That New Computer Smell

Those of you who read my blog regularly will know that my old work laptop is dying, and I've been in the process of ordering a new one over the last month or so (covered previously in my worst customer service ever article). Well, good news! The shipping tracker says my new laptop should finally be arriving today or tomorrow. After all the hassle with the last new computer and its defective parts, I'm a little surprised to realize that I'm still excited to have the new machine, even though a part of me is exhausted from it all and just wants it to be over. Getting a new computer is a pretty huge ordeal... for computer nerds, anyway! We don't generally settle for machines that you just open the box and turn on, and you're done. There is a lot of customization that has to be done, optimizing components, installing the software programs we're used to using, getting used to new software already on the machine and deciding whether or not to keep it, etc.

I expect that this is not the kind of thing that most business owners or even people in general enjoy doing. The prospect of having to start over with a new computer and try to figure out how all the new bits work is probably a pretty daunting prospect to most people. I have to admit though, working with new computers also makes me feel like a curmudgeonly old man - "In my day, Windows fit on 3 floppy disks... oh yeah, we had these little square disks the size of your hand that only held 1 megabyte of data..." A lot of the software we have nowadays is hopelessly bloated and slow compared to how it ought to work, and it's loaded down with ads, nagware, and unnecessary tablet integration baked right in to the desktop operating system. The more the big companies like Microsoft try to make systems that work for everyone and everything, the more it seems like they're actually perfect for nobody. The lowest common denominator is not really a good target to aim for.

Despite all that, I still get excited whenever a new computer comes into my house. It means a lot of work, and it'll take time before everything is set up just the way I like it, but it's a great chance to catch up on the latest trends in technology, and see what the latest software has to offer. Just don't be surprised if you see me shaking my fist and yelling at someone to get off my digital lawn.

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