Longklaw.com

The LCD on my Dell Inspiron 4000 laptop that I named Excelsior went black seemingly for good last week. The computer isn’t really dead, it’s just blind. I’m sure there’s a better analogy. I think I first started having problems with the LCD last year. Somehow, every time the monitor went black, the image always came back. Since I can barely make out some stuff on the screen, I think the back light might be out. Dell wants to charge me about $400 to replace the LCD. Buying a new LCD online is only a little cheaper on the sites that I checked out. There was also another spill on the keyboard, so some of the keys are messed up again. After much deliberation I decided that it would be better to stop delaying the inevitable and just buy new laptop. A laptop is one of those conveniences that you don’t really need, but once you have one it’s a pain when you don’t have it.

I’m a loyal person and I’m sticking with Dell since they have worked well for me. I now know that I’m not as up-to-date on the newest hardware as I was a few years ago. I’m looking at the Inspiron E1505, which Dell has dubbed as an “entertainment” notebook. It should be good enough for what I’ll use it for. I think I’ll still use a desktop as my primary gaming rig, so the basic configuration on the E1505 was fine for the most part. Those who know me know that I don’t normally buy top-of-the-line when it comes to anything. I could get a “basic” notebook and save some money, but I don’t want bottom-of-the-line either. Those have Celeron processors anyway, and I tend to gloss over computers with Celeron processors.

I remember that it was October 2001 when I got this laptop (my first) and October 2002 when I got my current desktop. Somehow October has unintentionally become a significant month for me in terms of computers.

I should be making my final decision over the weekend. Hopefully, it won’t take long to receive it. I’ll have to think of a name for my new one. I think I’ll wait until I’ve had it for a few days so I’ll get to know it better.

Getting a new computer is a big deal for me, so I’ve been thinking about the other computers I’ve had in recent years:
Battleship, desktop, 1999-2002
Excelsior, laptop, 2001-2006
Hawkwing, desktop, 2002-present

I’m sure I’ll write more about it once I have the new computer in my possession.