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Sep. 10th, 2009 10:09 pmOh, man. You guys. The issue recently with posting is not that I have nothing to say since school started back up (and I got my financial aid money; I borrowed a little extra this year for reasons I shall get into in a bit), it's that I have SO MUCH TO SAY that I do not know where to start.
So I guess I'll start with my shiny new tech? (And, as it turns out, end there too.)
Reason I borrowed extra money: the Compaq Presario - which, despite HP's reputation, has served me well and faithfully - has been acting up. It probably has plenty of life left in it, but I didn't want to leave it to chance. I mean, with my luck it would die just before finals or something. So I ordered a new laptop.
Those of you who've been around for a while know of my previous laptop, the iBook. Yeah, I'm a Mac girl. My school system used Macs. The first computer I ever touched was an Apple IIe. I have no screaming objections to PCs (and, yes, would probably like them better if I knew how to work Linux, I know), but they're not what I grew up using. The iBook was my first very own, not-shared-with-the-family computer. The purchase of that computer ultimately sparked a series of misadventures that pretty much boil down to my not knowing fuck-all about owning a damn computer. I have the Presario because at one point I thought it would ultimately be cheaper to buy a PC. Guess why I thought this? I did not buy the extended warranty for the iBook. Ironically, it turns out that the malfunction in question was something that was running rampant and Apple would have FIXED IT FOR FREE anyway. *facepalm*
I still have the iBook. It works, after I got it fixed a couple of years ago (long after the window of free repair had expired, and before we got an Apple store in our local mall, so I had to use a private contractor, and I never want to know how much extra THAT cost), but there's this alarming grinding noise and seriously I never want to do the math about how much I paid for each month of use I actually got out of the damn thing. I consider it an lesson expensively learned.
When I bought the Compaq, I got the extended warranty. Through the store. Which was Circuit City. :D That's okay, though, since I had let the warranty lapse on account of the fixed iBook, pre-grinding. Um. *facepalm*
SO THE NEW COMPUTER. The new computer is a MacBook. The new computer is a MacBook PRO. The new computer is a MacBook Pro with upgraded memory and hard drive space, because the first two laptops both had about enough memory to run (and the Compaq to play some games on, though not without giving the fan a damn heart attack) and I got damn sick of programs locking up because I had the temerity to CLICK SOMETHING OMG. So the 4GB memory was probably a little bit overkill because I don't do a lot that uses a ton of memory, but by DAMN this thing is fast. It is wonderful. And I am also learning to plan ahead and leave space for what I might need a machine - not just a computer - to do a year or two from now.
My timing was awesome. Not only did I decide upon and make my purchase just after the official release of the newest OS (OSX 10.6, Snow Leopard), but I also did it while they were offering a free-after-rebate iPod Touch.
I just. You guys. Understand here that I never buy the sleek new technology, because I can't afford it and I don't care that much. I just last year got an MP3 player with video capability, and just got an MP3 player period a couple years before that. And before THAT, I was one of the only people you'd see on the bus or walking around with a freaking Discman. My new cell phone has Bluetooth capability, and I don't even know wtf that is FOR. Its only other major non-phone-related feature is a camera. I go for minimum bells and whistles and I have always liked it that way. So I'm a little overwhelmed by how much the iPod Touch can do. I feel like I've skipped right from records to CDs, and it's a bit of a shock. I wasted so much time last night playing with it - even more than I spent on my MacBook! (I got the MacBook yesterday, and had the iPod before then for some weird shipping reason, but couldn't do anything with it because I didn't want to have it, like, bond with my Presario and then have to wipe it.) I'm still not totally finished with setting the MacBook up in terms of all the files and programs and bookmarks I want, but I'm pretty happy with the state of my iPod.
And kind of sad, because I do love my Creative Zen, but it isn't compatible with Macs. Plus, it goes wonky a lot and they've stopped selling them so it's obsolete into the bargain even though I just got it last Christmas, so I have a feeling it would have needed replacing within the next year anyway. But I still love it, the dumb goofy thing, and will probably still use it from time-to-time for as long as I can get the Presario turned on to charge it.
. . . hmm. I was going to write about a bunch more stuff and then do some cuts, but I suppose I should save some stuff for future posts. I'd really like to get back into the habit of posting more than like six times a month at most.
Coming up: The hilarity of using Amazon to save money on textbooks when you have been assigned at least twenty books between four classes; realizing that you have to READ all of those books and you better get more organized than you've ever been in your life if you're going to keep up with all your classes; and what happens in your brain when all four of your classes study roughly the same time period in the same week. (I discovered in British Literature that the Yeats essays I read for Irish Literature and Culture annoyed me to death because he was an Aesthete! Go figure.)
