LAPTOP'S LAST GASP: Upon my return from London, I noticed that my trusty laptop -- an HP now in its sixth year of use -- was acting up. This weekend, it decided to completely lose its shit. Most of Sunday was spent in tech support hell trying to figure out what was causing email to crash, script errors in Internet Explorer and the response time basically grinding to a halt. I think I've got it half-way back, but still need to download the latest version of IE to see if I can clear up the script errors.

I was planning to buy a new laptop for Christmas anyway, so I'm hoping my current one can make it another week or so until I'm ready to purchase. Now I must make the difficult decision on what brand. All year I've been planning to splash out on a Macbook. After doing more research, I'm not so sure. There are still a number of programs I use regularly -- like Blogger -- that aren't compatible with Mac. Sure, you can do Blogger on a Mac, but if you want links, italics, etc. it all has to be done in HTML. A total pain in the ass. And then there is the price.

You can get a really great HP notebook for hundreds of dollars less. The HP I'm eyeballing (pictured) has LightScribe built in, where you can scan photos and images to make professional looking DVDs and CDs, a 160 gig harddrive, 1GB memory, Vista premium, a 16 inch screen and only costs $699. The Mac I want with similar specs: $1,499. Yeah, I know, Mac is cooler, but I also want to be practical. And if I'm really honest, this HP is thinner, comes in snazzy looking titanium silver and has a huge screen in comparison to Mac's dinky 13 inch screen. Sorry Mac.

Another radical change I'm thinking of making is doing away with my www.collinkelley.com site. The address would still exist, but redirect here to Modern Confessional. I'm paying for monthly web-hosting for a site that doesn't get half the hits this blog does. I'm averaging about 1,000 hits a week at the blog, compared to a couple hundred at the website. Anyone have thoughts on this? One fellow blogger has already said he thought it was a bad idea, but it just feels like a duplication of info, not to mention the blog is more interactive. Give me your feedback. I still have a month or so to make up my mind on this.

Comments

Kate Evans said…
Amazing serendipity--I was thinking of doing the exact same thing, redirecting my website to my blog. I'll save money--and my blog is more *alive* than my web page will ever be...and it has the same information on it (and then some) as my website.
kate did not help my argument! ;)

i think a lot of websites are going blogal (as in going global via their blog! i just made that up! i should write for the NY Times of something!)
Collin Kelley said…
Sorry, MM. :)

I'm just feeling the need to simplify. Updating the website, the blog, the MySpace(s) and probably Facebook in the near future...that's just more tech than I want to deal with. Plus, I want to save some cash.

I also didn't mention that I use FrontPage do my .com website and FrontPage is now obsolete. It doesn't work with Vista, so I'd have to find a new site builder anyway. It's just more hassle than I have time for.
Jeannine said…
Oh, FrontPage! I already mourn for you! There just isn't a good decent simple web page builder out there any more - too many bells and whistles for me. Then again, I like the Atari 2600 joystick-button way better than XBox's shiny weird contraption.
There must be computer demons about! Thinking good thoughts for recovering info from your computer. Lots of shiny laptops on sale everywhere - but ask for one with XP not Vista! I think you can get them like that at Dell now (but don't ask me about their customer service - nonexistant, cough, hm)
Radish King said…
I did the same thing and never looked back. Easy peasy.
Anonymous said…
Collin: I will pitch you my shoe theory in support of your going for a mac (so sorry about your recent crash n burn. It sucks):

If you buy your shoes at payless (a PC) you will wear those shoes out in under a year and have to replace them. If you replace them with another pair of payless shoes...the same will happen.

If you buy a really good quality pair of shoes (mac), you will not have to replace them for years and you will love them and kiss them and call them george!

oversimplification, I know, doesn't take into consideration cash flow problems but I tell you: I type this to you from my very first mac ever and I will never go back to PC.
Collin Kelley said…
PWADJ...oh, I know Macs are fab. I'm sitting here at my desk at work typing this from a brand spanking new iMac desktop. It's a work of art and it's brilliant. But...

I've had my PC laptop for six years and this is the first major issue I've ever had with it. I think that's pretty remarkable. And yes, I must take into account cash flow, which I have very little of at the moment.

Luckily, I've solved a few of my issues. New post later today. :)
nolapoet said…
Love my Mac. Haven't had a bit of trouble with it. The PCs, OTOH... many of their bodies litter my wake.

Whatever you choose, FOR GOD'S SAKE remember to PARTITION YOUR DISK BEFORE you load up all your stuff!!!!!

Robin
robinkemp.wordpress.com
Tania Rochelle said…
Get a Mac. Just do it. You're a writer, dammit; your laptop isn't something to cheap out on.

And MM, don't you think 'blobal' is even better?
Besides, honey, you DON'T have to wrestle with html to get italics etc in your blogger blog. You just write it in Compose mode and click on the i or b or whatever in the toolbar, just as you do when creating a Word document on your computer. EASY! And if I say something technological is easy, you can bet it is!

(And I'm in love with my Mac.)

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