It’s been fun but also quite trying at times . . .
Moving stuff over from the old Jaguar to the new Sexy Beast is taking quite a long time. Good thing there’s this Semana Santa thing going on at the moment so I don’t have pesky stuff like work getting in the way. Heck, I’m even letting Nog cook! 😉
My very first computer was a very old second hand one given to me by a friend, known as the Dinosaur. So when I was able to finally buy my own brand new desktop four years ago it felt like driving a Jag in comparison. And of course my new one is just soooo sexy.
The good thing is that the Jag is still running more or less okay, so I will still be able to access stuff there as well as here. And in a way it feels a bit like spring cleaning. So many of the Jag’s files are very disorganised and full of junk I was saving ‘just in case’. So starting off fresh with SB means I can pick and choose what I want & need here and leave the rest ‘in the attic’, so to speak.
And so we are now a three-computer household. 
Feels a bit decadent . . .
casa azahar 
Once upon a time, aka before Geek went to Uni, I sometimes thought I lived in a computer shop.
Geek discovered computers around the age of eight and has been stuck ever since. He tears them apart, rebuilds them, sells, buys, connects, disconnects… well you get the picture.
I think the house record is fourteen, of which ten or eleven belonged to him, or was stored with him by some other geeky teen.
For the time being there are one desktop Mac, one laptop Mac, one real PC and one real laptop in the Lair. DJ put his PC at a friend’s house last week since we’re sort of overcrowded already.
I still remember the days when a slide-rule was high tech..
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Most of the ‘moving’ has been done – at least all the stuff I need for day-to-day work on the new Sexy Beast.
I am sad about one thing though – something I noticed after unpacking my new lovely. The small strip of metal between the mouse pad and the keyboard is slightly bent – as in, not perfectly straight (though Nog had a hard time seeing it when I pointed it out). I hope this won’t affect the performance, or I won’t be questioned about it (accused of dropping SB) if I ever have to send her to computer hospital.
But I also have to admit to a slight (ha) annoyance that this flaw exists, after having forked out money I didn’t actually have for something I didn’t really need.
Sure, I probably could have taken SB back for an unflawed model, except I was so impatient to get to know her, get her set up and all that.
I just hope this flaw doesn’t mean anything serious later on . . .
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hmm, the longer you wait making a complaint, the more likely it is to be questioned. Bendy parts might be due to laptop being dropped or something fell on it.
I guess I would have taken it back and complained.
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My advice is to start by emailing Toshiba. They may be able to give advice, and you’ll have something on record.
Then maybe take it back to the shop and try your luck.
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Email Toshiba? Don’t think so.
Nah, I’ll probably just end up dragging you back to the shop with me tomorrow to ask their advice (which will be interesting as they all look about 14 years old).
And then you can buy me lunch! 🙂
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Teasing teenagers, followed by lunch. Sounds like a good day. 😀
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Quite looking forward to it, actually… 😉
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Hmm, yes, confusing teenagers is a nice diversion… (evilgrin)
I’ know what you mean, I’d have been seriously unhappy about a flaw like that! When I got my desktop, those many years ago, the modem didn’t work–I was so pissed I had to take it back, I wanted to use it right then. If it had been anything other than the modem, I would have put up with it. Took it back, and the store exchanged it no questions, though. 🙂
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So … off we went to the shop with SB over Nog’s shoulder and when we got there we saw that the display model was also slightly bent in the exact same place (though slightly less than SB).
It turned out that they couldn’t write anything about this on the sales receipt, but they said I still had week to bring it back and swap if for another one.
So now what do I do? 😕
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Well, first, I’d ask to talk to the manager, and ask her/him if said dent would factor into any problem, should the computer fail while under warranty, and if the answer is “yes”, seriously consider swapping it with an *undamaged* one…
Not the answer you’re looking for, I’m thinking.
😕
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The guy at the shop told me there ‘shouldn’t be any problem’ with the guarantee and the woman in the after-sales department said ‘oh, they all look like that’. Huh?
Anyhow, I’ve just sent an email to Toshiba explaining the situation and asking their advice (as Nog previously suggested).
If it didn’t take so much time setting everything thing up I’d just take it back and swap it. Apparently I should have had them open up the box to check for flaws before leaving the store, though I doubt I would have even noticed it there. Live and learn.
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If it’s something that affected all the laptops in the shop, it could be from some anomaly in the assembly line; really shouldn’t matter, with the warranty. 🙂
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Just two more days to decide.
Haven’t heard back from Toshiba (surprise surprise).
