The Pink Mac

Perhaps I like this style: Hello Lulu 10+.

So, I am beginning to think I really like the modern briefcase laptop bag look. Here is another example of a great bag I found in this style, and I think I might like this one even better than the last. The Hello Lulu 10+ bag is a sleek nylon briefcase with a good amount of storage and a few fun features. As you can see, the interior has two pockets, one for the laptop and one for accessories. The accessory pocket  is divided into little pouches and smaller pockets for holding little gadgets and cables and cds and even has a little detachable photo frame (odd, but cute). The exterior of the bag even has a little extra pocket perfect for an ipod or cell phone (how cute is that)!
{Images via Hellolulunyc.com}
The Pink Mac

On the Case: Incase Nylon Sleeve Plus.

As my search continues for the perfect laptop bag for my new macbook, I have been testing the waters with a few styles that seem interesting to me. This 13″ Incase Nylon Sleeve Plus is everything a great, slim laptop case can be. I enjoy the minimalist exterior that looks something more like a conventional laptop brief, except in a slightly more modern way. The color is great, as I am a big fan of grey (although the bag seems to be a little more silver than grey because of the nylon) and the nylon is a durable material for a bag. This case also has the added benefit of being very slim, basically the width of a laptop sleeve but with a little extra storage. The one thing I don’t like too much about this case, however, is the price. Its $59.95 and I feel like that is too much for something that is basically a sleeve case with pockets. I think more searching must be done!

{Images via GoIncase.com}
The Pink Mac

The Search Begins: Knomo.

As you know from previous posts, I am on the hunt for my ideal laptop bag for my new Macbook. I have been searching all over the place and I found a few top contenders. First of all, I found this amazing Knomo tote in the clearance section of their website (!). If you know anything about laptop bags, you probably already know about Knomo and their wonderful line of very chic, very feminine bags that are also unfortunately very pricey. However, on clearance, this ‘Toyah’ tote was only $125 down from something like $250 I am sure. This bag has a lot of what I like, so lets discuss it.
1. It has a zip around enclosure. One of the main design functions I was interested in for my new bag is a zip enclosure because I think it brings a level of security to the laptop that other enclosures do not since the zipper prevents anyone from seeing inside the bag. I like that, and it gives me an ease of mind that I know no one can see what I am carrying or snatch anything from my bag. Too often I fear strangers in crowded places will somehow pick pocket out of my open totes and this zipper design halts that.
2. The loop handles. I really like when laptop bags have handles instead of those long thick straps to carry the bag with. I think it gives it the sense of being more like a purse than a briefcase or laptop case.
3. The quilted exterior. I am a big fan of quilted exteriors, I think they are very chic and classic, so the fact that this bag includes that style draws me to the bag more.
4. The slim factor. Since I am purchasing myself a 13″ slim laptop, I do not want to be carrying around a huge bag. This tote appears to be very slim while still including some storage for extra devices and such.
The Pink Mac

Pink Out.

One of the main accessories I need for my new macbook is a new hard shell case to protect against bumps and scratches. Obviously, since this blog is called the pink mac, I should probably stick to my color scheme and go for another pink shell, however, which brand should I choose to use this time around? I currently use the Speck SeeThru, which I have no complaints about, however, Incase also makes a hard shell case with a soft touch finish and a finely molded shape that I find really pleasing. Speck makes a similar case in what seems to be a slightly different shade of pink that I am not enjoying as much. Their SeeThru Satin is also a soft touch, however, the lighter shade of pink is not sitting well with me unfortunately. Both are priced about equal, so I might just try out the Incase case with this new macbook. 
{Images via GoIncase.com}
Note: If anyone associated with Incase products is reading this and would like to send me one of these pink hard shell cases to review, I would be more than happy to oblige you, so feel free to email me!
The Pink Mac

Tick Tock!

As you may remember from earlier posts, within the next 3 weeks I will finally be purchasing my new Macbook! I had to wait until early June in order to do so for two main reasons. First, my current Macbook’s warranty expires in June, rendering the laptop useless in the event of a repair situation lest I be forced to shell out $400 on a drive repair or any other overpriced issue, and second, because WWDC is the first week of June and there are sure to be some cool announcements like spec upgrades and perhaps the new snow leopard operating system (which I got confirmation on from an Apple employee.) 
I have the money in the bank and all my plans have been set, on Saturday June 13th I will be making a visit to the local Apple Store to buy my new 13″ Aluminum Macbook. I plan to get the higher priced model with the 2.4 gHz processor and the backlit keyboard, max it out to 4 gbs of Ram and go for the 250 gb hard drive. That along with the AppleCare Warranty should set me back about 2 grand, but it will be soo worth it! 
Well, if only things were that simple! Actually, right now I am tripped up over a few major details about my purchase- mainly, my case situation. I have been looking around the internet and trying to decide on accessories for my new mac. Should I go for another pink hard shell case? If so, which brand? Should I get a new sleeve case for it, which color, what material? Do I want a new tote bag for it and which style should I go with? Do I want another tote style or should I go with something a bit more utilitarian? 
Well, hopefully in the next few weeks I will be able to answer some of these questions and make a few purchases to set me up for the arrival of the new Macbook! So, the following posts I am dedicating to my search for the perfect accessories! Feel free to comment and leave me tips on different brands of cases and different styles of bags or other miscellaneous accessories I might have overlooked. This is going to be a long and gruesome process but that is the price we pay for the perfect computer!
Solutions The Pink Mac

Hyper Drive.

