new computer

At last, I have moved out of 1998 and into 2004!

Last Saturday, before my Monday from hell, I went shopping to see what my retail options might be for a new laptop. One goal was to stop by the Gateway store and check out the laptop I was thinking of getting. Turns out, they’ve closed the store. I ended up at CompUSA instead, and after talking with a very helpful salesman, I was introduced to the Compaq Presario r3120us. My impression of Compaq computers thus far has been so-so. They’re sort of like a Ford Taurus – nice sedans, but not terribly exciting. However, I was impressed by what is in this laptop, and the price was comparable to the Gateway I was looking at. This one has a few more advantages, such as a 15.4″ WXGA screen. I ended up coming back the next day and buying the last one they had in stock.

I really wanted to write this entry while connected on a Wi-Fi network. Unfortunately, I’ve tried it in two places so far without any luck. I think that I need to change a setting to connect with the wireless LAN in the library, and it’s possible that the server was acting funky at Common Grounds. A bit of a let-down, but I’ll get it figured out.

I am pleased at the speed of my dialup connection on this computer. It’s almost as fast as the network at the university! Well, for browsing, anyway. Downloading takes a bit longer. I’m probably going to try out the CD-RW this weekend by making a mix CD for a friend. If I have time, I may even watch a DVD.

pda

I had a lovely birthday (thanks for asking) with family and friends over the weekend, and I took off work for most of this week. It’s been a nice vacation at home, but I think I’m actually ready to go back to work. Dad & I went hunting for the PalmPilot on Saturday. CompUSA had … Continue reading “pda”

I had a lovely birthday (thanks for asking) with family and friends over the weekend, and I took off work for most of this week. It’s been a nice vacation at home, but I think I’m actually ready to go back to work.

Dad & I went hunting for the PalmPilot on Saturday. CompUSA had it on sale for $199, but they were out of stock. The woman at the counter said she has been having trouble getting it re-stocked. A trip to Best Buy enlightened us as to why that might be. Apparently, Palm discontinued the m505 and m515 last year when they came out with the Tungsten models. While at Best Buy, we took a look at the other PDAs they had in stock, and that is where I discovered the Toshiba e355. It’s priced the same as the m515, which was what first caught my eye. I also like the styling, and it fit nicely in my hand. The other good features all add up to a much more robust PDA than what I had originally been looking for, but all for the same amount of money that my Dad was willing to spend on me. So, we went for it. I haven’t had time to really play with it (other than a few rounds of Jawbreaker and Solitare), but I’ll be sure to comment on it as I get more familiar with it. So far, I’m very pleased. Thanks Dad!

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