The Week #302

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  • 📚 School is back in session and Leo is officially in the third grade. Second grade was really hard for all of us, so we hoping that this new year (and more importantly a new teacher) enables a better school life. Only 4 days in, but so far it's looking to be the case. Even Leo has noticed (and expressed) that his feeling has changed and something feels different inside him. So far things are looking up.
  • 🏙️ Work moved offices. We're not far from our old location – in the building directly across from our old one. It's so high up we have to ride two elevators to get there, but the view is great. It's only been a day, but the vibes are (good) different. I'm looking forward to working with the team in this new space.
  • 🖥️ Appropriate icon – after nearly 22 years I bought a desktop computer. Not for myself but for the family (nice story, right?). I settled on a refurb 10 core M4 iMac with 24GB ram and 512GB storage in green. Desktops are soo good. The screens are large. They're always "charged". And they're always in the same location so it can become a place you do a task.

    Why now? Why a desktop? It comes down to 3 goals with a family computer: basic computer literacy, learn how to use computers as a tool for creating, more/easier to limit and less addicting than an iPad.

    Re: Computer literacy – My wife works at a university and the incoming students don't know how to use computers. They have no idea what a folder is or how to create them. You can do a lot on your phone, but it's no replacement for understanding how the machines that run society work. Not having that mental model in your head makes the world seem like magic, rather than something you can actually change.

    Re: Using computers for creating – Leo's mentioned wanting to learn Scratch again. You can't really use Scratch on an iPad – they're too small, the UI is fiddly, it's designed for non-touch devices. Learning how to use Scratch will teach the foundations of programming, but more important the analytical thinking skills.

    Re: Limits and easier to limit and less addicting than an iPad – I think this one is pretty self explanatory. iPads encourage consumption (not that they can't be used for creation, but they encourage it) and I don't want my kid to become an iPad kid. Screen time seems to work a bit better on macOS in terms of locking down apps, allow-listing websites, and the like. And because it is a desktop in the living room, there is no sneaking off with it and hiding with it. i.e. It's easier to monitor usage.

    That's my working theory anyways, we'll see if it works in practice.