Why I’m waiting on a new computer
Got a new job, got an old iMac (800 MHz G4!), gonna get a new computer! Right? After spending two solid days re-mastering the Home Computing Master Plan, I think I can safely say, maybe.
The first thing that has to happen is item number one in the Master Plan. We need a new disk for the backup system. We're starting to get full, and they are cheap ($135) so there's no real reason to avoid it.
The second thing that needs to happen is that I need to get a paycheck. We need to see exactly how much I'm bringing in after taxes, compare it to exactly how much we hemorrhage each month, and figure out if we can buy a new computer, and whether that is before or after we plug the leak in the basement, or clothe our children, etc.
And so, I wait. Slowly. Just today I have had two encounters with the Dreaded Beachball on my Mac. The first took twelve minutes to resolve itself. The second one was finally ended with a Forced Quit after twenty minutes.
At long last I find someone in this family whose computer is even more woefully inept than my own!* I'm still toiling away on a PowerBook G4 — yes, an aluminum model, at least, and a full 1.5 GHz, but now on its third (yes third) hard disk and second screen, plus a tidy year+ out of extended warranty. Even my own mother has bested me with her dual-core iMac — how wrong is that? She's racing by on 6x the horsepower while I plod along on my no-core CrapBook and long for the days when I was the one people envied (except they didn't, not really).
On a somewhat related note.... Having read your bit about backups, I'm compelled to point out that my solution was to use both Time Machine and Super Duper on two separate hard disks. Time Machine seems to do its thing every hour — it's really completely hands off so I barely notice what its up to, and it's great fun to retrieve things from the past, even things that don't need retrieving — and once a week I let Super Duper update its clone. So I figure I'm covered. More or less.
Unless there's a fire. Or a flood. Or The Big One strikes. And I should mention that we had an earthquake this evening; small, yes, but right on the heels of yesterday's California Is Doomed To Be Annihilated By A Massive Earthquake Within The Next Thirty Years public service announcement which definitely added to the Grooviness Factor.
(*I really hope I don't double-check the date of your post and discover that you wrote it in 2005 and that you are, and have been for years, riding high on some sort of infuriating 8-core Superfortress. Cause that would be rude.)
Here is just how Wrong this situation is: I plan to replace my swing-arm relic with... the cheapest Mac Apple makes. My "8-core Superfortress" will have to wait until my kids make their millions and buy it for me.
I still use an ibook G3. I've set up a new imac 20". It was pretty sweet. If I had to replace a laptop I would go for the small sized macbook.
We have the towers, both Intel and G5. Backup is simply putting another internal drive inside and declaring it a Time Machine Volume. At the price of drives (500GB $99) it is just a matter of adding a drive. I assume Time Machine works with an external drive too.
On the G5 I use CCC to monthly backup the root drive.
Well at least the Mini's dual-core. That's something. That's a lot, really. Plus they're cute.
Speaking of cute, we've got an old Cube dedicated to pumping white noise into the bedroom to drown out the sounds of the real world (e.g. the gardeners with their gas-powered leaf-blower) — that's its sole purpose in life now. I've had to fall back on that thing three times since I've owned the PowerBook due to one defective hard disk after the other (and number 3 is currently amusing me with a subtle incessant clicking noise that I have been trying to ignore), plus the dead LCD, so I'm glad we held onto it. I have to say I'm glad I opted for Apple Care on this PowerBook.
For a while I too had a G3 iBook which worked flawlessly, and I sort of regret having "upgraded" to this aluminum nightmare except that I needed more than what the iBook offered. I miss its reliability, though. No idea what I'm going to do when drive number 3 fails outright. Swap in a fourth? Junk the sow and get something new? Would one of those gorgeous new iMacs be worth the loss of mobility?
Questions to ponder.
Anyway, here's to Obama and to hoping Hillary spontaneously combusts soon.
Still kind of a Hillary supporter, have backed away from blogging on the topic. I like the cartoon at Salon. Some of their issues with Hillary-- she is too centrist and has baggage. Another cartoon depicts Hillary as promising everyone "fantasy ponies" as a campaign promise. I don't want the dems to loose. I guess I hope the primaries will be over sooner than later. Some argue the attention to the dems actually puts them in the spotlight and attracts more votes.The "bowl off" did little for me though it seem to work with Hillary's humor.The candided (off air) remarks of Barrack are not so important to me.I missed the debate last night. How did it go?
What are we talking about? G3 ibooks. What do you all think about the mac air? I bet it will only be a few months until the solid state RAM drive version will be affordable. I went to a meeting of IT people on campus talking about the iphone integration with the enterprise (no not star trek).
They are in the beta program here at Iowa.
I think the Air is sweet, and that the solid state disk option is a must, but yeah — the SSD is too small and way too expensive right now. If they can get the price down by two thirds and the capacity up to 120 or better, the thing would be irresistible. But knowing it's got a mechanical hard disk — and a very tiny, flimsy iPod-style disk at that — sours the deal for me. I am quite down on mechanical hard disks these days.
As for Hillary, well . . . I think Hillary is so hell-bent on winning the presidency that she's willing to fracture her own party and hand the election to McCain so that she can come back in four years and try again. Seriously.
Which is quite the comedy considering that, mathematically, she has already lost.
Go for the Mini. A month ago I would've said, "Go for the MacBook," but things have changed. Go for the Mini.
Would it be too much to hope for her to spontaneously combust on stage this evening?