A Peek Inside (Part 2)
I decided that I would take the look inside a year post (poorly labeled, and we're working on that) and make multiple posts that cover everything, or nearly everything I do or use as a coach. Part 1 was a quick rundown of a general day, and if I'm feeling ambitious I will do a fall/winter/spring day. They are similar but with some significant variations, and I could even do a travel and recruiting day breakdown. That might be more interesting.
With that being said, I've done a tool guide for everything I use, and I do have some of the media tools that I use, but I thought I'd go with more details here as to what I use, and why. I'm not a tech expert, so many of the tools or products I use are ones that I use because either others have recommended them, or because of previous experiences with them or with competitors. I'm only endorsing the products I use because of personal experience (though I wouldn't object to a sponsor *Apple*).
Today we will cover the technology I use.
Laptop
As I've previously stated, I own two laptops, one as a strictly work laptop, and my personal laptop. First, it should be known that work simply means that it's the laptop I use if I'm going to work in the office or public WiFi. Otherwise I use my personal laptop. My work laptop literally has work on it. Coaching files, etc. Because I purchased a bare bones version, it doesn't run video as well, and the limited hard drive means that I'm choosy about what I keep.
My work laptop is a 2018 HP Elitebook 840. It is certainly not one of the ones featured on the HP site, but that's the general look. It's a fairly bare bones laptop, and if I could do it all over again, I'd go a little more robust. Here's the breakdown:
* HP Elitebook 840
* 13" display
* Intel Core I5 processor
* 4 gig RAM
* 256 gig hard drive
* Windows 10 OS
Pros: It was inexpensive. I purchased a refurbished model through Best Buy's Geek Squad. I grew up on PCs so reintroducing Windows after using Apple OS for several years wasn't painful.
Cons: My biggest complaint about this laptop is the battery life. A full charge will get me roughly 2.5 hours on minimal use, under two hours if I'm doing any serious work. I can't complain about the hardware because I specifically purchased a striped down laptop. I wouldn't mind more RAM for faster booting and operation, and installing the second battery.
Overall: It does it's job reasonably well, it's light enough, and is worth the $250 dollars I spent on it.
My personal laptop is a 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina display. I love this laptop, and would love to upgrade it rather than purchase a new one, but a new one will be in the near future - before December.
Before I get into the meat of the computer, I will admit that I love my Apple products. I had the PC, Android devices first, and switched, and while I won't swear that I will never go back, I'm fairly certain I will never switch back. I'm not interested in the big debate PC vs. Mac. What I like is that the Apple products fit what I need better than the PC/Android products have which is why I made the switch, and why I'm sticking with them so far. I do own a PC desktop that I built myself with my beloved Windows 7 - best operating system ever made as far as I'm concerned - that I love, but for my current life, Apple fits the bill.
Here's the breakdown.
* MacBook Pro
* 13" Retina display
* 2.9 dual-core Intel I5
* 8 gigs Ram
* 512 gig solid state hard drive
* macOS Catalina (recently updated)
Pros: Everything. Ardent PC folks will scoff and say that Apple is just user friendly and for less tech savvy folks. I disagree completely, but I also ask why being user friendly is considered a negative. What I like most about my MBP is the battery life, and the seamless transitions between updates whether they be to apps or the OS.
Cons: Cost. I purchased this laptop brand new, and wow did that sting. Total I paid $1700 - laptop, case, and Office - which hurt the wallet a bit. The latest version of my laptop that I've been drooling over runs a neat $1800 before adding in the extras. That'll require a bit of savings. And I could use more storage and more RAM - I believe that's a common complaint for anyone - so while I don't blame the laptop because I chose the specs, I am wishing I'd gone for the 1 terabyte option. I never thought I'd fill a hard drive, but movies from practice, pictures, does the trick.
Overall: This is my work horse. As I explained above, I use my work laptop in specific situations because I don't want the public to have access to the MBP. There's nothing sinister on it, but with everything on it ranging from coaching to pictures of friends, I don't find it necessary to have it connected to public WiFi. I find that editing film of the team or individuals is easier on the MBP, which is why you'll often see me tapping away at it. I switched to Apple after back to back bad experiences with PCs - an HP and a Sony - and I'm happy that I did.
