Out of India (after 7 weeks)

I've been out of India for a few days now. I had a very difficult time getting my laptop onto anything vaguely faster than dialup speed. The heat, humidity, dust, noise, sand (and beach)
didn't help either. India didn't want me to write software.

I fought it for a while and became aware of two things:

• I've become incredibly dependent on using my own computer (vs. Internet cafe PC)

• I'm so used to having decent Internet access that I can hardly work without it

I learnt a few tricks which I'll probably post about over the next while. However with RailsConf fast approaching and Capistrano 2.0 in pre-release I've got a lot else to do.

I'll leave you with this for now, USB pendrives are a godsend at web cafes where they don't let you connect your laptop. I used mine to ferry a video I shot and edited to a web cafe for upload. I also downloaded Ubuntu linux (700MB) to my USB key at the same place.

I bought a (second) laptop for my trip.

I decided that I'd buy another laptop for the trip. Now I already have a MacBook Pro so I spent some time deciding whether it would be worth the additional outlay however my thinking goes like this:

- The MacBook costs a lot less than the MacBook Pro so I'm reducing my risk
- The MacBook doesn't scream "steal me" as loudly as the aluminium MacBook Pro
- The polycarbonate shell is less likely to suffer from dents than the Pro.

The weight is marginally lower for the MacBook (2.36 kg vs. 2.54 kg) but this is not significant. I increase my own weight by more than that when I drink a glass of water.

Probably the biggest reason for getting the MacBook is that I'm not so attached to it.
I won't cry if it gets stolen and whatever happens I know I have my MacBook Pro waiting for me at home.

I bought one second hand and am in the process of doing a clean install of OSX.