Oh, Baby

[ase]

I am in denial that I may or may not be killing laptop AC adapter #3. Since I've got backup, and the other option is the port itself going, I'm going to stick to scowling at the part that's broken with depressing regularity in the past and work on denying without ruling out other possibilities.

In related news, the optical drive appears to have slid down the functionality curve to 95% dead. My roommate had a peripheral that wasn't in use: it has been co-opted for my electronic-industrial complex.

The first thing I will buy when I have a job is a mattress, box spring and frame set. The second thing may be a laptop. (Not an HP. Unless I can get something reliable, under 6 pounds, quad core, with a 15.4" non-widescreen LCD, plus 2 year hardware warranty, for significantly less than anyone else is offering.)

I keep going back and forth on the value of replacing the baby laptop before it outright clunks. The only major component currently out of commission has been unreliable for pretty much ever, but the core components are hanging in there, so I'm tempted to top off the laptop savings account and lock it down until the next major components revolution, or another logic board meltdown, or until it gets significantly more flaky on internet and MS Office use. The last time I poked at laptops I decided I hated all the consumer models (ugh! That scratch-attracting plastic finish! Ugh!), which is a shame, because do I really need a business-quality machine? No. On the other hand, the baby laptop is three and a half years old and has been issue-prone. So maybe I can forgive myself if I spend a lot of money on a machine I buy in mid-2010 with the expectation of replacing in 2014. Are the sales reps ever going to look at me funny when I flip over the display machines and squint at the CD bays.

The other option is some sort of netbook-desktop combo. Regrettably, I have no interest in screwing around with the sub-$500 computing market in any way, shape or form until the iPad competition is into its second generation. Say, three years? Which puts us near the end of the projected Next Generation Laptop cycle anyway, so: no netbook-and-desktop for my Skynet@Home contribution yet. (I shall call my next computer Skynet! It is very wrong and yet very funny to me.)

Comments

[sraun]

Something to think about - check the prices on the Dell Latitudes in their Outlet Store (currently at http://www.dell.com/us/en/dfb/notebooks/ct.aspx?refid=notebooks&s=dfb&cs=28). I and my employers have been really happy with the Latitude line for years and years now - my wife is currently using my old Latitude, and it's ... six, seven years old? And was not the top-of-the-line model when I got it.

[ase]

The Latitude Z600 with 128 GB solid state drive and dual core is, get this, under $1,000. Adding in the warranty is going to push it into four figure territory, but I'm still drooling over the solid state drive like a big old geek. Intellectually, I understand I've had really good experiences with regular spinny platters, but at an emotional level - solid state.

Then there is the XP versus Vista question. But this is a preliminary assessment stage.

[sraun]

Do I correctly interpret this as a squee about a previously unknown resource?

[ase]

I think "squee" is a word that sounds like a biological function gone wrong. I would say I had a positive reaction to the website, yeah, but most importantly I would say I'm geeking out over a pricepoint I didn't know about.

[norabombay]

I think you need a new - smaller- computer. Sell some plasma. Because you are not going to last without it.

I have the $500 x 3 thing going on. Netbook, Desktop, Laptop. All three together to make a more perfect union.

Or go buy a nice laptop the day you start work. A small one. Because you carry it on foot and it shouldn't kill you.

[ase]

I'm squeamish about needles, and have fairly lousy veins, but hey, plasma beats egg donation as a way to raise cash. (The craigslist "etc" work classifieds are... interesting.) The laptop should be relatively stationary in the future: if I need it at work, something is not right. Best-case plan is to do a couple of weeks of gainful employment, see what my personal computer usage patterns look like, and get what I need. My netbook "meh" may be modified by 1.) discovering SF cafes, 2.) a long commute, 3.) the power of cheap second hand netbooks and/or refurbs.

Worst case plan is the credit card. If the laptop clunks before I get employed, I'm queuing at the library or borrowing R's backup netbook just long enough to find something very cheap and reliable. My netbook "meh" may also evaporate in the face of internet withdrawal.