Being a relatively new Apple convert, this concept was hard for me recently. In the world of PC’s, specs are *everything*. A faster CPU, more RAM, faster hard drive – these are the only things that matter.

All that is out the window.

Don’t get me wrong. My iMac is pretty darn fast. But just about any $500-$600 PC on the market will crush in in terms of specs and raw power. Does that fact bother me? Not in the least. I’d say that my good buddy Robert Mozayeni put it very eloquently in his Apple on Paper article.

Quality over specs. Simplicity over raw power. I can live without having the fastest computer in the world.

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Just as the world was about to run out of patience, Apple updated it’s line of MacBook Pro notebook computers. There are brand new CPU’s, more gigabytes, more gigahertz, fancy graphics cards, you name it. The base ($1799) 15″ Macbook Pro now sports a 2.4 GHZ Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 320 GB hard drive. Oh, and it finally has discrete graphics – a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M. Normally this was reserved for the mid and high-end 15″.

For the spendy folks, the mid-range 15 incher ($1,999) gets a bump to 2.53 GHZ Core i5 and a 500 GB hard drive. Still not enough juice? Try the top end. It has a 2.66 GHZ Core i7, and 512 MB of VRAM instead of 256. Of course, it will set you back $2,199 too – all that power doesn’t come cheap.

After months of waiting patiently for this very update, I’m not rushing out to buy one. Why? Certainly not because the upgrade disappointed. If I was waiting for a 13″ model, perhaps, but I’ve been set on a 15″. Basically Apple updated exactly what I expected – from the Core 2 Duo CPU to the Core i5 / i7. Tossing the discrete graphics in the base 15″ model was an added bonus, as was the extended battery life. Here’s the thing, though.

I can live without a MacBook Pro right now.

Yep. Six months ago it would have hurt to type those words. Today, not so much. The nerd in me really wants to rush out and pick one of these bad boys up. But the rest of me is content to wait. After all, what in the world do I need a fancy laptop for?

Nearly all of my work is done from my desk – where my iMac is a much better fit. I do very little work when I’m not at my desk these days…. and the little I do can pretty much be handled by my iPhone. I thought the iPad would be a great supplement to that, but it turned out not to be a great fit.

Sure, I catch myself thinking, if I had a MacBook Pro, I could work from the couch. Heck, I could even work from the back patio in the evenings, enjoying the fresh air.

Sure, I could. But would I?

Working from the couch sounds grand, but in reality, it’s not for me. There are too many distractions in the living room, from kids coming in and out, to people watching television, to phones ringing, dogs barking, etc etc. It’s just not a place where real work happens very often.

The outside idea is more interesting. Besides the dogs issue ( I have two wonder, if sometimes very annoying, dogs), there is the fact that the weather isn’t really made for working outdoors here. There are maybe 2-3 weeks out of the year where the weather is nice enough to work outside. Beyond that, it’s either too cold in the winter, or blistering hot in the summer, even in the evenings.

The nerd is trying to rationalize something that I really don’t have a need for.

I’m not going to let him get away with it. While it would be “cool” to have a new MacBook Pro, I’m not going to do it just yet. I don’t need it. All it would do is complicate my computing life and cost money. I’d have to worry about purchasing the computer, another set of the programs I need. Then there’s backups, where to keep file that I need ( DropBox, perhaps? ), etc etc.

More hassle, no real benefit = no go. Sorry, Apple. You’re not getting my money today.

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The Transparent Toaster is one of those devices that’s so basic, I almost have the urge to feature it on Singletasker Saturday. As you can see, it toasts just one piece of bread at a time. However, it’s simplistic, elegant design changed my mind. If ever there was a minimalist toaster, this is it. The toasting area is completely transparent – just two pieces of glass. Brilliant.

A company by the name of Inventables is working on bringing this fantastic toaster to market. Apparently the technology is not quite fancy enough yet, but they’re working on it. If / when Inventables is successful, this transparent toaster would be a great addition to any minimalist kitchen setup.

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Apple has, for years, included the Mighty Mouse with all their desktop products. It’s a pretty simple design in it’s own right – with a single button and tiny scroll wheel. But yesterday, Apple set a new standard for minimalism in computer mice – the Magic Mouse.

What’s the big deal about the Magic Mouse? No buttons. No scroll wheel. Just a glass-smooth multi-touch surface with which to interact. Of course there’s no cord as well – it uses Bluetooth technology to connect with your computer. All modern Macs have bluetooth built in, so compatibility shouldn’t be an issue.

I’m not sure if my carpal tunnel syndrome will allow me to use this incredible, minimalist mouse comfortably… but I’m willing to try.

