Archgrove

After Windows Update toasted my Vista install last week (Twas impossible to login as the console,I could only recover by RDCing in and using System Restore), I bit the bullet and bought an iMac to use as my primary desktop. I’ll keep the Windows machine around for games and some development work.

Overall, I’m very happy (but then, I’ve been a Mac laptop user for years). The only problem is the TN panel screen, which has an annoying top to bottom gradient (some colours get very desaturated as you move down the screen). It’s not ideal, and less than I’d expect from Apple. However everything else is perfect, and as I’m no graphic designer, I can afford to live with it.

My first tiplet (which is no doubt very obvious to most people, and maybe even in the help files) is that you can save Automator workflows as application bundles. It’s significantly easier to achieve some small tasks (which don’t have control structures) with this mechanism – I currently use it to read me the RSS news headlines when the machine alarm goes off. Yes, this could be achieved with more traditional programming methods, but occasionally, graphical workflow tools are useful.