This Does Not Compute
So I’ve officially outgrown the SecondHand Laptop. I knew that the time was coming a few months back when Windows XP said, “Hey Karl, you’re dangerously low on disk space. Fix it, dude.” And so I started cleaning and deleting and backing up to DVDs. It took a while, and I got rid of the warning message, but I still have a measly 6GB available on a 50GB hard drive.
Then there’s the memory. I bought my Dell Inspiron B130 a few years ago before going to BlogHer for the first time. It wasn’t meant to be my primary computer, so I went on the cheap. 1GB of RAM. Then my desktop fried and BAM! Ever since then, the laptop has been my only computer. And it was fine. For a while.
Now I’m rebooting every so often because of a memory shortage. With me working again, I’ve got multiple apps open at the same time and the laptop is, at times, very sluggish.
So I spent a while yesterday afternoon online with a Dell salesperson, asking about upgrading the laptop. I can add another 1GB of RAM for $55. Well, that’s for 2 1GB modules. I have 2 512MB modules right now, so they’d have to come out. This was encouraging. Adding RAM would take care of some of my troubles.
But the hard drive situation isn’t as bright. The biggest drive I can get for this model is 80GB. That’s only a 30GB increase. Yeah, I have a 500GB external drive, but that’s for backups, really, not primary use. The salesgirl told me even if I went with a third-party manufacturer, a higher-capacity drive would crash my laptop. I haven’t yet checked on the veracity of that claim, but I imagine she’s right. After all, if they could sell me a larger drive, I have no doubt she would have tried.
This leaves me with only a couple of options, aside from upgrading what I have. I can get a new Windows laptop, or I can break down and go with a Mac. I’ve been saying for a while that my next computer will be a Mac. I know enough Mac lovers and have read enough articles to know that Apple makes some rocking computers. They’re not prone to crash, they’re not prone to viruses (since all the virus makers concentrate on Windows machines), they’re basically the computing equivalent of a wet dream.
BUT. I’ve got so much invested in the Windows world it isn’t funny. I haven’t used an Apple since my Apple IIc days in the 80s. All of my software is Windows based. True, the files aren’t nearly as big a problem as they used to be. After all, MP3s are MP3s, JPGs are JPGs, doesn’t matter what platform you’re using. And the word processing stuff is pretty transparent, too. DOC files are easily interchangeable with the right software.
BUT. Apples are pricey as hell. You pay for that top-notch design. Big time. You could very easily spend 2-3 times on an Apple laptop what you would for a Windows laptop.
There are tons of deals to be had on Windows laptops…and yeah, I want a laptop. I’ve become addicted to the portability factor. AND. The real reason why I’m terrified of a new Windows laptop? Vista. Sure, I can get a laptop with 3GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive for way less than $1,000, but it comes with Windows Vista. And I have heard largely negative things about Vista. Problems, crashes, compatibility issues, even the Blue Screen of Death rearing its ugly head again…and that’s something I spent way too much time with in the 90s, thanks very much.
The other option is buying a new Windows laptop and installing Windows XP over Vista. That’s kind of drastic, but it’s doable. Vista is even more of a memory hog than XP, but I like XP. I know XP. It’s far more stable. It works. There are a scarce number of laptops being sold with XP these days, but a couple of Twitter friends pointed me toward some.
I don’t know what to do, but I’m definitely going to need to make one of these choices soon. I can save up some money in the next few months and roll the dice. Perhaps I’ll go with a memory upgrade on this thing to see how much better things get. That’s definitely the cheapest option.
Uncle Fester Mike
Right, other stuff to talk about. First off, tomorrow night is another episode of SecondHand Radio. My guest will be the wonderful Mike from LeSombre. Mike is from a little-known country called Canadia. They have to have electricity and plumbing imported from Botswana, and they primarily use the telegraph for communication, but he assures me he’ll track down a phone to call in to the show.
Don’t be frightened of the photo. That’s Mike at Avitable’s Halloween party. He’s normally not quite so tan. They don’t really have sunshine in Canadia.
Anyway, the show will be tomorrow night at 10pm Eastern, 7pm Pacific. Hope you’ll join us. And don’t forget, tonight is “Clearly You’re Retarded” at 9pm Eastern, with Adam and Britt. They’re going to be talking about Internet addiction. I’m sure that doesn’t apply to me. *cough*
Speaking of the Halloween party, Adam finally got around to uploading all of the portrait shots that were taken at his party November 1. Here are the ones that have me in them. You can find the whole set on his Flickr page.
That’s me and Geeky Tai Tai. Grrrrrowl.
And me with Sybil Law. Grrrrowl again.
Filed under 2HRadio, BlogHer, Bloggity Blog, Local Goings On, Tech | Comments (26)26 Responses to “This Does Not Compute”
Leave a Reply
I have nothing to add on the laptop part – I hate laptops. I got rid of mine.