External Portable HD
If you don't backup your laptop monthly if not weekly, then you'll suffer the same thing that I suffered when my first laptop decided one day that it simply wouldn't start. Ever again. I use a Western Digital 3 terabyte portable hard drive to backup my laptop. I cannot recall where I picked it up from, but storage devices are almost always on sale at Costco, Best Buy, Amazon, etc.
Portable Bluetooth Speaker
I've had two portable speakers. The first was a random purchase off a flash sale from Amazon. It ran ok until it didn't which was roughly a year after purchase. It's currently sitting in a drawer. I'm not sure what I want to do with it. I had ideas of turning it into a secret stash, but then realized that someone breaking in would likely take the speaker so that idea didn't go far. Anyhow, I've upgraded to the Anker SoundCore portable speaker, and I love it. This thing is fantastic. It holds a charge for what feels like forever, it pairs quickly - I don't know the exact delay, but I'm also not so impatient that I need the 1" or less pairing offered by new devices - but it's relatively short, and it works well. It even worked with an NK coxbox set up that I've been working on. That'll be an update further down the road, but it's very cool. I like this portable speaker and use it when analyzing video because the depth and clarity of sound rivals the laptop.
PowerBeats
These are my choice for wireless earbuds. I suppose that they aren't technically wireless, and I may upgrade to the completely wireless set. I love these because of the ear loop, a feature that sets any earbuds apart. I also like that they are sweat resistant, and that the piece in the ear is soft and replaceable. I've never been a fan of the Apple earbuds because they're awkward and uncomfortable, not to mention the guys who own them on the team tend to go through a couple of sets each season since they are easily lost.
Phone
I have an iPhone 8 - will be upgraded when the next iPhone comes out - that I purchased right after the iPhone 10s hit the market. I got a great deal on this phone with a huge amount of storage - 256 gigs.
I got my first smartphone after needing directions to a regatta on the fly and getting lost. I went with a few Android devices and was fairly happy until I upgraded to an HTC Incredible. That phone functioned well until the first Android upgrade and then chugged. I replaced it with a Motorola Razr - non flip version - which promptly followed the example set by the HTC. After speaking with Verizon and getting nowhere, I spoke to a few tech savvy friends - not the friends who just love tech, but those who work in the tech industry - and they informed me that Android updates have this "cute" feature where they roll out a bunch of different operating systems for various companies, and how well this upgrade works for your phone depends entirely on which company you chose to go with. So two dual core phones that were top of the line when purchased no longer operated at full whack simply because I'd chosen Motorola and HTC rather than another brand.
With that, Android was out, and I switched to Apple. Now, I know a bunch of people will try and claim that Apple does the same thing with their products, but they don't. My iphone 8 is well behind the upgrades at this point and is working as well today as it did when I bought it. I reason that if I'm going to have to choose a specific company to get the best possible performance out of my phone, then I might as well go with a company that does most everything in house.
I also like that everything is contained onto one device. I use it for navigation, my music, getting film of the team or individuals, and I like the apps that make coaching easier like Coach's Eye, RowingSPM, ErgData, and Pace Calculator. I also have a time calculator but Excel has made that much easier.
Fitness tracker
Currently, I use a FitBit Alta HR having switched back from the FitBit Charge 3. The Charge 3 was a massive waste of money and has since been tossed into the discard bin. I originally switched because it was more weather resistant, and I liked some of the features that it had over the Alta HR, but it was nothing but trouble. The Alta HR isn't long for this world either. I have not been impressed with FitBit since they were purchased by Google. The updates always seem broken and require new updates to fix problems that shouldn't have existed to begin with - the draining battery is always fun and seems to be a problem with every single update - and the screen quality isn't solid.
So I'll be switching. I'm debating between a Garmin - looking at several - and an Apple Nike Series 5 so stay tuned for that.
