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Low-end computing
Apr. 8th, 2007 01:53 amOkay, I may have mentioned computer projects here once or twice, and if you skimmed over them and went, "Meh. There goes Geeky Allison* again," then this entry is not for you.
I'm a fan of Old Skool Computing. That's right. I don't need or want** the high-end, snazzy tech that will do everything from edit video to make you coffee. I'm a big proselytizer of the philosophy of "get what you need, and only what you need." You don't need Hal 9000 to write a paper. Really! I swear to God!
For example, I'm currently writing this journal on a laptop manufactured six years ago (Joyce's old Dell Inspiron 5000e). I'm on dial-up internet, using Firefox, just as I do on my two-year old Powerbook G4, which is purportedly three times as fast with five times the memory.
I can play music on here, and if I go and find a DVD-ROM module for this, which slides right in where the CD-ROM is right now, I can watch movies. I can hook this sucker up to a monitor or TV. I can use Photoshop and Microsoft Office and more.
I should probably point out right now that I don't consider this laptop old.
(What I REALLY love is pulling a Powerbook 1400c laptop made in 1996 out of the closet, booting it up into Macintosh System 7, and seeing what it can do.
Surprise, surprise, it can connect to the internet via dial-up (also ethernet and WiFi), run Microsoft Office and Photoshop...
Huh.
COOL.
Not only that, but it also has the swappable CD-drive bay...)
I guess what I'm saying here is, I'm an addict, and what I'm addicted to is simplicity, good design, and high-quality hardware that lasts decades.
Sure, I could go out right now and spend $500 (theoretically) on a new Dell laptop that can play newer games, but that's the only thing it can do that this older model can't. And I still can play games on this thing. Just not World of Warcraft.
But, come to think of it, no $500 laptop will do that either.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave...
Here's the bottom line: if you want a mobile computing solution, and you don't have any pressing needs beyond internet browsing, word processing/spreadsheeting (TM), music, and the occasional DVD, ANY laptop (or desktop) made in the last five years will probably be able to accommodate you. And if you do your research (or ask Allison to advise you), you can find one that's solidly-built and worth its salt even this far into its life.
The cheap-o, base models from Dell, Toshiba, HP, Acer, and Gateway won't last you two years, guaranteed. They're not designed to. Like the washing machine and the refrigerator, computers are now considered "disposable" appliances, rather than lifetime investments. They're cheaper to replace than fix, and with the rate of new technological development, in two years, the advertisers will pretend they never extolled the virtues of your then-cutting-edge machine because to them, it's now a dinosaur. Without exception, no manufacturer even services machines older than two or three years, and that's only if you bought the extended warranty back when that nervous guy at Best Buy pleaded that he had to make his quota.
So, to sum up: if you've got money to burn and you're looking for the latest and greatest, I can advise you well enough. But if you're like me - on a budget and no immediate hankering for an online bloodbath with 10,000 of your closest friends - then I can advise you extremely well.
Because this is what I do, and this is what I love: finding the right tool for the job, and finding it at an affordable price.
Man, I sound like an ad campaign***. Good thing I'm planning on doing this for a living pretty soon, eh?
* And I really need an icon for that...
** Okay, maybe I want the high-end gear, but I'm not foolish enough to buy anything new unless I absolutely have to. If my car's transmission dies, yeah, I'm gonna get a new one. But if I need a gadget, and I know a used one will work, I'm always going to be with used.
*** Theresa, I haven't run this through my internal editor, but what do you think? Better than the Philosophy Whacko? There are no Spider Gods, cookies, or manifolds of any variety. That I'm aware of. Hmmm.
I'm a fan of Old Skool Computing. That's right. I don't need or want** the high-end, snazzy tech that will do everything from edit video to make you coffee. I'm a big proselytizer of the philosophy of "get what you need, and only what you need." You don't need Hal 9000 to write a paper. Really! I swear to God!
For example, I'm currently writing this journal on a laptop manufactured six years ago (Joyce's old Dell Inspiron 5000e). I'm on dial-up internet, using Firefox, just as I do on my two-year old Powerbook G4, which is purportedly three times as fast with five times the memory.
I can play music on here, and if I go and find a DVD-ROM module for this, which slides right in where the CD-ROM is right now, I can watch movies. I can hook this sucker up to a monitor or TV. I can use Photoshop and Microsoft Office and more.
I should probably point out right now that I don't consider this laptop old.
(What I REALLY love is pulling a Powerbook 1400c laptop made in 1996 out of the closet, booting it up into Macintosh System 7, and seeing what it can do.
Surprise, surprise, it can connect to the internet via dial-up (also ethernet and WiFi), run Microsoft Office and Photoshop...
Huh.
COOL.
Not only that, but it also has the swappable CD-drive bay...)
I guess what I'm saying here is, I'm an addict, and what I'm addicted to is simplicity, good design, and high-quality hardware that lasts decades.
Sure, I could go out right now and spend $500 (theoretically) on a new Dell laptop that can play newer games, but that's the only thing it can do that this older model can't. And I still can play games on this thing. Just not World of Warcraft.
But, come to think of it, no $500 laptop will do that either.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave...
Here's the bottom line: if you want a mobile computing solution, and you don't have any pressing needs beyond internet browsing, word processing/spreadsheeting (TM), music, and the occasional DVD, ANY laptop (or desktop) made in the last five years will probably be able to accommodate you. And if you do your research (or ask Allison to advise you), you can find one that's solidly-built and worth its salt even this far into its life.
The cheap-o, base models from Dell, Toshiba, HP, Acer, and Gateway won't last you two years, guaranteed. They're not designed to. Like the washing machine and the refrigerator, computers are now considered "disposable" appliances, rather than lifetime investments. They're cheaper to replace than fix, and with the rate of new technological development, in two years, the advertisers will pretend they never extolled the virtues of your then-cutting-edge machine because to them, it's now a dinosaur. Without exception, no manufacturer even services machines older than two or three years, and that's only if you bought the extended warranty back when that nervous guy at Best Buy pleaded that he had to make his quota.
So, to sum up: if you've got money to burn and you're looking for the latest and greatest, I can advise you well enough. But if you're like me - on a budget and no immediate hankering for an online bloodbath with 10,000 of your closest friends - then I can advise you extremely well.
Because this is what I do, and this is what I love: finding the right tool for the job, and finding it at an affordable price.
Man, I sound like an ad campaign***. Good thing I'm planning on doing this for a living pretty soon, eh?
* And I really need an icon for that...
** Okay, maybe I want the high-end gear, but I'm not foolish enough to buy anything new unless I absolutely have to. If my car's transmission dies, yeah, I'm gonna get a new one. But if I need a gadget, and I know a used one will work, I'm always going to be with used.
*** Theresa, I haven't run this through my internal editor, but what do you think? Better than the Philosophy Whacko? There are no Spider Gods, cookies, or manifolds of any variety. That I'm aware of. Hmmm.