One of the big drawbacks to having a laptop is the lack of a continuous power source to keep your machine running for hours and hours. Despite the improved technology in laptop battery life, our portable machines are still only able to push out maybe 3-5 hours of battery on a charge, which is a good amount, but too often it is not enough. Well, if you to suffer from this problem, there might be a solution: the HyperMac External Macbook Power source. Coming in 4 different models, this compact power source is the size of an external hard drive (the smallest model) and can power your laptop for an extra 9-13 hours (smallest model) or up to 32 hours (the largest model). These guys come at a heavy price tag though, $199 for the small model and up to $499 for the largest. I guess this is worth it for some people, and I am seriously thinking about the small model for my own use. I don’t need 32 hours of backup power, but an extra 10 would be pretty nice!
lifestyle The Pink Mac

A Slight Addiction.

I know, I know… where have I BEEN? I feel really bad about neglecting this blog for so long but I am hoping to do a little re prioritizing and start posting regularly once again. Of course I have a few excuses, although I am well aware that the major reason I haven’t blogged in a while was due to my own laziness, however I thought I would share the 3 main reasons for my lack of attention to this blog in the past few months.

First of all, in mid January I started my new job. Really, it was my first real job out of college with benefits and office hours and all that jazz. It was really exciting but of course it drains much time out of my previously wide open schedule and on top of that, although I do have access to internet at work, it is very difficult to blog while I am here (I am blogging this from work right now because I snuck in the time for it!)

Second, I spend way too much time with my boyfriend. I know that sounds pathetic, but when I get home from work I am always talking to him, and although he is a blogger as well, we both have neglected our duties recently and are well aware that we need to change our ways!

Finally, and really the biggest reason I have avoided blogging lately is because of my new found addiction that I am finally willing to own up to. I am now a World of Warcraft addict and it is pretty bad! I guess I could blame my bf for this one as well since he was the one who got me into it by inviting me to download one of those 10 day free trials of the game, of course after only a few days I was hooked and ran out to the store to get the full version of the game. My addiction has recently escalating though, as just last week I went out to the store and bought Burning Crusade and Lich King so that I could do more things with my character. Honestly, I was a little surprised at myself for liking the game this much. I know there are soo few girls that play WoW and I had always thought it humorous that anyone would spend such an exorbitant amount of time and effort on a computer game, but that all changed very quickly in my mind and now I have a level 48 human warlock along with a myriad of other alternative characters. I guess since WoW is tech related I should really be covering my experience with it on this blog, and so hopefully if there are other female tech geeks who like World of Warcraft and want to bond over it I would love to hear from you!

So hopefully this is my leap back into blogging after being so far away from my blogs for the past few weeks. I look forward to hearing from any ladies out there who play WoW and want to share their experiences with me and this blog!

lifestyle The Pink Mac

Got Gold?

The marketing phrase for the Starbucks Gold Card is “For People who Love Starbucks,” but really, I think it should be “For People who Love Starbucks and Free Wifi!” Right now, I am sitting in one of my local Starbucks locations, trying to burn a few hours while my dog is at the groomers, and using the free wifi that I get for my Starbucks Gold Card membership to access the ATT Wifi Hotspot at the store. It’s actually a pretty sweet deal. This Starbucks Gold membership card was one of my Christmas presents this year and I am actually just getting around to using it! The way it works is you pay something like $25 dollars a year for the card which is a refillable Starbucks card that gives you discounts on all your purchases as well as special offers throughout the year on specified days, ect. I was mostly interested in this card because a membership also gives you a free wifi time through ATT Wifi Hotspots. Most Starbucks locations are ATT Wifi Hotspots, although, I have been to some that give you free wifi access via a linksys router 🙂 Since I am someone who believes that places like Starbucks should give you wireless internet access for free just for visiting their store, I am a little ticked that I have to have a paid membership in order to do this, but of course this is better than nothing! I am actually really disappointed that there are no Panera locations around me, because before I moved I would spend hours sitting at Panera, ordering drinks and food and just hanging out doing work online. Panera actually has a really great set up for their customers. They have great food that you can take out or eat in, and when you do eat in, they have a very comfortable venue where customers can sit and eat, refill their own drinks and get the benefits of a dine-in restaurant without having to tip or wait around for a waitress. Of course you clean up after yourself, but that is nothing to cry over, and on top of all that you get wireless internet access for free. It’s one of those great places that college students or people who work from home or constantly on the road can go to and do lunch and work at the same time. I think Starbucks should really follow this model and start offering their wifi to customers for free. I mean, it makes perfect business sense to me that if you can keep your customers in your store for more than 5 minutes, they will buy more than one cup of coffee, and really isn’t that the point, to sell coffee?!? So, this is my rant, and my plea to Starbucks to put free wifi in all their locations!
The Pink Mac

The New Mac Mini?

If you have been browsing Best Buy for Mac products lately, you might have ran across this recent development: something that appears to be the next generation of Mac mini. Yes, it looks like one of those rare moments where a distributor like Best Buy ruins the surprise of a new product, however, it appears that this was not a logistics error, but rather an imaging error. Although this image from Best Buy’s website might seem like a new cube mac mini, when you compare the specs of this model with another, more familiar model, you see that they are the same dimensions. Well, it certainly is exciting to think about Apple releasing a strange silver cube to replace the Mac Mini, but for now that seems as though it is just a dream!