That's the rundown on the technology that I use on a regular/daily basis. Again, I make no claims that what I use is the best out there. It simply works best for what I need it for, and works better than previous devices or products through other companies.
We'll cover clothing, again, in the next post.
Stay safe out there.
With that being said, I've done a tool guide for everything I use, and I do have some of the media tools that I use, but I thought I'd go with more details here as to what I use, and why. I'm not a tech expert, so many of the tools or products I use are ones that I use because either others have recommended them, or because of previous experiences with them or with competitors. I'm only endorsing the products I use because of personal experience (though I wouldn't object to a sponsor *Apple*).
Today we will cover the technology I use.
Laptop
As I've previously stated, I own two laptops, one as a strictly work laptop, and my personal laptop. First, it should be known that work simply means that it's the laptop I use if I'm going to work in the office or public WiFi. Otherwise I use my personal laptop. My work laptop literally has work on it. Coaching files, etc. Because I purchased a bare bones version, it doesn't run video as well, and the limited hard drive means that I'm choosy about what I keep.
My work laptop is a 2018 HP Elitebook 840. It is certainly not one of the ones featured on the HP site, but that's the general look. It's a fairly bare bones laptop, and if I could do it all over again, I'd go a little more robust. Here's the breakdown:
* HP Elitebook 840
* 13" display
* Intel Core I5 processor
* 4 gig RAM
* 256 gig hard drive
* Windows 10 OS
Pros: It was inexpensive. I purchased a refurbished model through Best Buy's Geek Squad. I grew up on PCs so reintroducing Windows after using Apple OS for several years wasn't painful.
Cons: My biggest complaint about this laptop is the battery life. A full charge will get me roughly 2.5 hours on minimal use, under two hours if I'm doing any serious work. I can't complain about the hardware because I specifically purchased a striped down laptop. I wouldn't mind more RAM for faster booting and operation, and installing the second battery.
Overall: It does it's job reasonably well, it's light enough, and is worth the $250 dollars I spent on it.
My personal laptop is a 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina display. I love this laptop, and would love to upgrade it rather than purchase a new one, but a new one will be in the near future - before December.
Before I get into the meat of the computer, I will admit that I love my Apple products. I had the PC, Android devices first, and switched, and while I won't swear that I will never go back, I'm fairly certain I will never switch back. I'm not interested in the big debate PC vs. Mac. What I like is that the Apple products fit what I need better than the PC/Android products have which is why I made the switch, and why I'm sticking with them so far. I do own a PC desktop that I built myself with my beloved Windows 7 - best operating system ever made as far as I'm concerned - that I love, but for my current life, Apple fits the bill.
Here's the breakdown.
* MacBook Pro
* 13" Retina display
* 2.9 dual-core Intel I5
* 8 gigs Ram
* 512 gig solid state hard drive
* macOS Catalina (recently updated)
Pros: Everything. Ardent PC folks will scoff and say that Apple is just user friendly and for less tech savvy folks. I disagree completely, but I also ask why being user friendly is considered a negative. What I like most about my MBP is the battery life, and the seamless transitions between updates whether they be to apps or the OS.
Cons: Cost. I purchased this laptop brand new, and wow did that sting. Total I paid $1700 - laptop, case, and Office - which hurt the wallet a bit. The latest version of my laptop that I've been drooling over runs a neat $1800 before adding in the extras. That'll require a bit of savings. And I could use more storage and more RAM - I believe that's a common complaint for anyone - so while I don't blame the laptop because I chose the specs, I am wishing I'd gone for the 1 terabyte option. I never thought I'd fill a hard drive, but movies from practice, pictures, does the trick.
Overall: This is my work horse. As I explained above, I use my work laptop in specific situations because I don't want the public to have access to the MBP. There's nothing sinister on it, but with everything on it ranging from coaching to pictures of friends, I don't find it necessary to have it connected to public WiFi. I find that editing film of the team or individuals is easier on the MBP, which is why you'll often see me tapping away at it. I switched to Apple after back to back bad experiences with PCs - an HP and a Sony - and I'm happy that I did.
