After spending a day working on my home office, I must say that I am really close to having completed my set up as I wanted. I still have some things that I need to sort out, but that is the small stuff. It was the major moving of the systems, setting them up, and making sure everything works . I have that part pretty much done.
One thing I should note - I have a lot of keyboard/mouse combinations where the USB dongle is missing or does not work. I will be trashing a lot of that because what is the point? Last December, someone stole the port replicator off my desk and it contained two USB dongles and pretty much shutdown my ability to work on my laptop.
First, people that steal from the company stink. Second, a port replicator? Really?
Anyway, that person's action required me to report the port replicator stolen. Next, the keyboards and mice I had were useless. While I can replace those items, it was just the fact that someone was so mindless about how their actions would affect another person trying to do their job.
Enough of that rant.
So, I will probably look for another keyboard/mouse combo to work on my Linux server as well as for the Raspberry PI I have. I already checked Office Depot and found one that would work. I am thinking of getting a smaller keyboard for the Raspberry PI that will work nicely.
The other thing that I have twisting in my head is that my current Dell laptop will be 10 years old next year. It is already showing signs of age. For example, when I stream content to my laptop, out of nowhere, the system will just shutdown - no blue screen of death - just black screen and it has been powered off. Not really reliable.
I saw where one that is comparable to what I already have with updated equipment and ability to expand to 32 Gb of memory is on sale at a reasonable price. I have two hesitations: 1. I really do not want to let go of the money to purchase it. 2. It is another Dell system. I have had really bad experiences with Dell systems.
My very first Dell I bought was in 2001. I purchased it directly from Dell. I was so proud of myself to have my own laptop. However, it was nothing but a heap of junk in the end. It would lock up constantly after 20 minutes. I had such a difficult time with that laptop and my father tried fixing it several times. Let's just say, I had a lemon for a computer. Not a happy customer.
I was taking my first course at UTD and tried using my laptop in class. What did it do? That is right - locked up and continued to lock up through out a lecture one day. I was so frustrated. My boss at work told me about how he had purchased a new HP system from Office Depot on credit. Not only could I get a discount on the laptop, but if I purchased on their credit card, I could get it interest free for 12 months if I paid it off before that time.
I thought about it and went down to purchase my first Toshiba computer. I opened up an Office Depot credit card and was able to purchase the laptop with 12 months interest free. I made sure I paid off the computer with my bonus 4 months later. That little system never locked up on me. Even today, the laptop is very reliable and I could not be happier with it. However, I allowed my father to borrow it to help a girlfriend out with something and it ended up with a virus. I had to replace the hard drive, but that was not the computer's fault.
In 2008, I saw these mini computer that Dell and others were developing. I saw Dell's and thought about it. A friend had one and she could not say enough about it. I thought it would be nice to have it for taking with me to Starbuck, work, and class because it was small, quick and convenient. So, I got credit again from Dell and purchased it. The only problem with the 8" computer was the keyboard - some of the keys were not where they should be for a QWERTY keyboard. Later, the 9" models were better. However, I will say, the computer never locked up and performed pretty well.
So based on that, I was spending a lot of time taking care of my dying mother. One of the things I would do to try to reduce stress was play video games. However, my Toshiba was not a gaming system - it could not handle the needs with the graphics adapter it had. So, I went back to Dell to look for a new system.
Mind you, the deal I had with Dell credit was similar to the Office Depot credit - I got a 12 month interest free as long as I paid off the bill before 12 months. I purchased my current personal system. The desktop I had was having some hard drive issues and when the hard drive went out, I was crushed. So much music I spent time loading into iTunes and *poof*, it was all gone.
This time, with the Dell, I moved the iTunes library over to a portable drive and I have some other removable drives for doing backups.
This Dell has had its share of issues, so I am not sure if I want to get a new one or not. It was probably a bad idea 10 years ago to purchase a brand new 64-bit system. Those had just been released and it could be that this system still had bugs.
So, I think I will reside on the fence for a bit before getting another system. I would rather upgrade another desktop and set up a fancy backup system and not purchase another laptop. However, we will see what happens around March next year. Research if what I want to upgrade comes out cheaper than a laptop.
Right now, I am happy with my extended space in my home office. Bo has found his dog bed from when we used to spend a lot of time in here and he actually sleeps in it. He did several times today, which was nice.
Next, tackling getting back in the habit of bullet journaling my health journey and how to better manage my time for doing art, learning, and relaxing.
No comments:
Post a Comment