what a palaver

My desktop computer for the past couple of years has been an Apple Mac Mini.  It acted as a sort of server, with loads of drives plugged into it which I could then access from my laptop - a MacBook Pro.

For a while though it's been dropping the internet Wi-Fi signal thingamabob, and after this last dropout I can't do anything to get it back online.  

This means that not only can I not access the internet from it (essential for software updates), but its role as a server is disrupted too.

So, I decided enough was enough and just today spent a few hours re-configurating my computer system and placing my MacBook Pro at its heart.

It took a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, and a bit of swearing(!) but after a while I had my MacBook Pro connected to a monitor, keyboard, mouse, all my drives and an audio interface all through one single cable.  OK, there are a couple of hubs involved behind the scenes, but I'm now more than happy with my system.

a map of all the connected "rubbings"!

I can plug my laptop in and use it at my desk, and when I'm finished, I can just unplug it and take it wherever I want.  The only issue now is the server capabilities.  They've vanished.  And I need to ensure that if I want to work away from my desk, I've copied all the files I need in advance.  But with my laptop being more up-to-date and powerful than the Mini, it's a sacrifice I can put up with.

I think!

If you want to see a video where I go through the items I use in more depth, well sort of, then just click below: