Hi everyone! Long post ahead. [emoji3]

I'm coming from 2011 MacBook Pro. It has boot camp so it can run Windows, but Windows XP. I mainly used it for Matlab. Other than that, it's Mac.

I recently received a call that I am needed to teach again and that will be this coming Monday. Knowing that classes are now online, I had an idea of making the class a bit interesting by doing a few tricks, with the green screen I recently discovered, by moving the magnetic contactor on its own while "talking to it" to function. Another discovery is the software OBS. I was able to get the basics and I tested my idea with Google Meet, together with OBS. And here I encountered a big, big, big problem! I am no longer moving in the video. The computer slowed down so much that it took about a minute to see my face to move from left to right.

My brother told me to buy a new laptop. I don't know if what I bought is the best or is an overkill. I have totally forgotten about the laptop thread, so I wasn't able to get an idea what to buy. Anyways, this is what my brother insisted that I should get.





With the current pandemic, I was able to enjoy the same delivery day. My brother ordered it from KWANCORP around 4 PM yesterday, and we received it around 6 PM.



Surprise! When I started the laptop, it comes with the full version of Windows. Many years ago, I remember that laptops came with the trial version of Windows. Another surprise, the user interface is similar to Windows XP. I don't know what version of Windows I used before, where I got confused that looking for the Control Panel took me time.

Speaking of time, cold boot is lightning fast! I tried it a couple of times, but it only took two seconds to show up the desktop. I feel I'm exaggerating, so let's make it five seconds. Exaggerating or not, this is not the usual boot up time that I am used to with Windows.

I missed right away the "X" location of the tabs and windows positioned to the left, the familiar location for Mac.

Starting with that "X" thing, here are some questions that I hope you can answer and give an advice or two:

1. What software can I use to have the "feel" of the Mac OS? I know I can adjust but...

2. Any other software that you can recommend in conjunction with OBS for presentation? Priority is ease of use during presentation. I've heard of Presenter Pro but it's not free, and I don't know how much is the learning curve.

3. Do you think using FACERIG will make the class more interesting? Many years ago, connecting with my students is very easy with face-to-face classes. I don't know if I can make the same effect online.

4. I recently learned how to use Blender. It's a video editing software and it's free. Do you have any other recommendations? I already searched but I might have missed the "right one" because I'm in a hurry.

5. Any ideas how to make an online class interesting? I have the feeling that an online class is a bit boring. So I'm willing to try anything, even if it's a "crazy" one.

6. Any software that you think I need with Windows? I never bothered to have an antivirus software before but I think I need one now. Any other software aside from an antivirus? Anything useful will be greatly appreciated.