This One's For You Bob

I have a good feeling that you may be enjoying many more posts here, and that people who email me may enjoy more timely replies.

Using the computer is FUN again! I finally broke down, and against my better eco (and budgetary) judgment, I bought a new, bottom of the line Dell PC laptop. (Mac rant follows. Note: I am not a windows lover, or a mac hater. I am just interested in having my needs met.) I had just grown so sick of the slow response of my iBook. When I first bought it, other mac lovers said "don't worry, you'll get used to the slowness. And other things make up for it." Well, I never got used to it, and the only thing that used to make up for it was having a Unix environment for my programming jobs. Well, I don't program anymore. Now I just want a computer that is easy to type in - one where the letters show up at the same time as I type it. As I try to spend less time at the computer, and more time in the field, I want a computer that can copy and paste in less than 5 seconds. Using Tomoe's computer sometimes only made me more discontent with my own.

I still have to use the iBook for Photoshop, but it is a relief not to have to close it every time I want to write an email in Gmail, which has always run like a snail compared to what Outlook used to be like when I worked in an office.

I don't have Outlook this time, as decline to purchase MS Office, opting for open-office (can't wait to see how it works). To keep it within my non-existent budget I got the bare minimum. It set me back 70,000 yen (how much is that new mac again?), but I figure that my slow replies to potential customers (because I hate using the iBook) cost me much more than that, and my inability to keep up the blog and OneLife website (because I hate using the iBook) has cost even more. It would have taken me twice as long to write this with BBEdit, and now I have my lover once again - UltraEdit.

On top of all of this, there is also the practicality of having a lap-top that actually works like a lap-top. No more external monitor or keyboard to lug downstairs (full disclosure - the most recent external-keyboard I was using crapped out because I spilled water on it). This new computer also has wireless - something I declined when purchasing my iBook because it was already way to expensive. As expected, I never really needed wireless until just about 3 months ago - but by then the iBook monitor had long-since crapped out and wireless would do me no good anyway because my computer has not been portable since 2005.

Anyway, the point is, expect more (and wordier) posts from now on.