My computers

These are the computers that I have known.

My first was a Zenith 425L sub-notebook. This was early in the transition from laptop to notebook. Mine was smaller than a notebook so it was called a sub-notebook. Gosh, I loved this machine. It was with me through much of my university education. I bought it some time during my second year in university and it ran Windows 3.1. It worked like a charm. I was able to take notes and print them off. It was small and compact and very eye-catching, especially because I was in the English department. Alas, this little guy died a long time ago and he's been put in the recycling bin so I've had to borrow an image from some guy on the internet.

My second computer was a generic desktop that my brother bought for me. I ran a 586 at the time. Then it was upgraded. This wasn't my choice of my computer, but a gift from my brother. It did its job and helped me connect to the internet when needed to work on school projects and other things.

About 2 years after I got the generic desktop, I was working on a second degree and bought an iBook.



And so began my love-hate relationship with mac's. I bought the computer at first because I heard that mac's run more stable. While I was in my operating systems course, I found that the mac os wasn't set up very well. I also found out that the OS really isn't stable at all. So I loved the look of the iBook, but I found that I couldn't do much with it. The programs that I needed to run weren't available on the mac OS so most of my school work was done on my generic PC. The iBook was still there for when I needed to pack something in my bag and I still spent most of my spare time on it, but the majority of my time was spent on my PC.

Then I got a job and again, found myself on the PC more than on my iBook. I upgraded the PC's various parts. I upgraded the memory and the CPU. At some point, I upgraded the mother board. It grew with me. Mac OSX had come out, but my iBook was so slow that it couldn't keep up, so OSX wasn't useable.

I used my PC for a number of years, but it wasn't fun. It was okay, but it lacked personality. I guess I always liked laptops and always wanted to be able to carry my computer around with me. So I bought a macbook.



It was love for about 2 years. And the the screen began to flicker every now and again. Then the screen began to flicker more regularly. My husband was nice enough to take the whole thing apart and replace one of the parts, but I had my concerns. I wanted a computer that I'd keep forever and forever, and this was not it. So I sold it. It was the first computer that I sold.

After I was done with the Zenith, my brother installed Linux on it and used for demonstrations in the math classes that he taught. He continued to do that until my cousin dropped the computer and broke the hinge. After that, the computer had to be handled very gingerly. The PC was given away to a girl that my brother knew who needed a computer. I had my macbook at the time so I was more than happy to part with it. The iBook was intended for use by my kids, until my sister spilled coffee on it. I should ask for the computer back, for sentimental reasons. And my son will likely enjoy taking the computer apart in a couple of years.. as soon as he's better able to control a screw driver.



To replace the macbook, I decided (against better judgment) to buy a Dell Inspirion 1525. It was okay. I could have used it, but my sister said that she was considering buying a computer, so I gave her mine. I was using the computer that's been lent to me by work. She took the computer for about 1 1/2 years. Then she returned a used computer to me. When I gave her the computer, it was barely a month old and I kept very good care of it. When it was returned, the battery would die 30 minutes after being unplugged. The trackpad key was discoloured and there was trouble typing certain keys. I eat while at the computer, but I've never managed to get my keys stuck like that.

.. and so here we are. I've still got the Dell. I won't buy another dell in my life. They're cheap little machines. Not as cheap as Acer's, but still pretty cheap. Then again, my work computer is a dell and it's holding up quite well. I guess the Inspirion is their low end, consumer line and that's the line that I wouldn't buy. However, if I were going to buy their higher end products, I'd rather just buy a mac. The Dell is used purely for its ability to VPN into work. It saves me from lugging my work computer around if I need to do a little bit of work.



And last weekend, I picked up my Samsung N130. It was released a few weeks ago with Windows 7. The 6.5-ish hour battery life was appealing. The keyboard is quite nice and there's only one key that's bizarre, but a minor nuisance when compared to the other netbooks out there. The screen is okay.. It's my typewriter and I can't see it replacing a "real" computer. I've got time-share with a macbook. That's where I keep my photos and my other "serious" stuff. This computer is for minor internet surfing and for writing.

I expect to keep this computer until my kids get a bit older and I'll pass it on to them to play with and destroy at their leisure. The Dell, I'll keep as my alternate work computer. It's not a computer that I enjoy spending time on, but it's practical and that's enough reason to justify its existence.