Well, you get the best you can manage when you can. If you get a
decent unit, you can get 5-10 years of service out of a
computer, even today. Plus, there *is* a benefit today in that
outside of memory expansion capabilities, not a whole lot has
changed in the past few years in consumer computers. Graphics
have. Sound hasn't. CPU progress has been... eh. Upgrading a
video card + memory expansion are probably the two best things
you can do. That and a solid state drive. They can give the
illusion of speed and they can carry you through a long time. I
got my nephew an ancient computer when he was 6 yrs old for
$149.00. Dual core, 2Ghz, 4G memory, I forget the HD size. Now
he's gonna be 11. So, 5 years on an unit that was already old.
The only upgrade I had to do was video card. I got a decent
video card and now he can play games that aren't even
technically compatible with his system. Keeping him at Win7 was
a help. Teaching him how to clear cache, modify video settings,
etc, putting on video editors that work with his system. He's
doing fine, making youtube videos, playing games, etc. But yeah
in xxxx* shoes, just gotta make better use of whatcha got for
now. I'd check out the refurb units from Staples, etc online and
see what their under $200 offerings are. If they have increased
memory capacity, might not be a BIG upgrade, but might get a few
more years before having to do the -BIG- upgrade. == of course I
can't talk. I'm on my second keyboard on a $399 Toshiba notebook
that's gotta be 4+ years old by now. == Yeah, the focus FINALLY
went away from "speed speed speed". Makes sense. Improvements in
networking speeds were phenomenal and keep improving. Now the
focus has been breadth of service: reaching as far as possible.
The territories that were cellphone are starting to go Internet,
allowing for greater access for more people. As our computers
become dumb terminals, raw power matters less and less. With
cloud computing, even less than that. The thing is, they kinda
reached the practical limit a long time ago. It's not that they
CAN'T go faster, it's just that there's not much reason to. More
progress has to be made in the video arena first anyway and
storage capacities have been growing tremendously. So, it's good
for consumers. We can hang onto equipment longer. The web is
ANCIENT now. HTML/CSS/javascript is old fashioned stuff but
we're still stuck with it. But because of that, it allows for an
amazing amount of backwards capabitility, even if limited in
some cases. Still waiting for what will replace
HTML/CSS/Javascript. I used to pin my hopes on various things
but it's hard for anything to overtake the dinosaur. == Aw man,
you got me jealous there, me sitting on my cheap laptop with
cheap 2TB USB3 for occasional backup. I used to build-it-myself
and you really *do* get _exactly_ what you want when you do. But
man, after one laptop, then another, then a "netbook" which I
spilled beer on, and now this one... I just got lazy along the
way. Shit's put together. No thinking. ==
I'm kinda glad for the shift from computer --> smartphone
lately. Instead of the web dominating, people have been
congregating within Apps. The apps can do WHATEVER coding they
like (more or less).and Gaming... I never would've imagined I'd
see something like Steam arise: communities built around a
downloadable customized browser setup, complete with built-in CB
Radio chat, social network, gaming, groups, etc. It's an
alternate Internet for them.THEN, you have the consoles. They're
in a whole _other_ class.Still though, amazes me just how much
is dependent upon "The Web". You get a choice of three major
browsers on most systems, some minor browsers, a whole slew of
Webkit based browsers - you can even roll your own for free...
and for most of us (including myself) that's the window through
which we work with the net most of the time.Then again, you have
things like git. I never got involved with git, but that - and
the Linuxsphere is whole OTHER Universe ... like an
international backup system that never ends.When I think of all
of the systems functioning over simple TCP/IP.... all doing
their things, all the people and systems connected together, I
get warm fuzzies. Revenge of the nerds indeed. like emoticon
==
*My max-at-once was 6 simultaneously functioning systems, some
interconnected, some separate. That was the 90s. Cobble together
garage sale parts at first, then with $$ in hand, piecing
computers, music, whatever all together.I've paired back
tremendously. Even my smartphone is an iPhone 5s, and I never
hacked it. I just tweak a little when I have to. But times are
better now, even with less.
==
*Someday I'll take pictures of my "portable word process/laptop"
collection. Some run off AA batteries. I went through a wild
eBay phase a while back. If it had a keyboard and it was cheap,
I wanted it. Had a typewriter fetish too at the same time. eBay
was bad for me in the 00s but I had fun. And then there's the
Sharp Wizard OZ770, the Handspring Visor (which was my baby in
99-'02)... ugh, so much crap but all fun.
==
*My Iphone 5s is my Sigalit. I have slight tablet envy at times
but I'm satisfied with my tiny screen on that thing. My 2.5 yr
old nephew has a Naboo? that's bigger than my iPhone. Has a
rubber baby bumber around it. Neat stuff.
==
*I saw a 20" Android Tablet for kids in the Target a year or two
ago.I froze in place staring at that thing. I WANTED IT. $499.
Then I didn't want it. But I forsee my whole 6'x3' tabletop
being a tablet. I'm just waiting.
==
*If you ever see a 6' wide touch screen tablet (or monitor/input
device), tag me on it. Know that you'll get a grown man to drool
on his shirt when you do.
==
