My computer is back. I haven't turned it on yet, but evidently it needed a new fan and a new processor. The CD-Rewrite drive that the person I'm not supposed to write about in this blog without his permission installed for me never once worked, and Dad's computer guy said (and I quote) "It's toast." He also suggested I get a new computer. I intend to do that, but it might be a little while.
But, while looking at computers on Dell's website (I'm definitely getting a Dell, for various reasons) I realized something. I buy things to last. Years and years. If something dies a year after I buy it, then I'm very unwilling to buy that brand ever again, no matter how cheap it is.
I got my Mavica in Feb. 2000. That makes it almost three years old. Sure, there are better cameras out there now (like the CD-1000 I drool over) but I've never once had a problem with it, and this is after taking over 4,000 pictures in three years. I still don't have any problems with it. My only problem, in fact, was a known problem with the battery not charging after a while, so I bought a new one and all was well. Yes, I probably could save up my money to buy a new camera, but at the moment, mine will do. And unless I get a really good deal on the camera I want, I probably will keep mine until it dies.
My first computer had a 2 gig harddrive. It wasn't even a Pentium. It was a Compaq something-or-other, had a Celeron processor, and crashed twice in the three years I used it. Twice. Yes, it was slow (especially by today's standards), yes it was almost full when I got rid of it, but it was a good computer. And although I'm looking to buy a Dell next, I still think Compaq is a good brand. And I'm not even going to mention that if typewriters had cut and paste capabilities, I'd probably still be using my Smith-Corona from the 40s to type my novels on...
Recently, I purchased a pair of shoes from Sierra Trading Post to replace a pair of shoes I've had since I was a freshman in High School. (My ten-year reunion was last year, if you're wondering.) They've been dying slowly for a year and a half, but I really didn't have much extra money to replace them, so I waited and hoped they didn't die before I could. Those shoes are now retired, but I'll probably still wear them on occassion.
I intend to attempt to keep my Vibe when the lease is up, and drive it until I can't drive it anymore. I have clothes that I've had for more than ten years that still have plenty of wear in them. Obviously, that also goes for shoes. Heck, I drove my Geo for almost eight years, and my sister's still driving it. (Although it is at the age where things are starting to go. Poor car. At the moment, it has its windows painted with various stuff for her Homecoming game.)
So my next computer, to get back on track, should have enough space and enough power to last me for a long time. I know now, since I recently had to switch all my documents and stories over onto disks and onto Dad's old computer, that the entirety of my "life's work" takes up less than 100 mb of space. If I add on all the programs I use, pictures, and various and sundry other things (like my Visor's sync stuff), I still take up less than a gig. This means that any computer I buy brand new will be good for years to come (in essence) because my documents folder is only five year's of work, essentially. And the lowest harddrive I saw on the Dell Site was 20 gig. The highest? 100 gig. (I'm looking at about 40 gig, with a CD-RW drive. I don't need a DVD on the computer; they're cheap enough now that I can buy one eventually and be fine, since I already have a TV/VCR combo.)
My goal is to spend less than $1,000, which includes the monitor. At the Dell site, for everything I wanted, I spend $847, and that included a 15" Flat Panel Display monitor. Not bad!
I read an article in the paper about SUVs this morning, and it mentioned the Super-size American Way. And I got to thinking... what would you use a 100 gig harddrive for?! I mean... what, you buy a cutting-edge computer for $3000 or more (depending on the brand) and then they come out with a new one that's ten times better than yours. (And they cut the price of the one you just bought, of course.) Where does it stop? Do you continue spending money on bigger and better things, never to be satisfied with what you have? Or do you make a list of what you need and use that list to spend your money more wisely? Which is the better way to go about living?
I don't know about you, but I'm going with the need vs. want. And I don't need cutting-edge everything if I'm going to use the computer 85% of the time for word-processing. I just want things to last, and things to work well. That's all.
Okay, that was a sort of semi-rant, but its been preying on my mind for a while now, and I had to get it off my chest.
I had a really neat dream last night, too, btw. I'm going to write it up and probably do it as a story sometime in the future.
