I probably know more than most people about computers, but that's mainly in the vein of diagnosing problems and knowing why Chrome or Firefox is better than IE as opposed to 'it just is!' or 'you can make it look like whatever you want!'.
When it comes to being on the cutting edge of technology, knowing what's about to hit the mainstream, I'm not that guy. I spent months thinking 'netbook' was just another synonym for 'laptop', I get nostalgic for floppy drives, and despite living with Dan talking about them for several years, I didn't know what a tablet was until just recently.
But over the next few weeks, that's changing.
Slightly.
I'm upgrading several key pieces of my technological arsenal, and after I explain why, I think you'll agree that it's long overdue.
Let's start with my printer. I don't have a printer.
At least not one that works. In first year, I mooched off Dan. But before year two, I was gifted a never-used bubblejet printer from the mid-90s. Nothing fancy obviously, but enough to print school papers and such.
This past spring, the bubblejet broke - I can't really explain how. Since I'd already spent more time trying to fix it than it was worth (considering even new I could probably find it for $5), I didn't bother to pursue it.
When Dan moved out, he left behind an old all-in-one printer - the one I'd used in first year oddly enough - with instructions to trash it. Remembering my predicament, I asked him if it would work. His answer, it might if I changed the ink, but nothing's for certain.
I guess I never got around to getting a new ink cartridge. All my assignments this year were printed through mooching of friends and WLUSP. Over the break, I'm finally rectifying this thanks to those deals where you get a cheap printer with purchase of a new computer.
But before I get to the computer, the iPod. My current iPod ("Ryan's iPod II", after the first one was rendered unusable back in high school by forces beyond my understanding) was the victim of my poor understanding of technology. In first year, I left my iPod connected to my computer almost 24/7. This was a bad idea on many levels - it took my computer an extra minute or two to boot up every time I switched it on because it had to load iTunes, and the constant charging of the battery ultimately left me with essentially no battery. I can currently get through about ten minutes worth of music (provided I scroll through the list, as shuffling kills the battery) before Ryan's iPod II goes kaput.
So I'm also getting a new iPod. Not a Touch, not anything fancy - just an MP3 player that can hold a whole crapload of music, so that I'll never, ever, be able to fill it. I've already got a cell phone and a laptop that are trying to be my all-in-one technology source, I don't need the same thing from my music player.
(Incidentally, that's probably a good sign of my unwillingness to adopt new technologies - the future is clearly a device that combines all these things, yet I'm refusing to accept that reality and trying to keep them all as separate as possible.)
I'll also be getting some sort of iPod-car adapter, because I'll be doing a lot of driving between Brantford and Waterloo and the radio gets boring.
And finally, the new computer. A short (and by no means exhaustive) list of complaints I have with my current computer:
-The monitor only displays a picture if it is held open at certain angles (fewer and fewer as time goes on)
-Probably related, a decent chunk of the cover (maybe two inches by half an inch) has fallen off
-Something is trapped inside one of the memory card slots
-Runs very loudly (not just the fan)
-Takes long time to boot up (and this is after running CCleaner and a dozen other programs provided on a free CD from some British computer magazine)
-Will not open PDFs in Chrome
-When I open IE (only for a PDF now), approximately 60% chance IE will not be able to open any page and I'll have to keep closing and opening the program until it does
-Opening My Computer, My Documents, or even the programs tab on the start menu causes unbelievable lag
-When I close iTunes, it opens itself back up automatically
-If I click over to another open program, might cycle through one or two others before stopping at the one I want
-When playing Solitaire and placing card from deck in a stack, image of card in deck sometimes remains that of old card (I assume that when Solitaire is messed up, that's a good sign that something's wrong)
-CD drive doesn't always work properly, I blame Dan
And probably quite a bit of other stuff I'm not thinking of right now. The monitor's the big thing though.
The replacement? Look to your right.
I'm actually not sure it's the same thing, but it definitely looks similar at least.
I wanted a real laptop because I use it too much to deal with a netbook's tiny screen. From there it was a matter of brand name more than anything else - a Consumer Reports survey put HP, Gateway, Toshiba and Acer near the top of the quality pile. My current computer is a Gateway, so you can guess why I eliminated that one. Dan had even more problems with Acer, so that was out. It was between HP and Toshiba, and this particular Toshiba received excellent reviews. Plus it's ridiculously cheap considering its power.
New computer, new MP3 player, new printer.
I'm not sure why you needed to know any of that.
--Ryan
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