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Making the most of two Macs
Matt Wood | Jul 3 2007
I have always preferred to use a laptop as my primary computer, for the typical reasons (I like to carry all my stuff wherever I go), but lately I've been using a Mac Mini as my primary machine because I splurged and bought myself a 23" Cinema display for it. I also realized it's nice to have a stationary computer for plugging in the iPod, external hard drives, consolidating iTunes, running backups, etc, and not having to worry about juggling everything if I need to move. I still have a laptop, a 15" PowerBook G4, with roughly the same specs as my Mini, so performance-wise, it's a wash as to which machine I use. I set up .Mac syncing for all my GTD-ish stuff, and use an IMAP account in Mail. I installed all the same basic apps on the laptop, and if I plan on going out for any significant amount of time, I copy over any files I need. This works fine for the most part, but now I have a new wrinkle. Through a series of fortunate events, I'm getting a spanking new MacBook Pro at very little cost (long story short, if you have an old broken 12" PowerBook, talk to the Geniuses about your repair options). The new laptop's specs will easily outstrip the Mini, meaning it will be a shame if I don't use it as a primary machine, but as I said, you'll have to tear me away from this fantabulous Cinema display. I admit, this is a nice problem to have, but how would you guys handle this and get the best use out of these machines (and don't say buy a new Octo to replace the Mini)? I would love to take advantage of the fast new MacBook Pro, but I also love working on the big display and having the "home base" of the stationary Mini. I usually work from home, so getting to my desktop or its files is never a problem, and I mainly use the laptop I have now for carrying around the house, the occasional coffee shop jaunt, and any travel. I copy any files I edit to the desktop when I get home so it can be backed up (I don't actively back up the laptop, other than a base image). How would you set up the workflow between two computers like this, an older desktop with a badass display and a newer laptop that runs circles around it? What tasks would be best suited for which machine? How could I keep files in sync, and how do I make backups as simple as possible? What about KVM switches? I'm open to any and all suggestions. Thanks! 4 Comments
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 Foldershare, foldershare, foldershare :)Submitted by spalmer47 on July 4, 2007 - 7:56am.
I have a similar situation, an old 15" AL Powerbook which still has an amazingly beautiful screen that I use as my home "desktop", and a newer 12" Powerbook that goes back and forth with me to class. (Yes, I know, but I'm upgrading right after school is over.) In addition, I have a new MacBook at work that's nice and speedy, along with an extra monitor. I find that so long as my laptop has a "home", it feels like a desktop to me. I use Foldershare to sync several folders between all machines, including the VM Windows machine on the MacBook. I use Ethan's suggestion (http://kinkless.com/) of reducing the desktop to just an Inbox, Outbox, Pending, This Week (smart folder), and an Archive alias. The Archive contains all files I haven't committed to disk storage, so it's pretty much everything from the last 6 months or so. Each folder mentioned is a separate repository in Foldershare, and gets synced separately. What I like about this system is that I never have to copy over anything from machine to machine, it just shows up everywhere within a few minutes. It's the best of both worlds, I get to use full-featured desktop apps, but have the convenience of data access of online apps. As for the display issue, I suck it up. If I want to use the pretty screen, I deal with a slower pace, and if I want something faster, I deal with less screen real estate. I am planning to upgrade soon, and have been looking at a "lickable" display and a better keyboard for the desktop, but I have no idea what I want to power it. For me, the engine is becoming less important than the interface. You make a good point though, that it makes sense to improve the better machine. For backups, I use SuperDuper, it's set it and forget it. Although by using Foldershare, I instantly have several backups all the time of my working files. For the no-muss-no-fuss option, I'm considering buying a NAS. That way, it won't matter what machine I have or how it's connected, the backups will just happen. » POSTED IN:
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