However, looking forward to the show! Will that guy… crap I totally can’t remember his name…. be calling in?!
Reply
9 PM CENTRAL TIME PEOPLE! Everyone always forgets that, which means that I always forget that.
If my computer doesn’t hate on me again, I’ll be there. If, for some reason I can’t hear again, I promise I will not crash your guest host this time around.
PS: In regards to the laptop, I just know we have an Inpsiron and it’s a few years old and ours started going to shit. We didn’t have anything very important on there so he just did a complete wipe out on the computer and re-installed everything with a disk he got from a friend who is a computer repair person. Of course, he forgot to save all of my pictures off of the computer so I was little miffed but most of those are saved to disks anyway so he was saved from torture and death.
Reply
I’m looking forward to hearing that luscious accent!
Reply
I don’t mind vista. But then I mainly just do my homework and update my blog on my computer. So really I’m sure it doesn’t matter what I have because I don’t actually do a lot of computery stuff.
But I want an apple. I’m getting one and giving my current one of my Mom. She gets all my hand me downs.
Reply
Honestly, if you get a new laptop, just stick with Vista. I wouldn’t suggest that people upgrade their existing computers to it, but new computers that come with it aren’t too bad. However, I think it’s bullshit about a third-party hard drive not working with your laptop. Dell makes some things proprietary, but a hard drive connection to the motherboard is still going to be a hard drive connection. I bet you could probably upgrade the RAM and hard drive on yours, reinstall Windows, and have it running fine.
Reply
Screw the computer, Karl. Save the money and get yourself some more costumes. Love the sideways stache!
Reply
I’d go for a Mac…get a refurbished one, use the saved $$$ to get the extended warranty & jack up the memory, then use Boot Camp to run Windows when you need it. Easy peasy.
Reply
The Dell customer service bot chickie is probably right about the hard drive.
Your laptop’s BIOS will only support what it’s designed to support, and it very well could be limited to supporting 80GB. “A connection is a connection” makes physical sense, sure. But it’s just not that simple.
Anyway. You could go out and buy a 160GB drive and end up having crash after crash, losing data (which sucks, trust me; been there, done that), and generally being very pissed off and unhappy with your choice. YMMV.
I’m a Mac guy at the moment, and I didn’t find it all that hard to switch. All the major programs I used with XP have their equivalents with OS X. AND…there’s a lot of freeware out there for Macs that doesn’t exist for PCs. That’s been a bonus. I did have to wave goodbye to some familiar programs — and all my games — but I didn’t think it was a huge sacrifice.
The price, however, was a big hit (the “Mac Tax”). And the equivalent new MacBooks are much pricier than my PowerBook was in December of ‘05.
If I were you (and I’m not; I checked), I would start with the RAM upgrade. Simple. See how that goes. It’s not expensive and you won’t lose much if you choose to go and buy a new laptop instead.
Lots of people out there are buying new laptops and installing XP over Vista. You wouldn’t be the first.
And something else to think about is that the new Windows 7 is due out next year, and it’s already reported to be kickass better than Vista The Hog.
Anyway, as I said, YMMV. Good luck, and may the Force be with you.
Reply
Having the BIOS not recognize a larger hard drive is a possibility, yes. I was just talking about a third-party hard drive crashing the laptop. In the situation of an equal sized Dell hard drive and a third-party hard drive, a connection is just a connection.
Reply
Dell is having such great sales right now on laptops.
My daughter was having the Mac/IBM dilemma as well. She bought Dell’s XPS 1530 (4GB RAM, 320 MG HD check it out!) and got $429 off … which she promptly turned around spent it on other things she wanted. She’s got a slamming laptop now.
I even think they have a WoW version on the laptop. I don’t know if they are giving the same discount on the XPS 1730 or not. You might want to check it out.
Seriously, why would you waste the time and money upgrading to an 80GB hdd when you can just buy a new laptop and get much more.
We are VERY happy with my daughter’s new laptop. I’m going to see if I can talk her into donating her old HP laptop to some charity or something.
I’d love to get a Mac myself. I worked in a Mac environment as a network administrator / computer specialist before I retired. LOVED the Mac.
I can’t afford it though.
Hope this helps.
Reply
And if my previous assertions that Avi is a total geek were not already confirmed, please re-read his comments. Anyway, I have a Mac. You can run Windows ANYTHING on it using Boot Camp (as someone previously mentioned). I find that it is well worth the money whenever I’m at a coffee shop and I pull it out and everyone leers at me with envy.
Reply
Ah, Avitable’s explanation makes much more sense. Of course, he’s right. In that light, the Dellbot is just trying to get you to buy Dell product.
