Wednesday, September 04, 2002
We have three computers. The oldest one we got back in December of 1996. There was an advertised special for this 686 Cyrix computer, and since Pentium was considered a 586 (the last thing out there was a 486, after all), we knew it was top of the line. And it sure was a deal. We got it for $1000 (or thereabouts). Of course, we had to drive down to Ocala to get it, and the only one they had left was the floor model, but it was all ours. Great computer too. Just awfully slow compared to today's standards.
The second is a laptop, that we got in the summer of 1997, just before we got married. We were going on a road trip to see my cousin get married in Wilmington, North Carolina and then taking a brief vacation through the Outer Banks. We needed the laptop because I was also responsible at this same time for part of my written qualifying examination. So, in order for me to go to the wedding I needed to be able to work on the drive up. Ordered it from an online store and spent about $1800 (can't remember exact amount). Of course, we didn't expect that on the ferry ride, while leaving the laptop plugged in to the car's lighter outlet to recharge that it would so drain the car's battery that we would have to wait until all the other cars got off (including the ones stuck behind us) and get a jump from the ferry personnel. The laptop has served its function well. Of course, it is in the worst shape of any of our computers. The screen is screwed in with actual screws to keep it on and connected. The keyboard doesn't work so you have to have an external keyboardd attached. The battery is so pointless, that if the AC cord should become detached at any moment, the entire thing would lose power in less that 30 seconds. The cord itself is in such poor shape it can fall out at any time. The CD drive and floppy drive are supposed to be interchangeably attached, but the CD drive has been stuck for 4 years now.
Our newest computer is now not all that new. We got it back in 2000. We got it off of E-Bay. I know, we're dangerous folk. Risk-takers, etc. It is an Athlon AMD and has been great. It cost us about $1000 again, but it was way worth it, and was only like $30 more than buying individual parts off of PriceWatch and assembling it ourselves. Great computer, except for when one wants to install more memory or upgrade past Windows 98. It has also fried a card or two. Still, I love this computer. We would like a newer one regardless. We need one that can handle the graphic intense programs made by Adobe and Macromedia better than this one. And that can accept more RAM and the newer type of RAM.
Anyways, guess which computer I am currently using to type up this entry .... I'm betting you guessed wrong. It's the laptop. Yep, I have the keyboard and 19-inch monitor from our newest computer hooked up to the falling-apart-but-still-darn-good laptop. You know what is even more disturbing? The 56K modem that was in the newest computer would connect to our free University-funded internet connection at about 46,700 bps. This laptop modem (which is supposedly a 33.6K modem)? ... 115,200 bps. How crazy is that? How is that even possible? I just can't believe it, but I've double and triple checked it and when downloading AIM so I could talk to Jeff while he's at work, it downloaded pretty darn fast. Just wish we'd known this previously, you know?
------------------------------------------------