Oh, and I got a really great idea as to how to figure out which unfinished (and new) WIP to write next. I'll write about that in a bit. Have to get ready for church.
But, while looking at computers on Dell's website (I'm definitely getting a Dell, for various reasons) I realized something. I buy things to last. Years and years. If something dies a year after I buy it, then I'm very unwilling to buy that brand ever again, no matter how cheap it is.
I got my Mavica in Feb. 2000. That makes it almost three years old. Sure, there are better cameras out there now (like the CD-1000 I drool over) but I've never once had a problem with it, and this is after taking over 4,000 pictures in three years. I still don't have any problems with it. My only problem, in fact, was a known problem with the battery not charging after a while, so I bought a new one and all was well. Yes, I probably could save up my money to buy a new camera, but at the moment, mine will do. And unless I get a really good deal on the camera I want, I probably will keep mine until it dies.
My first computer had a 2 gig harddrive. It wasn't even a Pentium. It was a Compaq something-or-other, had a Celeron processor, and crashed twice in the three years I used it. Twice. Yes, it was slow (especially by today's standards), yes it was almost full when I got rid of it, but it was a good computer. And although I'm looking to buy a Dell next, I still think Compaq is a good brand. And I'm not even going to mention that if typewriters had cut and paste capabilities, I'd probably still be using my Smith-Corona from the 40s to type my novels on...
Recently, I purchased a pair of shoes from Sierra Trading Post to replace a pair of shoes I've had since I was a freshman in High School. (My ten-year reunion was last year, if you're wondering.) They've been dying slowly for a year and a half, but I really didn't have much extra money to replace them, so I waited and hoped they didn't die before I could. Those shoes are now retired, but I'll probably still wear them on occassion.
I intend to attempt to keep my Vibe when the lease is up, and drive it until I can't drive it anymore. I have clothes that I've had for more than ten years that still have plenty of wear in them. Obviously, that also goes for shoes. Heck, I drove my Geo for almost eight years, and my sister's still driving it. (Although it is at the age where things are starting to go. Poor car. At the moment, it has its windows painted with various stuff for her Homecoming game.)
So my next computer, to get back on track, should have enough space and enough power to last me for a long time. I know now, since I recently had to switch all my documents and stories over onto disks and onto Dad's old computer, that the entirety of my "life's work" takes up less than 100 mb of space. If I add on all the programs I use, pictures, and various and sundry other things (like my Visor's sync stuff), I still take up less than a gig. This means that any computer I buy brand new will be good for years to come (in essence) because my documents folder is only five year's of work, essentially. And the lowest harddrive I saw on the Dell Site was 20 gig. The highest? 100 gig. (I'm looking at about 40 gig, with a CD-RW drive. I don't need a DVD on the computer; they're cheap enough now that I can buy one eventually and be fine, since I already have a TV/VCR combo.)
My goal is to spend less than $1,000, which includes the monitor. At the Dell site, for everything I wanted, I spend $847, and that included a 15" Flat Panel Display monitor. Not bad!
I read an article in the paper about SUVs this morning, and it mentioned the Super-size American Way. And I got to thinking... what would you use a 100 gig harddrive for?! I mean... what, you buy a cutting-edge computer for $3000 or more (depending on the brand) and then they come out with a new one that's ten times better than yours. (And they cut the price of the one you just bought, of course.) Where does it stop? Do you continue spending money on bigger and better things, never to be satisfied with what you have? Or do you make a list of what you need and use that list to spend your money more wisely? Which is the better way to go about living?
I don't know about you, but I'm going with the need vs. want. And I don't need cutting-edge everything if I'm going to use the computer 85% of the time for word-processing. I just want things to last, and things to work well. That's all.
Okay, that was a sort of semi-rant, but its been preying on my mind for a while now, and I had to get it off my chest.
I had a really neat dream last night, too, btw. I'm going to write it up and probably do it as a story sometime in the future.
Oh, and I got a really great idea as to how to figure out which unfinished (and new) WIP to write next. I'll write about that in a bit. Have to get ready for church.
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