I’ve had a long term aim to move away from a big ‘box’ of a computer to a smaller laptop with a nice big storage system. Last week I took the last step towards that goal. I’ve been waiting several years for this and, in retrospect, should never have bought the last Dell machine I did (it’s a good enough PC but I was already thinking about going ‘laptop’ at that point).

It will also mean that, for home use, I will be completely Apple Mac based, MacBook Air, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, Airport Extreme, Airport Express (and, errr… a Synology NAS box).

Oddly, one of the main reasons for this switch isn’t actually anything to do with technology. It’s more about simplicity, minimalism and the desire to have ‘less’. A slim sleek laptop , a minimal desk setup, with as much as possible tidied away.

And yes, I was very VERY tempted by the retina display but, as yet, can’t really justify that extra cash… anyway, in a few years time when I’m ready to upgrade, EVERY laptop will have a “retina” style display.

Just for kicks, and because I asked for suggestions on Twitter (and someone obliged with a blog post), I’ll post about the apps I pick up to get my Mac running the way I need it. I’ve done this in the past and it’s good to have it all written down somewhere as I have a shockingly bad memory.

Roll on the 16th July, delivery day!!