Nog says if it were his he wouldn’t take it back. And last night I showed the flaw to my student Paco (who also has a Toshiba notebook and says they are the best) and it took him ages to see what I was pointing to. When he finally did he said it was a ‘tontaria’ and he wouldn’t bother taking it back.
But another student, Isa, said she would definitely change it. Mind you, she’s 20 and very into ‘appearances’.
Gaaaa! I hate feeling so undecided.
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Well, if you think about it much longer there won’t be a choice to make. Frankly, that’s how I deal with decisions of this sort – ignore it all and it goes away. 🙂
And no, I wouldn’t bother taking it back. It’s a functional item rather than an ornamental piece.
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My student Francisco was here this morning so I played ‘spot the flaw’ with him, and not only could he not find it but he couldn’t even see it when I poked my finger at the bendy place. 🙄
Ivan, I disagree – it is both a functional item and ornamental piece. Didn’t you enlarge the photo on the other post?
And elsewhere, Dan seemed to understand that it is easy to underestimate the cumulative effect of the annoyance one could feel seeing the little bent bit every day over a few years.
On the other hand, if SB is ever kidnapped I could identify her immediately!
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Yes, I did enlarge the photo. I thought it was a very good photo of a functional item… 😉
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D-Day tomorrow. Still unsure…
Played ‘spot the flaw’ with my student Montse this evening and she couldn’t find it. Then I pointed it out and asked what she would do.
She said, ‘Well, if it were me I wouldn’t bother exchanging it … but if I were you I would!’ In fact, she told me that I definitely should take it back or else I’ll end up needing psychiatric help.
Obsessive? Moi? 😕
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Wellllll…….
(runs)
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Yeah, it’s amazing how well my students have got to know me. So much for my professional veneer. 😀
Decision Day has arrived. I’m hovering between imagining myself looking at SB’s flaw as ‘that little thing that makes her unique’ to feeling horrible pangs of regret every time I look at it.
It’s because the main reason for not taking SB back is sheer lazyness – not wanting to have to ‘clean out’ this one and then set up another one from scratch again. If it were a dvd player or a television I’d have returned it last week already. So in a way, looking at the flaw every day will remind me of one of my own personal character flaws, you know?
It ain’t easy being me …
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Look at it this way, you’ll have a reminder to loosen up a little… 😉
I know what you mean, little things like that drive me bonkers, too. But I’ve gradually had to accept that they’re little things–coz, you know I’m getting to old to be perfect! 😀
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And clearly too old to spell properly … 😉
I do agree with you though. And that’s part of the dilemma because I would really like to be the sort of person who isn’t bothered by a ‘tonteria’ (silly little thing) like a barely visible bendy bit on her brand new computer frame. On the other hand, I don’t want to be someone just too lazy to take the thing back.
Maybe I should flip a coin?
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It’s not laziness. It’s a balanced judgement as to whether the extra work entailed in taking it back causes more dissatisfaction than the flaw itself.
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It would require a couple of day’s work (including going back to the store).
I will hopefully use this new computer for at least five years. That’s 1825 days.
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But you’re still the only person that can decide which option will cause the least dissatisfaction, particularly as the practical utility of the SB doesn’t seem to be at stake. So it’s a purely subjective decision.
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Except my subjectivity keeps getting confused by other feelings!
Most people seem to think it’s foolish to go through so much bother for a wee defect like this – and a part of me agrees with them.
Meanwhile, I am very visually-oriented and a big factor for buying this particular computer was because I really liked the design – and so a part of me agrees that the aesthetic aspect is also important.
*sigh*
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In the end I flipped a coin. 🙂
It came up *heads – exchange computer*.
So I did.
And it turned out not to be as much work as I thought it would be. After about five hours in total (including clearing out the computer files, getting to the store and back, and reloading most of the programmes) I am pretty much back to where I was before.
Was it worth it? You know what – I think so.
Well, unless the new Sexy Beast turns out to be a lemon, it’s way more pleasant to have a brand new computer that doesn’t have any obvious physical flaws.
I mean, it’s not every day I spend this kind of money – in fact, pretty much almost never.
When I bought the Jaguar four years ago I settled for a monitor I hadn’t ordered just so I didn’t have to wait another week to play with my new toy. And I always regretted that (somewhat).
Funny that the coin flip turned out to be the right decision after all.
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Good luck with SB II
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I passed a computer shop today, and noticed a Toshiba laptop in the window display. There was a very, very slight dent in a metal strip between the keyboard and the mouse pad.
Passers-by must have wondered why I was giggling to myself.
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Ha! Definitely a weak point in the design, as it’s a very fine strip of metal not actually supported by anything else. But you have to admit that it really is a nice looking functional item. I took no chances and opened up the box at the store to make sure it wasn’t bent.
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