My work just posted an blogpost highlighting me as an employee. Here is the text. You can find the original post written by Lauren and Jennifer here.

Employee Spotlight: Mike C

LIME employees dedicate several hours a week honing their marketing ingenuity devising innovative apps, managing projects, creating designs, crafting effective advertising, and numerous other services. Today, we spotlight an employee who models the work and success of our company. Mike C, an employee since 2007, adds a myriad of talents, skills and insights to our marketing team as a graphic designer and project manager. I had the opportunity to chat with Mike, getting to know a bit about his background.

Mike’s Faves:

Mac computers; he actually collects older Apple computers

• Computer-related projects
• The 1948 Tucker Torpedo and the 1981 Delorean DMC-12 (cars, for those of us not in the know)
• Family and watching movies with the fam
• Awesome work projects (of course)

Originally from California where  his childhood was filled with legos, computers and lots of Disneyland, Mike has great memories of growing up, many involving his father: “One summer, we built arcade cabinets as well as electronics for classic games like Pac Man and Arkanoid. Each kid in our family now has one in their home. It’s a nice memento of those special times tinkering in the garage.” From those garage days of innovation, Mike went on to graduate from Brigham Young University with an undergrad in engineering.

I also asked Mike why he chose the field of marketing as a career and he responded, “I didn’t decide, it just sort of happened.” His favorite part about working for LIME is the versatility and diversity in the skill sets of employees as well as the projects we do here. Mike hopes to expand his knowledge and skills in graphic design as well as other aspects of marketing and management.

Curious as to what his opinions were, I asked what Mike thought about the development of iPad, iPhone and various other platforms for mobile technology. He responded, “As much as  I love computing, mobile technology almost scares me as I have seen it infiltrate my life and take up time that would otherwise be free. It’s amazing to have the power of these devices in my hand, and access to the world’s knowledge at all times, but part of me kind of longs for the simpler days when connectivity wasn’t so prominent.  On the flip side they are a blast to work with and give us more power in our hands then we have ever had before!”

Currently, Mike is working on medical applications for Orca MD™ specifically planning, layout and graphical aspects of the Orca “Decide” apps. One of his favorite projects was the first SpineDecide™ app. “We were treading new territory…I got a lot of photography experience.  It was a great app and has taken things to a whole new level!”

Along with  these numerous projects, Michael enjoys the many memories from LIME. His favorite was from this last Christmas party when Wes almost slammed 3-D artist Dan’s head into a wall in an ice skating race.

Needless to say, this will forever stick with Mike and the LIME marketing team.

We are grateful for Mike and his contributions to our marketing team. Don’t stop being awesome!

I have a lot of friends that ask me about buying Macs, selling Macs, switching to Macs, and fixing Macs. Most of the time, these questions revolve around the MacBook, Apple’s most popular consumer computer to date. I decided if I address these things in one place, I can just send my friends here to get their questions answered.

Why buy a MacBook?

MacBooks are good little computers. They have been Apple’s number one selling computer for quite sometime now. They are popular especially in academia among both students and teachers. MacBooks come in multiple form factors, from ultra portable (MacBook Air) to affordable (MacBook) to powerful (MacBook Pro).

For those who are currently using Windows based PCs, Macs have a lot to offer. While both Windows and Mac OS X are very comparable in features, additional benefits are derived from Mac OS X by virtue of the fact that Apple creates both the hardware and software that you get when purchasing a Mac. This eliminates a lot of the headaches that some people experience with driver problems and updates. Additionally, with fewer viruses out there for the Mac, there is less risk of software problems. Macs also have Time Machine, a backup utility, that I feel is a must for an increasingly digital data reliant generation as we are. Hourly backups that require almost zero configuration take the headache and uncertainty out of backing up important files. These features combined with the applications and seamless experience that Mac OS X delivers, I feel that Macs are a great choice for any user, novice to expert.

The MacBook Air ($999), which was recently revamped, offers portability and speed. Although the processor is slower than on the other MacBook models, the built in SSD delivers a blazingly fast performance for users on the go. The battery life is superb, is ultra light, and has a high-res display.

The MacBook ($999) is the economical choice. While it isn’t as light as the MacBook Air, it is more fully featured by the fact that it has an optical drive (CD/DVD), and Ethernet port. It’s slightly thicker, and heavier. It also sports a more powerful CPU.

The MacBook Pro ($1199) is the big-daddy of the MacBooks. It is bigger, more robust, and has the option of using the latest processor technologies. The video cards are better, and the screens are larger and features a FireWire port for those who loathe USB. Features like back-lit keyboards are also standard on the MacBook Pros, and they have the ability to have more RAM.

Where to buy a MacBook?

People will tell you that you can’t get a deal on the Mac. While it is true that Macs have fixed pricing, there are ways to get a lower price. One of the best kept secrets of Apple’s online store is the refurbished section of the store. This is where the best deals can be found. They destroy the educational discounts by a long shot (unless the free iPod deal is going on…). MacBooks can be marked down to as low as $750 depending on the day. The great thing is that since these come from Apple, they have the entire year warranty with the ability to upgrade with Apple Care just as any new computer from Apple.

