Textonic

Update: I’ve decided to go mobile, and am now resorting my funds to begin payments on a new MacBook (or Pro, depending on how things work out in the next few weeks)

For the past few months I’ve been working on a highly unreliable eMachine, the T1840 to be exact. It’s an old machine, and as many of you may know, eMachine’s are well known for failing on the power front and taking their motherboard’s with them to the depths of computer hell. If you’ve ever talked to me on AIM you know that the time on my computer is buggy. At any one point during the day the recorded time will move backwards, and resetting it only makes the problem worse. Unfortunately, synchronizing my time with internet utilities does nothing at all.

At first I contemplated purchasing a new battery through newegg.com, but after reassessing my situation I think I’m well in need of a new machine. My initial reaction was a month by month payment plan on the brand new HP TouchSmart IQ770, the media center of the future. The IQ770 is a Vista Powered media center style PC featuring a hidden photo kiosk, 19″ touch screen monitor, and multiple wireless options to make the entertainment experience all the more enjoyable. I was dissapointed, however, to learn that the IQ770, while possibly a direct Apple competitor, is suited more towards living room or lounge center recreation, rather than for a home office setup.

My next choice, of course, is a 20″ iMac, well equipped with over 2 Gigahertz of processing speed, 2GB of RAM, and more than 200GB of storage space, more than enough for my massive music and video collection. Like HP, Apple also offers a month by month payment plan, which will keep a struggling student from blowing his entire 4-month earnings in one shot. Instead, a low $60 or so a month is all required, with system delivery almost immediate as well.

In the end I’ve decided on the Apple iMac, and I will begin making payments as soon as I sort out my financial situation. All I can hope for is easy migration of my files from one system to the other. Now if only my current setup will survive until then, but that’s an entirely different adventure.