Greg Morris

My Set Up And Want For More

I try and keep the My Gear page of the blog updated regularly, but I change my mind so many times and buy new things far too often. Indeed I am a bad minimalist, but I do try and make sure everything is sold before I buy something new. My current set up is a bit confused at the moment and it is stressing me out a little but at the same time I am amazingly grateful to be able to use such a range of stuff.

My main computer is an iMac Pro. I love working on it, it’s powerful, elegant and does everything I want it to. From my design work, to producing the occasional video and spending far too much time in the Adobe suite of apps it never misses a beat. At home I am currently using a 2017 5k iMac, which does most things but to be honest doesn’t get used much of the time. Mainly my wife is using it for her home working and my son does some school things on it.

I also carry around with me a 2019 MacBook Air for use in meetings and while travelling. I bought this when I rage quit using my iPad Pro 6 months ago. I wont go into the reasons in here but the MacBook Air is great for note taking, meetings and other light tasks with fantastic battery life. The current situation doesn’t lend itself to me needing a laptop at the moment, so it is being used by a friend to work from home rather than sit in its box.

Spoiler alert, of course I bought an iPad again when the new ones came out, and I’m waiting with bated breath for the arrival of the Magic Keyboard. I wouldn’t say I went back to using an iPad solely because of the Magic keyboard but that and awesome set up walkthroughs like Andy Nicolaides, makes me want to do more with my set up. Things like the great AboveTEK Elegant Aluminium iPad Pro Stand and also the addition of a proper laptop like keyboard allows my iPad to become more. As Federico Viticci points out, the iPad becomes a modular computer when a supportive Eco-system exists around it.

Add to this the fact that I really enjoy writing on the iPad, means that I don’t feel my MacBook Air will be around very long. However I want to do more with my set up to make this transition worth while. I don’t ever see myself working full time on an iPad but I may use it sometimes with an external monitor, which I can’t do with my current iMac. So where do I go from here?

My desire to make my set up more is also contrasted to my need to make my computer more discreet. A more minimal approach to my office would make me much more comfortable, as well as win me some Instagram points! I don’t like a great big iMac stuck on my desk, so I am leaning more towards something like the LG Ultra Fine or an ultra wide display which I could mount to a wall and also use with my Switch.

Unfortunately the computing power and outlay of a Mac Mini isn’t pulling me in at the moment, but I guess never say never. It wouldn’t take much to out power my iMac but I’d love something that can do things more easily. Or maybe I just have massive FOMO — who knows.

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