But computers grow old, eventually succumb to the second law of thermodynamics (systems tend to move from a state of order to a state of disorder) and WILL eventually fail -- it's not a matter of "if", just "when". But what's a reasonable life span? I've read that somewhere around 5 years is a good useful lifespan for a laptop. In addition to aging mechanical components and no longer adequate memory space, after 5 years much of the software itself is no longer supported or updated.
You can wait for your old machine to croak, or you can save yourself a lot of trouble, pain and suffering... not to mention lost files and information... by acquiring your next machine while the old one is still functioning. That way you can take your time, do some research, and wait for the right deal to come along on the right unit. And once you have it, you can take your time in getting it set up to your liking, loading the programs you use, and becoming familiar with it's operation.
After a few months of researching and looking at what's available these days, I bought an ultra-portable Acer Notebook last week. Here it is sitting next to it's big brother.
It's small and very portable -- something I was looking for. I considered an Apple, one of those even-smaller "netbooks", and more standard sized machines. But ultimately I was tipped toward the Acer on the basis of a good mix of power, features, size, and price.
I'll let you know how it goes after I use it a bit.
Computing on the Texas Coast...
Thom
