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Whining about computers
Oct. 7th, 2021 09:27 pmI actually tried to poke at my horror review blog, but alas, it has reached the point where my computer just can't handle it. (This poor laptop is over a decade old, with a SINGLE GIG of RAM.) While it could mostly sort of load the pages, it wound up just freezing entirely until I force-quit the browser. *sigh*
I know that the day I've gotta actually get a new computer is creeping closer and closer, but... ugh, between current shortages, and not at all having the money, I dread it.
Also... I've never really had to buy a computer for myself - the current one is a macbook that I literally inherited from my grandfather when he died, and the one I had before that was a different macbook that was a *high school graduation* present, so...
*THIS IS NOT REALLY ME ASKING FOR ADVICE* If you DO have any tips or suggestions, I don't mind hearing them! But mostly I'm just whining, and not quite to the "solutions" stage yet.
Whatever I get, it's going to have to be another laptop. A computer that isn't portable is no use to me, and in a studio apartment, there's nowhere for a desk, chair, or desktop computer to go even if I DID want one.
I know I can't afford another new mac, even though I'm still more comfortable using mac OS, since it's what I grew up using at home + have had for both my computers.
(I do use Windows at work, and am fine at using it, but I still don't like it, and the whole Microsoft suite of products outside of Word sucks imo.)
(I have absolutely 0 interest in "alternatives" like linux. Also every time I have gone looking for advice on getting a computer, after the snide comments about only brandwhores using macs, someone invariably suggests that getting a raspberry pi and just teaching myself to build my own machine is of course what I SHOULD do, and I cannot express how much I do not have any desire to ever do that.)
-
I've looked at refurb macs, though not seriously any time recently, and I don't want something so old that I'll hit issues of being outdated too soon. This MAY still be what I try to do... if I can find something new enough not to screw me and not so new it's impossible to afford. An older (but not 13ish years old) mac would also let me bypass the stupidest new mac design things in terms of ports and such. One issue here is price/availability are subject to change, so it's hard to shop for them before I have the money set aside.
-
I could also try to figure out how to just upgrade this computer... some extra RAM would go a long way toward it being more functional, but... it needs that, and a new battery, and the case is cracked in four or five places, plus it really needs OS upgrades (that it can't handle due to the low RAM and small harddrive), and the fan is iffy... and I'm wary of dumping too much money into it when that may not help it limp along for enough time to be worth it.
-
When it comes to Windows machines... tbh it's not like they're exactly *cheap.* And just dealing with the tech we have at work shows me all the reasons a cheap computer is often NOT a good computer. My work laptop is barely functional most of the time, lagging and freezing and crashing, and neither is the desktop. Yes, that has to do with what my company has bought, but they were purchased because they were cheap, and they cause constant problems, which I don't want to deal with at home. (I did briefly borrow a laptop that I really liked, so I looked it up... and it is considered a "professional" laptop, and it was in the $900-$1200 range, choke. For that I'll spend slightly more and get the damn mac, lol.)
-
I'm really not doing anything intensive (which is part of why paying mac/"professional-grade" prices is dumb for me, beyond that I really do just want something that is going to work when I want it to work, and that is literally never my experience with most windows machines).
A chromebook would be an option, I guess, but not one I'm completely sure would get me quite everything I need. I want to be able to write, and use the internet, and listen to music. Maybe watch stuff sometimes. A chromebook would be the cheapest option, and google docs is okay enough for word processing, and it would be functional for basic internet use in a way that my laptop now isn't, which covers the bulk of what I want a computer to do.
But our internet at home is pretty mediocre, and I definitely don't like the idea of a computer that I can't use if I'm not connected to the internet. And I want to be able to listen to music - my mp3 library, not streaming services that may or may not have what I want, that I have to pay for or listen to commercials during. And it seems likely that that isn't an option with a chromebook, either.
It's probably foolish to want a disk drive in this day and age, but ripping CDs and watching DVDs are things I do appreciate my current laptop being able to do, but I know that's right out with a chromebook.
Also not sure I like the idea of all my stuff being bound to google. Not that there's really a viable option that DOESN'T involve an evil corporate entity, but...
-
IDK, it's just one of those things that shouldn't be THAT stressful, except that for me it's going to be an extremely significant purchase, regardless of what option I take, and one that I don't want to have to do again for a long while. I definitely don't want to get something I wind up unhappy with and STUCK with for years. (Which is the reason part of me just wants to start saving for the expensive option that is completely more than I need, and way more expensive than I can afford... yet is probably going to let me do everything I want to do fairly easily, and come with the lowest potential for regret. But I hate the idea of paying SO MUCH for something I objectively know could be had for cheaper... but I'm afraid of getting something that frustrates me or leaves me STILL not able to do the things I want to do.)
