with the cheap no-brand ones for a dollar that wear out in 1/10th the time of the expensive first-party cables (which do eventually wear out right around when your normal warranty expires).

Always set a calendar reminder to check your hardware including cables before your warranty/AppleCare plan expires, leaving enough time to schedule an appointment via the proper Genius channels to demonstrate your frayed cable.

Always be careful when unplugging stuff from cables (hahaha yeah right).

Always follow up on said calendar reminder, even though we all know it should have been an OmniFocus task with a due date instead.

Always buy all software via the developer site instead of the Mac App Store version that then can’t be upgraded except for an insane fee. (Even if the blog post you’re typing is peppered with affiliate links for the Mac App Store version of software.)

Always turn off the thing that automatically adds apps across multiple devices.

Always leave on that annoying “launch iPhoto upon plugin” setting because otherwise you will forget forever and run out of space because of pictures you took of your cat.

Always actually plug in your iPhone whenever you sit at your computer because you need to remember to offload those cat pics so you can take more cat pics unencumbered even though you have very little space left because of all those apps you accidentally synced to your phone.

Always remember not to plug your iPhone in during any important conversation or process because the launching of iPhoto will crash whatever task you’re currently urgently doing.

Always put off sorting your photos until the collection has taken up so much hard drive space as to become untenable.

Always pay for the pro plan of Dropbox and don’t think about it again, just use the shit out of it because you cheaped out on hard drive space so now you’re beholden to the Cloud Gods to store all your shit for recurring monthly fees because there’s no way you’re going to be able to safely upgrade your hard drive now.

Always pay for the recurring monthly fees of reputable online backup services like Backblaze even if it seems hypocritical given how much you resent paying for Dropbox.

Always be nice to customer service people because you feel bad about that time you bitched the Dropbox CSA out because he wouldn’t give you a refund after you misunderstood that it wasn’t compatible with Time Machine* and you ended up needing a different service on top of the service you got from Dropbox but then it turned out to be really useful to have a giant paid Dropbox account after all.

Always read the specs before you pay for software assuming specific and critical functionality exists when in fact it doesn’t.

Always pay attention when Backblaze and Dropbox start to yell at you that they can’t fully update your shit because you have too little hard drive space left. Pay more attention when Mac OS starts yelling about it too. Pay even more attention when every single podcast suddenly simultaneously has CleanMyMac as a sponsor as if the entire technosphere is yelling at you. Always listen and buy the goddamn software you clearly need at this point.

Always pay for the full version up front.

Always run it immediately.

Always delete what it says.

Always explore deeper ways you can leverage it to free up more hard drive space so you don’t run into this problem again next week.

Always spring for the biggest hard drive possible.

 

 

*Always wonder why Apple puts a space between Time and Machine but not between Apple and Care. But mostly just get bigger hard drives, dummy.