ONE BOOK, ONE DEAD LAPTOP
Writing is reliant on technology but is your technology working for you?
It’s been thirty years since Apple last sponsored a writer, going back to this very real, very 1990s PowerBook ad featuring Henry Rollins. (See the full ad below.)
Unfortunately, that also means professionals have been on our own to acquire and maintain the tools of our job. Ever since I traded my 1997 Power Mac for my first laptop, I have a) never bought new, and b) resisted writing at a proper desk. We’ll talk more about the physical effects of writing more below, but first let’s make sure you’re not wasting money.
Buy used
Since my partner and I run a production company we’ve invested in a well-made expensive desktop computer for multimedia work that will last ten years. Laptops, however, are poorly made aluminum butterflies and they will inevitably break whether you buy new at $2000 or used at $400. None of them really survive the pounding of daily writing either. So if you’re like me and you have a “one book, one dead laptop” motto then you should buy used: Mac of All Trades, OWC, and eBay are places to find great prices.
Keyboard ASMR
I’ve never been fond of the barely there flat keys of Apple laptops. I like a loud clacky keyboard that sounds like I’m filing an article about Watergate in All the President’s Men. I may never remember to plug mine in, but the mechanical keyboards loved by desktop gamers will give you that tactile satisfaction. Plus, it will add a few years of life to your laptop.
Do the Amoeba
Around our house I’m called “the Amoeba” because of my talent for falling into any spot or crevice for hours-long writing sessions. Whether I’m hunched at the kitchen table, cradled in a pouf in my son’s room, or standing at a counter, I can write. Obviously this is partly me self-treating ADHD, as I need to move around. But being an “anywhere but a desk” girl has its drawbacks: guaranteed physical torment.
