Although there has been a lot to be disappointed about lately, there has also been some good stuff happening as well, especially when it comes to technology. I recently discovered that my favorite maker of iPad cases with keyboards, Logitech, has a case designed for the iPad Pro that includes a trackpad. This is something I have long wanted but the eye-watering price tag of the Apple version of the case put me off. The Logitech version is more than $100 less, and I was able to purchase one with faculty development funds. (Yes, even with all of the budget strictures, I am still able to spend a small amount of money on things that help or enhance my work. I am grateful for this benefit.) I have used the case now for about two weeks and am very happy with it because it makes the iPad Pro even more useful.
Also, I am writing this post on a brand new MacBook Pro provided by my work, which I picked up yesterday. It is the highest level of laptop device they provide and wasn’t even what I asked for (a replacement MacBook Air, since the one I had was about 5 1/2 years old). Needs must, as they say, since this was the only one they had in stock ready to give me. I jumped at the chance and am now getting used to that Retina display, the fancy toolbar, Touch ID, and many other previously unusable features such as Sidecar. That latter feature is pretty slick, by the way.
My wife and I drove to campus to pick up the new machine yesterday and I took that opportunity to pick up a few more things from my office, which I haven’t been in for several months. The primary thing I took home with me is my 21 inch widescreen monitor, and I also am getting an articulated arm to attach it to my home desk (the super cheap one we bought at Ikea some months ago). With that in place, I’ll be all set in terms of a highly functional home workspace. That is a good thing since I have many more months of remote work still ahead.
Currently, I am feeling tech rich, almost embarrassingly so.
The OW Factor 