Oh, yeah, and I bought the extended warranty for the MacBook. You better fucking believe it.
So I guess I'll start with my shiny new tech? (And, as it turns out, end there too.)
Reason I borrowed extra money: the Compaq Presario - which, despite HP's reputation, has served me well and faithfully - has been acting up. It probably has plenty of life left in it, but I didn't want to leave it to chance. I mean, with my luck it would die just before finals or something. So I ordered a new laptop.
Those of you who've been around for a while know of my previous laptop, the iBook. Yeah, I'm a Mac girl. My school system used Macs. The first computer I ever touched was an Apple IIe. I have no screaming objections to PCs (and, yes, would probably like them better if I knew how to work Linux, I know), but they're not what I grew up using. The iBook was my first very own, not-shared-with-the-family computer. The purchase of that computer ultimately sparked a series of misadventures that pretty much boil down to my not knowing fuck-all about owning a damn computer. I have the Presario because at one point I thought it would ultimately be cheaper to buy a PC. Guess why I thought this? I did not buy the extended warranty for the iBook. Ironically, it turns out that the malfunction in question was something that was running rampant and Apple would have FIXED IT FOR FREE anyway. *facepalm*
I still have the iBook. It works, after I got it fixed a couple of years ago (long after the window of free repair had expired, and before we got an Apple store in our local mall, so I had to use a private contractor, and I never want to know how much extra THAT cost), but there's this alarming grinding noise and seriously I never want to do the math about how much I paid for each month of use I actually got out of the damn thing. I consider it an lesson expensively learned.
When I bought the Compaq, I got the extended warranty. Through the store. Which was Circuit City. :D That's okay, though, since I had let the warranty lapse on account of the fixed iBook, pre-grinding. Um. *facepalm*
SO THE NEW COMPUTER. The new computer is a MacBook. The new computer is a MacBook PRO. The new computer is a MacBook Pro with upgraded memory and hard drive space, because the first two laptops both had about enough memory to run (and the Compaq to play some games on, though not without giving the fan a damn heart attack) and I got damn sick of programs locking up because I had the temerity to CLICK SOMETHING OMG. So the 4GB memory was probably a little bit overkill because I don't do a lot that uses a ton of memory, but by DAMN this thing is fast. It is wonderful. And I am also learning to plan ahead and leave space for what I might need a machine - not just a computer - to do a year or two from now.
My timing was awesome. Not only did I decide upon and make my purchase just after the official release of the newest OS (OSX 10.6, Snow Leopard), but I also did it while they were offering a free-after-rebate iPod Touch.
I just. You guys. Understand here that I never buy the sleek new technology, because I can't afford it and I don't care that much. I just last year got an MP3 player with video capability, and just got an MP3 player period a couple years before that. And before THAT, I was one of the only people you'd see on the bus or walking around with a freaking Discman. My new cell phone has Bluetooth capability, and I don't even know wtf that is FOR. Its only other major non-phone-related feature is a camera. I go for minimum bells and whistles and I have always liked it that way. So I'm a little overwhelmed by how much the iPod Touch can do. I feel like I've skipped right from records to CDs, and it's a bit of a shock. I wasted so much time last night playing with it - even more than I spent on my MacBook! (I got the MacBook yesterday, and had the iPod before then for some weird shipping reason, but couldn't do anything with it because I didn't want to have it, like, bond with my Presario and then have to wipe it.) I'm still not totally finished with setting the MacBook up in terms of all the files and programs and bookmarks I want, but I'm pretty happy with the state of my iPod.
And kind of sad, because I do love my Creative Zen, but it isn't compatible with Macs. Plus, it goes wonky a lot and they've stopped selling them so it's obsolete into the bargain even though I just got it last Christmas, so I have a feeling it would have needed replacing within the next year anyway. But I still love it, the dumb goofy thing, and will probably still use it from time-to-time for as long as I can get the Presario turned on to charge it.
. . . hmm. I was going to write about a bunch more stuff and then do some cuts, but I suppose I should save some stuff for future posts. I'd really like to get back into the habit of posting more than like six times a month at most.
Coming up: The hilarity of using Amazon to save money on textbooks when you have been assigned at least twenty books between four classes; realizing that you have to READ all of those books and you better get more organized than you've ever been in your life if you're going to keep up with all your classes; and what happens in your brain when all four of your classes study roughly the same time period in the same week. (I discovered in British Literature that the Yeats essays I read for Irish Literature and Culture annoyed me to death because he was an Aesthete! Go figure.)
Oh, yeah, and I bought the extended warranty for the MacBook. You better fucking believe it.