Every time my lap-top powers up with any kind of success I worry that it might be the last.
You know that gasping, uh huh sound that comes from a two year old child who cries too long? My lap-top actually makes noises comparable to the noises middle aged men make when they pull their boots on. Not that there is anything seriously wrong with two year olds and middle aged men.
My first computer was a Commodore Vic 20, followed by a Commodore 64. I think I saw a dot-matrix printer deep down in the basement the other day.
After the 20 and the 64, my dad and brother mailed me a 286 with a 50 K hard drive! I got a computer store geek to pity me into a 486 and drooled over owning a 586 and what might come next I wondered, a sexium?
I’ve lost count of the towers we’ve bought and reluctantly laid to rest. There is a drawer filled with cords we kept, just in case. A few months ago my son and I got screwdrivers and removed the hard drives from some dusty towers and contemplated building a cyber cop with the parts.
My previous lap-top sits over on top of the dissecting cabinet where a sheep’s eye, heart, and brain are keeping a preserved lab rat company.
The desktop computer is being underused and I am delaying the task of converting it into my everyday computer. Yes, it is fast, the hard drive is hollow but the men folk leave very nasty trace evidence on the keyboard. I keep my good keyboard stashed away and use it on the days my lap-top stammers and starts and boots me offline.
My son is not looking forward to the day this one finally refuses to light up like a runway of tiny blue lights. I reassured both men in the house that it won’t be forever. After all, if I sit over there in the corner who will take note of the wildlife outside the window? We have three new rabbits who have taken up hopping about the front yard.
I am looking at something not so imposing as a lap-top known for its entertainment abilities, I seem to have limited myself to word processing and internet. There are games on here I have never even opened. A net book might do. I wonder if I can talk a highly intelligent and gifted store clerk into selling me a floor model for real green cash on the spot?
Thanks for wading through what might be the death rattle of a lap-top that has seen me through three nanos, three edmos and tons of blogging and chat-rooming. If you have a recommendation for a net book, feel free to post it.