Bleh
I know that the day I've gotta actually get a new computer is creeping closer and closer, but... ugh, between current shortages, and not at all having the money, I dread it.
Also... I've never really had to buy a computer for myself - the current one is a macbook that I literally inherited from my grandfather when he died, and the one I had before that was a different macbook that was a *high school graduation* present, so...
*THIS IS NOT REALLY ME ASKING FOR ADVICE* If you DO have any tips or suggestions, I don't mind hearing them! But mostly I'm just whining, and not quite to the "solutions" stage yet.
Whatever I get, it's going to have to be another laptop. A computer that isn't portable is no use to me, and in a studio apartment, there's nowhere for a desk, chair, or desktop computer to go even if I DID want one.
I know I can't afford another new mac, even though I'm still more comfortable using mac OS, since it's what I grew up using at home + have had for both my computers.
(I do use Windows at work, and am fine at using it, but I still don't like it, and the whole Microsoft suite of products outside of Word sucks imo.)
(I have absolutely 0 interest in "alternatives" like linux. Also every time I have gone looking for advice on getting a computer, after the snide comments about only brandwhores using macs, someone invariably suggests that getting a raspberry pi and just teaching myself to build my own machine is of course what I SHOULD do, and I cannot express how much I do not have any desire to ever do that.)
-
I've looked at refurb macs, though not seriously any time recently, and I don't want something so old that I'll hit issues of being outdated too soon. This MAY still be what I try to do... if I can find something new enough not to screw me and not so new it's impossible to afford. An older (but not 13ish years old) mac would also let me bypass the stupidest new mac design things in terms of ports and such. One issue here is price/availability are subject to change, so it's hard to shop for them before I have the money set aside.
-
I could also try to figure out how to just upgrade this computer... some extra RAM would go a long way toward it being more functional, but... it needs that, and a new battery, and the case is cracked in four or five places, plus it really needs OS upgrades (that it can't handle due to the low RAM and small harddrive), and the fan is iffy... and I'm wary of dumping too much money into it when that may not help it limp along for enough time to be worth it.
-
When it comes to Windows machines... tbh it's not like they're exactly *cheap.* And just dealing with the tech we have at work shows me all the reasons a cheap computer is often NOT a good computer. My work laptop is barely functional most of the time, lagging and freezing and crashing, and neither is the desktop. Yes, that has to do with what my company has bought, but they were purchased because they were cheap, and they cause constant problems, which I don't want to deal with at home. (I did briefly borrow a laptop that I really liked, so I looked it up... and it is considered a "professional" laptop, and it was in the $900-$1200 range, choke. For that I'll spend slightly more and get the damn mac, lol.)
-
I'm really not doing anything intensive (which is part of why paying mac/"professional-grade" prices is dumb for me, beyond that I really do just want something that is going to work when I want it to work, and that is literally never my experience with most windows machines).
A chromebook would be an option, I guess, but not one I'm completely sure would get me quite everything I need. I want to be able to write, and use the internet, and listen to music. Maybe watch stuff sometimes. A chromebook would be the cheapest option, and google docs is okay enough for word processing, and it would be functional for basic internet use in a way that my laptop now isn't, which covers the bulk of what I want a computer to do.
But our internet at home is pretty mediocre, and I definitely don't like the idea of a computer that I can't use if I'm not connected to the internet. And I want to be able to listen to music - my mp3 library, not streaming services that may or may not have what I want, that I have to pay for or listen to commercials during. And it seems likely that that isn't an option with a chromebook, either.
It's probably foolish to want a disk drive in this day and age, but ripping CDs and watching DVDs are things I do appreciate my current laptop being able to do, but I know that's right out with a chromebook.
Also not sure I like the idea of all my stuff being bound to google. Not that there's really a viable option that DOESN'T involve an evil corporate entity, but...
-
IDK, it's just one of those things that shouldn't be THAT stressful, except that for me it's going to be an extremely significant purchase, regardless of what option I take, and one that I don't want to have to do again for a long while. I definitely don't want to get something I wind up unhappy with and STUCK with for years. (Which is the reason part of me just wants to start saving for the expensive option that is completely more than I need, and way more expensive than I can afford... yet is probably going to let me do everything I want to do fairly easily, and come with the lowest potential for regret. But I hate the idea of paying SO MUCH for something I objectively know could be had for cheaper... but I'm afraid of getting something that frustrates me or leaves me STILL not able to do the things I want to do.)
Bleh