Reply
I tracked down a phone, now I just need a socket to plug it in. The whole village is on it, so I’m confident it’ll happen. We can spare the chickens this year.
Reply
I found your comment about Macs not being prone to crash humorous. That has definitely not been my experience with them, nor the experience of my Mac-owning friends. But then, my anti-Mac feelings are well-documented, so I can’t possibly give you unbiased advice.
I was lucky enough to witness a Windows 7 demo recently, and it’s going to be a major improvement over Vista, which they are dumping. I’m especially thrilled that a netbook version of Windows 7 will also be released. wOOt!
Reply
Sybil Law – Yeah, I like the laptop thing now. I wouldn’t mind having a desktop, but I spend so much time online while watching TV it’d feel really weird to be stuck in my room instead of the living room. And I don’t know if Louie B will call or not.
Sheila – You’re welcome to call in at any time. I’ve thought about doing a clean reinstall, but ugh, what a pain in the ass.
Ginger – Oh, Ginger! Keep going…
Sarah – Yeah, I’d like an Apple, but will probably go Windows. It’s just cheaper.
Avitable – I’ve thought about that, the reinstall. Seems like a lot of work, though. And I’d have to find my Windows XP disk somewhere. In my room. Scary!
Papa – Ha! The beard is gone, dude. No more. Thank God.
Tracy – That’s an idea. I’ll have to look into that.
James – Always the logical thinker. Yeah, I think I’m going to get the RAM upgrade and wait to see how the next Windows looks. Didn’t realize it was coming out so soon.
Avitable – Yeah, I got what you were saying. I think it is a BIOS thing, but a hard drive is a hard drive. The only thing you really have to worry about with a laptop is the physical thickness of the drive. Some fit, others won’t. But that’s easy to check. Most major manufacturers have compatibility checks on their sites.
Mattie – I think I’ve decided not to buy another laptop until I see what Windows 7 looks like. It’s cheaper in the short run to upgrade the RAM on this machine and see what happens. I won’t be getting a bigger hard drive. Like you said, that’d be stupid. And I *think* that in order for Windows to recognize more than 3GB in a laptop you have to be running the 64-bit version of Windows. That’s what I’m seeing, anyway.
Faiqa – *sigh* A Mac would be sweet. I’ll save up my money and see how things roll in the next several months.
James – Exactly. Which is why I’m sure she wasn’t full of shit about the 80GB drive thing. If she *could* have sold me a larger drive, she certainly would have.
Mike – Glad to hear the village is behind you on this. They must be very excited that you’re going to be on the radio!
SJ – Really? I’ve heard nothing but positive things about Macs. I won’t enter into my decision lightly, though, I promise. I think I’ll refrain from buying a new machine until at least next year, anyway. Gonna upgrade the RAM on this one.
Reply
Are you kidding? All of them will be wearing their Sunday best and most of them will even bathe.
Reply
Mike – Wow, it really IS a special occasion!
Reply
I have Vista on the new laptop I recently got (as a gift) and there is enough memory that it works just fine. It’s also a Dell.
If I had my choice of any computer in the world I would take a Mac for sure but I can’t afford those prices anymore.
Reply
First off your photos are adorable.
Second Dell outlet has XP laptops on the cheap. You can deck out for about 400 bucks if you watch it for a while.
Reply
MAC… MAC… MAC… come over to the bright side.
And you do know that Word documents can cross platforms, don’t you? I use a PC (boo) at work and a Mac (yeah) at home and I send Word documents back and forth all the time.
Reply
Lisa – No problems with Vista? Interesting. I do like my Dell. I’ve just outgrown it. Would have no problem buying another Dell.
Pocket CT – Hey there! Hmm, never thought about the outlet. I’ll go check it out.
Finn – Argh! I so want a Mac!
Reply
This show rocks.
Reply
Poppy – The check’s in the mail.
Reply
hehehe
Reply
I remember this discussion on Twitter not that long ago. I think you should go with a Mac, at least the low end MacBook with is about $1,000. It’s pricy, but if you are blogging and writing, it’s actually pretty cool.
Then if you find yourself needing Windows XP or Vista, you can get VMware Fusion and install XP in a virtual machine, loading it up whenever you need it for any Windows programs you need. I do this now and it’s helped me test multiple browsers for my blog, allow me to access Windows programs I need here and there. Plus, if for some reason you need to reinstall XP, it’s easy to just create another virtual machine without interrupting your use of the Mac OSX side.
Of course there is always Black Friday with deals for anyone that wants to get in line on Thursday night. Laptops for under $500 are a plenty, albeit only of the Windows Vista variety.
Reply
Marty – Yeah, I can easily save up the money over 3 or 4 months. I figure the RAM upgrade I just did will tide me over. I will be scouring the Net on Black Friday, though.
Reply