Your PC has recovered from a FATAL error. #pcsucks

Do you remember back in the day when you actually shut your computer off every time after you used it? Yeah, me too. Before there was “power saving mode” and power management, you turned it off, just like you did your television.  As someone who worked at Best Buy for 7 years, I happen to know for a fact that an electronic device only has so many hours of life before it will no longer function. It’s just a fact of life. So why is it we have all been programmed to think it is okay to leave our computers powered on 24/7?  I blame Microsoft and their Windows product. A computer is NOT a refrigerator that needs to keep once living products edible.

 

I don’t know about you but I have been living the last 20 years of my life fighting with computers.  Do you know I have half a dozen computers that are broken but still work. Do you  have that nagging screen to fix something or a file is missing? You click okay, and then it goes away. Computer seems to work, you can open your files and get on the internet.  Hmm, oh well, and you let it go, … until the next time your computer locks up and you have to reboot.  If this doesn’t sound familiar or a deja vu for you, then bare with me as this is what happens to me on a daily basis.  I went and bought a Windows 8 machine, and I have to say I hate that too.  Granted, it wasn’t the fastest machine out there, but I should be able to have several windows open, playing music, and not have to see that hateful spinning circle telling you that your pc is once again, too slow for you.  I blame Microsoft. Why does my computer have to run an operating system that is constantly dragging ass?

So the other day I am working on like, 4 different websites, I have Photoshop open and probably 20 windows.  I get a call, I have to leave and when I come back, all my work has been lost, my windows closed and I have the hateful message “Your computer has recovered from a fatal error.”  It never dawns on me that maybe that little nagging message that is always pestering me, MIGHT have had an impact on what was going on with my computer.

 

At that point you really have nothing to do but move on. Whatever I created I can recreate;  just not on that hateful machine.  At some point I figured out that what I do nowadays doesn’t require a Microsoft product, I use a browser for most of my work.  I wish I could say that my Apple experiences were wonderful, but remember, I worked for Best Buy and then for 4 years worked for AT&T, when they were the exclusive carrier for the iPhone.   I have seen a ton of busted up broken Apple products, including my own iPhone, iPad, and original iPod.

 

I really didn’t need another laptop at this point.  It has been a decade since I owned a desktop.  I do sit at a desk. Sometimes I sit on a couch.  I decided for what I do on a computer a reliable Mac product would be a good choice. I did a lot of research and Mac computers consistently get high reviews. My first thoughts were that Mac were expensive, but that was when I was looking at their cool sexy laptops.  What I found is the Mac Mini, a low end Mac is still more powerful than some of the high end PC’s.  Best Buy has the Mac Mini on sale, $50 off.  It was almost $600 with tax. It runs the same operating system as the high end Macs. The only thing is you bring your own keyboard, monitor and mouse, saving you hundreds.  The Mini has an HDMI port so I actually was able to steal away a 24″ 1080 LED tv from the bedroom and use it as my new monitor. My Microsoft keyboard did not work during setup and I had to find an old Dell keyboard and mouse to get it going. Once it got past that setup screen I was able to plug in my Microsoft Natural keyboard and Logitech trackball in the USB 3.0 ports in back. There are a few things that are different, such as the mouse button scrolls backwards now. That can really screw with you. The normal magic Apple mouse doesn’t have a scroll wheel at all. It didn’t come with a dvd burner, but I have a portable one for my netbooks.  However, I have over 100 gig on Dropbox.com that I can access with the Mac, so that is a really nifty alternative.  Macheist.com is still having their $1700 worth of software on sale for $20. Quite the deal.  My two network printers connected like a charm. I love that there is no power brick, just a thin small cord. It’s very sleek and compared to having to share desk space with a laptop, this gives my desk a very clean look.

Overall I am pretty happy with this machine.  Work paid for it.  Nice. Oh wait, I work for myself.  But my business credit card paid for it. Big difference. For the small amount of money, I figured if I didn’t like it I wasn’t out too much. It’s not like I bought the $6,000 machine.  Something like that would be a little overkill.  That’s like buying the Ferrari to drive to the grocery store once a week.  Do you need it? No, but it sure would be nice.  Nice to have’s are not need to haves.  Back in the days when I was in my 20’s I went through the “need it or want it” phase.  It was really helpful when you had an impulse purchase staring at you in the face and your emotions start to take over.  I banned myself from malls for years.  Credit cards are for emergencies, like your dog being hit by a car and requiring expensive surgery.  Having the latest and greatest Mac products, not so much an emergency.