Famous Mac User Setup: Paul Stamatiou
Apple May 7th, 2007Paul Stamatiou is a 20 year old Computational Media student at Georgia Tech, former Yahoo! intern as well as diehard Mac and Flickr user with a penchant for all things high-tech.
What does your current Mac setup consist of?
My main machine is a basic, no frills 24-inch iMac that I added 2GB of RAM to. It has the standard 7300GT graphics card and a 250GB hard drive. However, I decked it out with a VESA arm. I use the iMac with an Apple bluetooth keyboard and Logitech MX Revolution mouse. I have it setup with Boot Camp for Vista and Parallels for XP.
The next Mac in my arsenal is a Core 2 Duo white MacBook with 1GB of RAM, a 60GB hard drive and superdrive. I originally had an older Core Duo MacBook but after months of problems, Apple finally replaced it for me.
Why have you chosen this machine?
I got the MacBook for mobility - I used to have a 12″ Dell that I took everywhere with me and I wanted the smallest Mac I could find to serve the same purpose. If Apple ever does make a 12″ MacBook Pro like the rumors say, I’d get it instantly.
I actually got the iMac because my MacBook kept failing on me - around the time I had that random shutdown syndrome really bad and Apple had my MacBook in for repairs for over a month. The 24-incher was a mix of great value and performance, so it was an easy decision. Now, my only concern is that it will be outdated very quickly and then I’ll have no use for the 24-inch screen. It’s not like I can just connect another computer to it. =/
What other Apple gear do you own?
I have a White 4GB Nano 1st Generation and an Orange iPod Shuffle with my URL laser etched on the back. I also have an old school FireWire iSight that I love.
What is your next planned upgrade to your workstation?
I don’t have any plans to upgrade my Apple gear for quite some time as I’ve begun saving up for a Lotus Exige S (not anytime soon, 5 years at least) at the moment. I will, of course, upgrade both machines to Leopard when that comes out. Like I mentioned earlier, if some 12-inch MacBook Pro does ever get released, I’ll be selling my MacBook to purchase it.
What do you think of Paul’s setup?
May 7th, 2007 at 11:03 am
Paul is probably the only person I’ve seen rockin’ a VESA mount with his setup that doesn’t look like ass. No seriously. The setup + mount doesn’t get any prettier than that.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:12 am
What is that little white device next to the iMac?
By the way: I´d also love to have a 12″ Macbook Pro. My 12″ Powerbook is great but it´s performance is not enough anymore
May 7th, 2007 at 11:15 am
Sonos player to the right (controller). I’m waiting for the 12.3″ MacBook Pro. You have to throw in the widescreen.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:16 am
One has to adore iMacs. S-E-X-Y!!
May 7th, 2007 at 11:44 am
I’m another who would jump on the 12.3″ MacBook pro if it was released. Slim, sexy, aluminum, and small - what more could one want from a laptop?
May 7th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Nice one Glenn. I remember reading something about using the 24inch imac as a standalone monitor, all you had to do is to use a little application from apple that transformed your imac into a “zombie”-like lcd screen.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Oh! That would be awesome. Does anyone have a link/name for that app?
May 7th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
I love that setup… because it’s identical to mine. My iMac has a few better specs (max on everything I could) but other than that it’s the same.
I only have the MacBook because my PowerBook failed, otherwise I woud have loved to have waited until WWDC to pick myself up a MacBook Pro. Beggers, choosers and whatnot.
Anyway, nice to see. Oh, I would also like that link for the standalone monitor thing!
May 7th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
@Paul:
I believe the app is ScreenRecycler. BTW, I love your setup! Sure beats mine.
May 7th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Yep, that’s it :D the 24 inch screen is gigantic!!! :O
May 7th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
I like the simplicity of this set up - shows that ‘biggest isn’t always best’, and that Paul certainly seems to know what works for him.
Will be interesting to see what he needs in the future if he starts stacking the digital media :-)
Personallly I am a big fan of distributed computing and finding things for my older kit to ’specialise’ on, so you may find that retaining the iMac solely for your photo stuff for example may be the way to go.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
@Kutti: http://paulstamatiou.com/2007/05/07/review-sonos-digital-music-system/
May 8th, 2007 at 12:11 am
Great review Paul! Now I want a Sonos digital music system. Damn you!