My trusty old laptop finally bit the dust this past week when its keyboard decided to go crazy. At first, it just refused to work, and then it started randomly typing characters—not fun, and definitely not conducive to orderly work flow. So, reluctantly and wondering just how I could afford it, I went shopping for a new laptop.
As things turned out, I found a pretty good deal on Newegg.com, an online computer equipment emporium, where they offer zero interest financing as long as the balance is paid off within 12 months. That really took some of the heat off my cash-flow worries. I ended up with a relatively high-end machine, a Toshiba Qosmio X875. It had all the features I needed (plus a lot I really don’t need but are fun to have!) at a reasonable price compared to similarly featured machines. I ordered it on Tuesday afternoon and received it Wednesday afternoon—because the warehouse is in New Jersey, I could get next-day delivery for $19 and change, only a few dollars more than regular shipping.
So there I was, sitting with a brand new computer. First, I had to figure out Windows 8, which involved unlearning a lot of muscle memory on where to find certain functions and tasks and retraining myself on the new interface. That’s an ongoing issue. Next, I needed to recover all my documents and files, a task made infinitely easier by Carbonite, an on-the-fly backup service I’ve been using for several years now. Carbonite took about 30-plus hours to download the files, and by-and-large managed to put them in logical places on the new machine. It took some tweaking to get my email archives restored, and there are still a few files scattered around in odd places, but everything I really need is right where I want it.
I’m still getting used to the new machine, but one thing I’ve really noticed is how much faster it is than my old one. I forgot how quickly computing power increases, even over a relatively short period of time. My old laptop was about five years old, which is ancient in the world of computers—I’ve gone from driving a Yugo to a Ferrari. Zoom!