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Often when it comes to gadgets, complexity is the result. Too many features that aren’t useful stuffed into devices that we don’t really need. That’s not going to help us live a simple life. So why do I say that an iPhone can help you live a simple life? For one, chances are pretty good that you already own a cell phone. If you don’t, congratulations! I’m in awe that you can live without one, and wish you the best in your simple life. For the rest of us, cell phones are necessary, for the most part. Getting rid of one usually isn’t very feasible.

Remember the power of multifunction devices
I’ve always been a fan of devices that do more than one thing – multi talented gadgets, if you will. As long as the combination is done smoothly and elegantly, there’s potential. And that is where the iPhone shines. Not only in its ability to perform an absolute ton of functions, but also the way that it combines the functions. Very simple, very elegant, but very powerful.

Let’s take a look at the main functions of the iPhone:

• Phone ( obvious, but its the main purpose of the device after all )
• Text messaging device ( with threaded conversations for organization )
• Email
• Camera
• Voice memo pad
• Notepad
• Music player
• Calendar
• Phone book
• Weather channel
• Alarm clock
• Maps in your pocket
• Evernote for easy access to all your notes
• Twitter Client

Some of the functions are very obvious. But when you start combining a very solid camera, ideal music player, note pad, voice memos, and easy access to Evernote, then you’re talking. Since getting my iPhone, I’ve already gotten rid of two devices – my iPod and my alarm clock. Since the iPhone performs these two functions just as well as the standalone devices, there’s simply no reason to have them anymore.

Get an iPhone, and get rid of redundancy
Don’t buy an iPhone if you’re going to keep the rest of your devices. If you’re willing to part with some other things, then an iPhone can help you simplify your life. In addition to the iPod and alarm clock, you can also get rid of paper notepads, point-and-shoot cameras ( fancy cameras are still fine for serious pictures ), and anything else you might have that duplicates the features of the iPhone.

Don’t complicate your iPhone
The App store is world-famous, and for reason. It’s the best solution ever invented for adding features to a smartphone. That said, don’t go and install 100 apps. You won’t use all of them, and all they will do is clutter up your phone and distract you. We’re going for simplicity here, remember? Choose your apps wisely. Make sure you have a real use for an app, or don’t download it. Every few weeks, go through your apps and purge the ones that didn’t turn out to be as useful as you thought.

An iPhone is a fantastic way to reduce stuff, as long as you are vigilant. It’s a great tool that can help you in your quest to simplify your life. There are other great smartphones out there though, just in case the iPhone doesn’t do it for you. Though I don’t own one, I’ve heard plenty of wonderful things about the Sprint Palm Pre. The idea isn’t necessarily to buy yet another Apple device, but rather to consolidate. Less stuff equals more time – and we can all use more time.

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Even though you should be storing most of your documents in the cloud with Google Documents, backups of your home and work computers are still crucial. Files, pictures, videos, music, etc – all these things are important to us. If they weren’t, well, we probably wouldn’t spend as much time on the computer as we do. Backing up regularly is traditionally a chore, and creates more clutter. You have to back up somewhere, and usually an external hard drive gets the nod.

Yuck, external hard drives. An ugly little box. Another USB cable hooked up to an already overloaded computer. Yet another power cable hooked to the rats nest of a power strip. Since we’re going for simple and uncluttered, this really isn’t the answer.

Apple Time Capsule to the rescue
Since I’m a fan of multi-talented gadgets, I have to ask – What if you could combine one of your current devices with an external hard drive? Then you could just replace that device, and it would eliminate the need for an extra device. Apple has created such a device, in the form of the Time Capsule. Essentially a wireless router ( Airport Extreme base station ) and external hard drive in one, this little device is brilliant. Choose from the 1TB or 2TB models ( $299 or $499, respectively ), and replace your current router. No extra wires. No extra power adapters. One in, one out, if you will.

If your family is full of Mac users, you can wirelessly backup to the Time Capsule using the built-in Time Machine software. Backups happen in the background, seamlessly, without you ever lifting a finger beyond the initial setup. Your home backup needs are met without any additional devices, clutter, or effort. The initial cost is steep, to be sure. But the payoff is well worth it, in my opinion.

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If you’re fortunate enough to use a Mac every day, I applaud you. While I use an iMac for my side business, I am still stuck in the Windows world during the day. At least it’s Windows XP, and not the Beast they call Vista.

Mac OS X has some great tools built in to help you be more productive. That’s right – the OS that’s generally perceived to be for “play” can actually help you work much more efficiently. A few features of OS X stand out in this area. One of my favorites is Spaces.

