I found myself in a bit of a dilemma yesterday when my
&#%$ cable/internet/phone went out right in the middle of a phone call with
a client. With a large deadline looming, I was in a panic. It seems that every
time I do have a problem with my internet, it happens during a big deadline.
What to do…
I refer to my neighborhood Starbucks my “branch office.” The
branch office comes in handy when doing writing or website jobs. Unfortunately,
for this job I need all of my old files in order to do the work. Starting with
old ads, changing expiration dates or making other alterations, is part of what
I do. In this case, I need to have all of my files handy.
This is where the cloud comes in handy. Too bad I haven’t
quite made the commitment for a cloud company. I wrote some web content about
the various cloud companies and it did more to cloud the issue for me. Pricing, storage space and ease of
use are all considerations and I have not yet made a commitment. Lucky for me,
things have been so busy lately, there has not been a lot of time to think
about it.
But, the time is now. Putting off the decision will result
in more stress. Who needs that? A decision will be made, and soon.
Like most graphic artists, I am not a fan of doing graphics
on a laptop. The screen on mine is so small that it becomes frustrating, even
if I connect a mouse to do some of the finer Photoshop movements. But when push
comes to shove, a laptop will have to do.
My desktop computer is a Mac Mini. Those things are amazing.
One time the power went out during a bad storm and I just unplugged my computer
and power cord, and took them to someone’s house. By simply unplugging their
computer, I attached my Mac Mini to their monitor, keyboard and mouse. Then I
was good to go. My old files were on CDs in a binder that was easy enough to
carry along. Using other person’s wifi allowed me to finish my job without
moving any heavy equipment. It was relatively stress free.
A digital fax service, in my opinion, is much more useful
than an actual machine when switching from laptop to computer to another
location, etc. Many times I avoid printing anything (saving toner/ink and
paper) by just looking at the fax on my screen.
Lucky for me, the internet was fixed back before I even
figured out what to do.
