Thesis writing calls for tech, methinks. For my first thesis, I got a new PC. And then because I took so long to write the damn thing, it was on its way out, so I bought my first Mac. For this thesis, an iPad was essential. Ben Franklin made me do it. Now, hear me out.
My thesis adviser has told me that I will probably be spending the summer reading the Franklin Papers. My college library has them, there are 37 published volumes, and they’re pretty sizable books, as you can imagine. I really didn’t want to spend the summer hauling them around, so I checked out my other options. They aren’t best-sellers (my apologies, Dr. Franklin), probably because they’re $100 a volume. Not being a best-seller in print pretty much guarantees you a book won’t be available on Kindle. They’re not. But where they are available is online: all 37 published volumes and then a few they haven’t gotten out in print yet. And while the web design is a little 1999, they’re online. That’s pretty fucking amazing if you think about it.
So, I had the option of reading them all on my laptop. My laptop is lovely, I use it on a daily basis, and so far it hasn’t let me down (I am frantically knocking wood right now). It is, however, a 15″ MacBook Pro, and it’s a few years old, so it’s from before they started using lighter materials. The TARDIS (yes, that’s what I call my laptop, shut up) is heavy. I re-learned this when I took it to the Performing Arts Library twice and the weight of it in my messenger bag nearly threw my neck out. In the summer, I do not like to be stuck in my house. I like to migrate, into the park, to friends’ houses, to hang with the kids, to western Massachusetts…I needed portable. And the iPad, it’s shiny.
So after calling around last weekend and finding that no Verizon stores had them (I wanted a 3G because I didn’t want to be limited to wifi spots – I wanted to be able to read the Franklin papers on the top of Mt. Greylock, if I so desired), and the Apple stores had limited quantities, I flew into Manhattan and got one. 64 GB black Verizon 3G model, the priciest of the lot at $829, not counting the data plan. If I was going to get an iPad, I decided to take my friend Aimee’s advice and get the biggest one I could afford. It was only $100 more than the 32 GB, and I didn’t want to get a 32GB home and realize that I really needed more space (I had gone that route with a 16GB iPod touch a few years ago and learned my lesson from it). My friend Lori was with me and fell so much in love with mine that after three hours and a Texas sized margarita, we went back and got her one. Such is the power of the iPad.
Anyway, that night I stayed up until 3 AM, loading Eleven (yes, I named the iPad after the Eleventh Doctor, shut up) up with all my music. And all my episodes of Doctor Who and Torchwood from iTunes. And several movies. And 150 pictures. And there was still plenty of room. I went into the App Store and downloaded Pages so I can take thesis notes. I downloaded a ton of social networking stuff. I downloaded several games. I downloaded a drawing program. I downloaded a few news apps. I downloaded about ten free e-books. Still plenty of room. I continued the App Store extravaganza last night, when I found out that there was a game for cats (they chase a mouse around the screen. My cats are mighty e-mouse hunters and love this game now). There are apps for journaling. There are apps for blogging (I was going to test one out tonight, but I updated the iPad OS and it ate my blog post when I did that). There are apps for student productivity. There are apps for the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, which came in handy for my class reading this week. There are freaking Doctor Who comic book apps. I still have like 19 GBs free on this thing.
Hi, my name is Julie, and I’m a Mac. And an app junkie. And oh my god, this thing is awesome. Big kids need nice toys, too, someone recently told me, and they were right. I love Eleven (the iPad. The character on Doctor Who is still growing on me.) But to keep it all thesis related, I set a background that is special to me:
That’s Benjamin Franklin’s grave. I’m keeping my eyes on the prize, baby. This time, I do right by Dr. Franklin. I do not write a half-assed thesis the week before it’s due like I did as an undergrad. I come up with something new and original that maybe, just maybe, could someday be part of a book. I owe it to him, and to me.