Spaces

If you work on several projects at a time like most folks, then Spaces is a life saver. In a perfect world, we could each have 3 monitors on our desk. That would allow us to separate our projects, and have all the tasks related to each project on a monitor. However, limited physical space and financial resources usually prevent this from being reality. That is where spaces come in.

Press F8 on your Mac, and you’ll be presented with several Spaces, or virtual desktops. I use 4, though you can use more if you choose. Drag windows from one Space to another, organizing your projects. Then simple click to select which Space you want to use, and everything else fades into the background. The only things you are looking at are those which pertain to your current project. It’s a great way to keep organized and focus better.

Expose

One of the toughest parts for me with the switch to Mac OS X was the lack of a traditional taskbar. If you have a lot of windows open, some tend to get hidden behind others, and forgotten. At any time, simply press F9 to active Expose. It’s like a super-zoom-out, and every open window separates, so you can see everything that you have open. Select what you want to work on, and you zoom back in. Extremely handy, and makes switching between apps a breeze.

The Dock

Perhaps the toughest part of OS X to get used to is the Dock. Think of the Dock as a combination between the Windows taskbar and the Start menu. You can launch apps from the Dock, and minimized apps also reside on the right side of the dock. Your most commonly used apps should be pinned to the Dock, so you can launch them quickly and easily. Apps that are open but not minimized will not show in the dock – if you can’t see them, you’ll need to use Expose to get a glimpse.

Combine them all to be more productive

Use everything that OS X has to offer you. The tools to be more productive are built right in. If you use them, you can get more done in less time. Less time working means more time with your family. Isn’t that the ultimate goal of productivity, after all?

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When designing a clean, simple home office, there’s really only one reasonable choice for the computer. That choice is, of course, the Apple iMac. Think of it as a laptop that stands up, and you’ll get the idea. The display houses all the computer internals, so there is no tower / case. Plug the mouse into the keyboard, the keyboard into the display, and a single power cord into the wall. Done. If you’re trying to reduce cables / clutter / stuff in your home office, this is the absolute best way that there is. There’s even a wireless adapter built in, so you don’t need to plug in a network cable.

But I’ve never used a Mac
Until just over a month ago, I was in the exact same boat. I’ve been a lifelong Windows user, and couldn’t have been happier. I always had cables everywhere, with dual monitors hooked up to the tower sitting on the floor. I’ll have to take some pictures one day so you can really understand. But I switched, and it has been so incredibly seamless, I was amazed.

Macs aren’t that different
When it comes to the business of Getting Things Done, Macs aren’t really any different than PC’s. You can still access the internet, get to Google Documents ( which you should be using for most of your document needs ), write to your heart’s content, pay bills, etc etc. Unless you use some *very* specific Windows software, the iMac can take care of it. And it will do so much more elegantly, taking up precious little desk real estate. Looking at an iMac is much more soothing than looking at a jumble of wires and boxes.

Mac OS X still scares me
It’s ok, you needn’t be afraid. Next week I’ll have a post about the basics of OS X, and how it can actually help you be more productive. Think I’m crazy? Check back in a week, you might be surprised.

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Any nerd or aspiring nerd ( even those Nerds In Denial ) has more than his or her share of gadgets.  Technology can be a huge blessing, and aid us in simplifying our life.  Too often though, an excess of electronic gadgetry can actually be a drag on productivity.  Looking at, using, and maintaining too many gadgets simply takes up too much time.  What to do?  Simplify, of course.

Swiss army knives are your friend

If you have a computer at home, chances are you have a printer.  And if you’re like many computer users, you probably also have a scanner, for digitizing important pictures & documents.  Both gadgets have a function, both are important, and both take up space.  You probably have to install separate software for each to work, with separate drivers.  Cables have to connect each device to your computer, cluttering up your desk.  You get the idea.

Find room in your budget, and replace your printer and scanner in one shot.  Get an “All in one” device.  Printer / scanner / copier / sometimes even an old-school fax. All in one device, not much bigger than your old printer.  One install CD.  One cable.  One uncluttered desk.  These devices have come way down in price, and generally run in the $120 – $350 range, depending on your choices.  Me personally, I would choose a laser model ( printing costs go way, way down ).

Go Wireless to unclutter further

I would also choose one with WiFi wireless technology.  Rather than hooking up to your computer via USB, cut the cord.  No cables, other than the power cable.  You can put the all-in-one device wherever it fits best, not where the cable reaches.  And to make things even simpler, you can easily share this device with every computer on the network.  How’s that for getting rid of clutter / confusion and simplifying your life?  I’d say it’s well worth the small price of admission, to be rid of all that mess.

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