For now, this is the last installment of the I’m Still Using It series. We’ll start with a contribution from Michael Westbay:
Michael Westbay on Ingress
I’m still using Ingress. (Playing Ingress?)
Hi there Nosilla Castaways. Michael from Yokohama here.
It all started around the end of 2013. I was thinking about what my goals would be for 2014 and was really thinking that I needed a commute. I’d been working from home since around 2004 and it was becoming clear that I would only leave the house to open the shutters in the morning and close them at night. A “commute” in the morning and evening seemed like a good way to begin and end the day. (And if I could lose some of that tire around my waist, so much the better.)
Meanwhile, I was very jealous of all the techies playing Ingress that I heard on the various TWiT shows. But it wasn’t available for my iPhone 4S, and I didn’t know anyone to get an invite, so I started plotting out what my commute might look like.
I did have a Nexus 7 that I mainly used for reading. I also had a portable Wi-Fi hot-spot for when I took my MacBook to the park to work. Ingress was then released out of beta shortly before Christmas. So I signed up and a quick look at the scanner showed that most of the area I lived in was Green (Enlightened), so I went with the Blue faction (The Resistance) to have a good challenge.
The whole idea of a commute became moot. I would go out after lunch exploring all kinds of places, shrines, temples, a statue here, a memorial plaque there. Where a Green controlled portal was, I went to either attack or gather items to level up. In that first year I lost 20kg just running around a 5km radius from home, capturing portals and creating fields. I went from huffing and puffing to get up the hill behind Shomyoji (a nearby temple) to being able to climb the more direct stairway up with hardly a pause.
And I ran into a lot of people also playing the game. Especially around Shomyoji. They all had similar stories of weight loss and feeling more healthy overall.
I’ve tried the other Niantic games, Pokémon Go, Harry Potter, Pickmen; but I never stopped playing Ingress alongside them.
The only time I ever heard of Ingress was when Pokemon was introduced, and all of the Ingress kids were all, “we were there before it was cool.” What a terrific way to have fun, become more fit, and have fun exploring your local surroundings.
Stephen on 2013 MacBook Pro
Stephen from New Zealand is up next. He writes:
I’m still using my 13” MacBook Pro (early 2013).
I love that it has MagSafe and an SD card slot. It has a massive 8GB of RAM paired with a 250 GB SSD (there is still 72 GB unused).
It has had one battery replacement and still goes well although it can’t be upgraded beyond Catalina.
Ngā Mihi, ← nga mihi – Te Aka Māori Dictionary Pronounce naaaah meehee
This is the first time I’ve ever had a sign-off in Māori, the language of the indigenous people of New Zealand! It’s amazing that you’re still using a Mac that’s nearly a decade old. I would like to know how many people who can still say that on Windows, right?
OzRose on TypeStyler
Continuing from “down under”, Rose from Tasmania sent in her I’m Still Using It. By the way, she’s the one who coined the term NosillaCastaway in the first place!
I am still using Typestyler by Strider Software typestyler.com. I’ve been using it for about 5 years now, maybe even longer. 2009 is the year Typestyler returned after the major Mac OS rebuild so I may have been using it for 10 years.
I use about 10% of the functions of this app but I will use it as long as Strider Software keep updating. In fact, I’d go so far as to say I won’t update my OS until Typestyler is updated.
Now that I’ve retired from paid employment I volunteer with several community groups. As I love graphic design. I design placards, badges (what you call buttons), leaflets, event posters, and such. Typestyler offers an amazing if somewhat bewildering array of options for each aspect of your project.
Starting a new project you are offered 8 templates – page, poster, banner, cd, bag, box, 3D model, and Video.
Here’s the main toolbar.
And I’ve barely scraped the surface , as they say.
Typestyler is Mac OS only for $59.99 and a 30-day fully functional free trial is available.
Thanks for this, Rose. While Typestyler’s interface certainly harkens back to an earlier day in UI design, there’s something comforting about a user interface that isn’t always moving around on you and changing all the time so you can’t find something. Thanks for sending it in, Rose!
Tom Merritt on the K120 Keyboard
To finish up our I’m Still Using It series, I’ve saved Tom Merritt who delivers his story in his own, unique way.
“Oh, K120” — a Poem by Tom Merritt
Oh Logitech K120 keyboard,
Dome over membranes, star of my typing,
My spelling is not your fault,
For you always respond to my wishes, not others,
Blame auto-correct, not you.
Oh K120 of 2012 release,
Where did I get two of you?
No matter.
You are both stalwart,
Taking years of pounding without complaint.
Your resistance to crumbs, impeccable,
Your bright white letters, indelible.
Oh K120 companion of my fingers,
Take down this ode to you,
So that others may know your greatness has no bounds,
Except those imposed by ANSI or ISO.
No ergonomic break for me,
No clack-clicks, nor silent presses, you make the noise,
That I need to know that you will always be there.
Oh Logitech K120,
10 years of service, more to come,
With typing soft or loud as a drum,
On my desk you yet sit.
Proud to say of you, I’m still using it.
I don’t think we can top that one, now can we?