Selling a MacBook?

One additional plus of Macs is that their value is retained for longer periods of time. Even the original MacBooks from 2006 can sell for $350 or so dollars, which is about 1/4 their original price. Not bad for 4 years of depreciation.

Newer models can fetch as much as $800 depending on the configuration. A good way to gauge the selling value of your Mac is to use this site called Mac2Sell.

Selling Macs is easy. I never seem to run out of people looking for a bargain for these cute little computers; high-schoolers and college-goers especially.

Should I upgrade?

Many people (myself included) bought a MacBook some time ago when Apple first introduced them. Since that time, many things have been changed on the MacBook. Notably, the HDD sizes, RAM capabilities, processor, screen, battery, construction, and the addition of an SD Card reader.

Before deciding to upgrade, it may be worth your while to think about how you use your computer, and how you feel it serves your purposes. A lot of what people do these days is web-based, and not very processor intensive, or even RAM intensive. Sometimes, a simple upgrade can make the difference people are looking for.

Faster or larger hard drives can improve performance, or give the desired space for all your MP3s. Hard drives are plentiful and getting cheaper by the day.

RAM can make a big difference in performance, especially when running multiple apps at a time. Older machines can only be upgraded to 3 GB, however new MacBooks can be upgraded to 4 or 8 depending on the year. RAM for these older MacBooks is rather inexpensive.

The LED backlit screens available on the newer MacBooks result in lower settings with the backlight as well as an increased battery performance. If you like to work in the dark, it may be worth upgrading for the sake of your eyes.

The graphics cards on the original MacBooks are not meant for gaming in the least. The most recent string of MacBooks perform much better in the graphics department. If you are a gamer, it would probably be good to upgrade, however if you don’t do any 3D or gaming, it probably won’t affect you to have an underpowered video card.

People on the go will appreciate the vast upgrade you can experience in battery technology by purchasing the most recent MacBook. They last far more than the original MacBook’s 2-3 hours, and can be great for students and businessmen that travel.

MacBook construction has also improved over that past few years. The unibody design has been a welcomed improvement over the earlier plastic models that were prone to cracking and discoloring. The cracking is annoying, but it can be fixed by purchasing a replacement “top case” online for around 50 bucks. If you can use a screw driver, you can replace it in 10 to 15 minutes.

Last, but not least, the processor. Back in the day, processor speeds were guaranteed to double every 18 months. Recently, this improvement has stagnated somewhat. The original MacBooks were available in 1.8 and 2.0 GHz varieties, but only 32 bit. Since the introduction of 64 bit processors 6 months after the initial release of the MacBooks, not a ton has changed. The baseline model is still only 2.4 GHz, presenting only a small 400 MHz boost in speed. Of course, if you are thinking of getting a Pro, you can enjoy a much better speed bump especially when looking at the i5 and i7 processors.

In the end…

In the end, it depends what your computing needs are. I have been in this boat, and every time I think to myself, “I just need to get that new shiny computer cause its faster and thinner and better,” I just have to remind myself that I barely use my laptop as it is, and when I do, it usually for tasks that I could easily do on an iPad anyways. I think I’ll be holding onto my MacBook for a few more years, or possibly until it stops working. They are great little machines!

I hate glossy displays.

I really do. Life has gotten a little harder ever since Apple’s attack on matte displays.

I have been using both the glossy and non-glossy displays for quite some time (over two years). At home, I choose to use older Cinema Displays (30″ and 23″) that are matte-coated, however, at work I am forced to use newer iMacs with glossy displays. I find that with the glossy display, I tend to have more eye-strain and difficulty matching colors. While it is true that I can “tune-out” some of the reflection and glare, it is still a nuisance, and I find much more comfort and joy using my matte displays at home.

I also own a black MacBook with the glossy display (albeit not glass like the new ones) and I can feel a difference when I use it versus a traditional matte display. Just recently, I was using a MacBook Pro with the matte display BTO option, and it was much easier for me to focus and read text on it, as well as match colors for a project.

Glossy is certainly great in certain circumstances, such as working outside in the sunlight, watching videos as a consumer, cleaning the screen after kids with dirty hands have touched it, etc., but the overly saturated colors, reflections, and eye-straining contrast are going to prevent me from buying an iMac or new Cinema Displays for doing any “pro” work. I do believe the iMac with the glass-fronted screen would be very convenient in a family oriented or “consumer” setting. It is certainly something I would buy for my family to use.

Part of me feels that with Apple’s new-found popularity amongst the young and trendy population, they have begun to ignore their “pro-users” who use these machines for design, video editing, photography, and the like. Lets just hope that someday Apple will make more displays for pro-users to use to prevent us from having to turn to a 3rd party manufacturer…