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05/31/2006: "more computer thoughts"

My brain just won't give me a rest, it's continuing to bug me about computers. At least it hasn't been totally in vain, as some good thoughts have come of it all.

Last night my computer was having hang-on-wake issues. Nothing it hasn't had before, but not twice in a row. This got me thinking hard about what I'd do should it require some intervention.

I came to the realization that despite the cracked top case and small amount of video memory, it's still a good, rugged laptop that can run the latest OS and 95% of the programs out there (which is 99% of all the programs I want - darn you, Google Earth!). So keeping it around isn't a bad idea at all.

What's more, the only upgrades it really NEEDS is the hard drive. A bigger (and possibly faster) hard drive will likely perk performance up a big, and the cost isn't horrendous. The only repair it really needs is... nothing. However, for piece of mind, I'm seriously thinking about replacing the top case with an uncracked one. They seem to go for anywhere between $10-30, so the part cost isn't a problem. The labour to install it, however... I'm looking into that. But once that's all done, I'll again have a robust machine that meets my needs.

Processor, video, optical drive, and even screen upgrades? They'd be nice, but they're certainly not cost-effective together. Paying an extra $300 to keep my Pismo in good operating condition for the next two years is a good investment. Plunking down over $1000 on same, not so much.

Perhaps what I'll so is simply upgrade and repair what needs doing now, and see what happens. I might get to school and discover that the Pismo does everything I need it to, and I save myself a laptop purchase. If I do get there and discover it's lacking, I can simply go out and buy something, and still have a laptop to work with in the meantime.

Sounds like I've convinced myself to keep the Pismo around for as long as I can. It certainly makes sense to the spendthrift in me.