External Portable HD
If you don't backup your laptop monthly if not weekly, then you'll suffer the same thing that I suffered when my first laptop decided one day that it simply wouldn't start. Ever again. I use a Western Digital 3 terabyte portable hard drive to backup my laptop. I cannot recall where I picked it up from, but storage devices are almost always on sale at Costco, Best Buy, Amazon, etc.
Portable Bluetooth Speaker
I've had two portable speakers. The first was a random purchase off a flash sale from Amazon. It ran ok until it didn't which was roughly a year after purchase. It's currently sitting in a drawer. I'm not sure what I want to do with it. I had ideas of turning it into a secret stash, but then realized that someone breaking in would likely take the speaker so that idea didn't go far. Anyhow, I've upgraded to the Anker SoundCore portable speaker, and I love it. This thing is fantastic. It holds a charge for what feels like forever, it pairs quickly - I don't know the exact delay, but I'm also not so impatient that I need the 1" or less pairing offered by new devices - but it's relatively short, and it works well. It even worked with an NK coxbox set up that I've been working on. That'll be an update further down the road, but it's very cool. I like this portable speaker and use it when analyzing video because the depth and clarity of sound rivals the laptop.
PowerBeats
These are my choice for wireless earbuds. I suppose that they aren't technically wireless, and I may upgrade to the completely wireless set. I love these because of the ear loop, a feature that sets any earbuds apart. I also like that they are sweat resistant, and that the piece in the ear is soft and replaceable. I've never been a fan of the Apple earbuds because they're awkward and uncomfortable, not to mention the guys who own them on the team tend to go through a couple of sets each season since they are easily lost.
Phone
I have an iPhone 8 - will be upgraded when the next iPhone comes out - that I purchased right after the iPhone 10s hit the market. I got a great deal on this phone with a huge amount of storage - 256 gigs.
I got my first smartphone after needing directions to a regatta on the fly and getting lost. I went with a few Android devices and was fairly happy until I upgraded to an HTC Incredible. That phone functioned well until the first Android upgrade and then chugged. I replaced it with a Motorola Razr - non flip version - which promptly followed the example set by the HTC. After speaking with Verizon and getting nowhere, I spoke to a few tech savvy friends - not the friends who just love tech, but those who work in the tech industry - and they informed me that Android updates have this "cute" feature where they roll out a bunch of different operating systems for various companies, and how well this upgrade works for your phone depends entirely on which company you chose to go with. So two dual core phones that were top of the line when purchased no longer operated at full whack simply because I'd chosen Motorola and HTC rather than another brand.
With that, Android was out, and I switched to Apple. Now, I know a bunch of people will try and claim that Apple does the same thing with their products, but they don't. My iphone 8 is well behind the upgrades at this point and is working as well today as it did when I bought it. I reason that if I'm going to have to choose a specific company to get the best possible performance out of my phone, then I might as well go with a company that does most everything in house.
I also like that everything is contained onto one device. I use it for navigation, my music, getting film of the team or individuals, and I like the apps that make coaching easier like Coach's Eye, RowingSPM, ErgData, and Pace Calculator. I also have a time calculator but Excel has made that much easier.
Fitness tracker
Currently, I use a FitBit Alta HR having switched back from the FitBit Charge 3. The Charge 3 was a massive waste of money and has since been tossed into the discard bin. I originally switched because it was more weather resistant, and I liked some of the features that it had over the Alta HR, but it was nothing but trouble. The Alta HR isn't long for this world either. I have not been impressed with FitBit since they were purchased by Google. The updates always seem broken and require new updates to fix problems that shouldn't have existed to begin with - the draining battery is always fun and seems to be a problem with every single update - and the screen quality isn't solid.
So I'll be switching. I'm debating between a Garmin - looking at several - and an Apple Nike Series 5 so stay tuned for that.
That's the rundown on the technology that I use on a regular/daily basis. Again, I make no claims that what I use is the best out there. It simply works best for what I need it for, and works better than previous devices or products through other companies.
We'll cover clothing, again, in the next post.
Stay safe out there.
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