A NEWER COMPUTER

I decided on Friday that I would bite the bullet and get myself a PC. I was feeling that I maybe a little too ignorant about this strange new piece of technology, at least strange to me. I have become so use to the Mac and having played a little of some PC’s I still liked my old faithful best. But old faithful is clearly coming to the end of its usefulness. It is close to losing its life. I need to determine where the best location is to bury the poor baby.

My Mac is acting weird. Periodically, little boxes appear in funky places for no reason known to me. When I open my emails, the screen automatically drops to the bottom of the page. No, I don’t know why. It takes a while to get the page to stay at the top so I can get into the new material. The sound now tells me everything it is doing: what is opening, closing, the title, etc. I have turned the sound off because it is so annoying. I mentioned before that I have ruined the screen. It is so scratched up I struggle to read some things, especially in daylight.

I began my search for a computer on the computer. I found the article “The Basics of Buying a Personal Computer” I am only leaving my Mac because of cost. Being on a limited income automatically removes the possibility of upgrading to a new Mac. So here I am, choosing to get a PC computer I would rather not, but am practical enough to know my limits. If I want a newer computer, I must move to a PC. It sucks.

I know what some things mean but “core” was new to me. It was introduced in 2006 and refers to the number of processors in the machine. That was also new. You can get anywhere from one to four processors in the core. I’m still not real clear on why I need more than one, but the more powerful the computer the more cores it needs, I think!

I figured that i3, i5, i7 had do with something getting more powerful or at least costing more. Both are correct. Mine does not say it is i7, but it has four cores. I learned quickly that if I did not buy the latest technology, but one that was just once removed from the current models I could save a pile of money. Often more than 50%, so once I got all my information clearly in mind, I looked for a next step down from brand new.

At Best Buy, the models were clearly separated. I stayed in the second tier aisle. I looked at every computer and managed to determine the 2 or 3 most powerful machines available. All their computers were more economical than two others stores I visited. My kids also told me to check there. I would get the best help with them.

I had pretty much settled on two computers when a woman next to me grabbed a salesman and asked way more questions than had ever crossed my mind. She had this poor guy tied up for twenty minutes or so. I could have easily cut that in half by asking her to stop being so repetitious. That didn’t happen. When she was done and walked way without purchasing anything, all I needed to know was the clear distinction between the one she was interested in and the one next to it. These were my top two choices.

I told him exactly what I wanted to use the computer for and what I thought I needed (wanted): Word, Quicken and a very good graphic program — preferable Photoshop. I didn’t tell him I preferred Photoshop, but he said there was nothing better. However, I would need to upgrade the memory. Well, I didn’t do that and I didn’t buy Photoshop, Word or Quicken. I decided to learn more about this new fangled piece of plastic before going hog wild. I had already decided to work both machines for a while and gradually shift over completely to PC. The computer has a simple modified version of Word (I will need the full program in time). I will purchase Quicken ASAP to keep my finances straight.

My pastor owned and operated his own sign shop and does beautiful graphic work. So I asked him what design programs he used. Photoshop. There is nothing better. He knows what I do and he does not believe I would be satisfied with anything else. He is going to help me get an older version (cheaper). I can then upgrade later, if I need to.

So I came home with HP. My kids came over to help get it set up. I am going to have to get a wireless connection. I had planned to simply switch the Internet connection between the two, but the plug to my desktop is very difficult to reach. If the other costs too much, I may have to relocate my CPU. But I think I would rather sit in my recliner to play on the computer.

I’m slow at getting things up and running fully. It will take time, but then, what else do I have.