Saturday, June 26, 2010

Computers (and I)

Computers crash at the most inconvenient of times: when a friend comes over and you need to copy something off his flash drive, or when you've got a report due the next day, or when you're expecting an important E-mail. I was tearing my hair out just over a month ago when my PC went down, and my mom was seriously questioning what they taught us at uni about fixing computers. That was one of those rare occasions when I felt like I had made a big mistake in picking the path that I have chosen.

I've got a really good friend from my A/L class, with whom I used to hang quite a lot at school. We'd be there in the computer periods, idling and checking out the latest Alienware laptops. He was into gaming and introduced me to Alienware, and signed me up for their E-mails, which I still get. So I met him at the reunion, and he delivered to me shocking news. He's in a uni in Malaysia and he was going to get himself a laptop, and he got himself a MACBOOK! EGAAAAD! A little hugeass part of me died. Apple, in my books, is the worst thing that ever happened to the computer trade. (Yeah, I hear you macs in the back piping in about how they never crash...) They're elitists, their software and hardware are as closed as can be, and they treat the customer like an idiot. I mean, look at the iPhone 4 and how they're handling the reception issues! "Don't hold it like that, hold it as if it's made out of human excrement.", old Steve Jobs said. Nice! N-I-C-E!!!

Talking about the computer trade, the computer trade in Sri Lanka makes me seriously want to lob a grenade up someone's rear quarters... And I mean seriously! A laptop that is worth roughly 65K LKR in the international market can be bought for a fabulously low price of 93K LKR from the local 'Authorised Distributors'. And I thought we didn't tax computers... meh. :/

P.s. Uni's back on from Monday. No more late nights. I am a little excited about it now, but all the drama that will invariably take place when it starts is going to test my enthusiasm. Orsum! :(

8 comments:

  1. lol Ya, comps sure know how to give you a hard time. =D BTW aren't you gonna warn your pal about his laptop? but then again it might be too late ne? =D

    Talking about comp crashing, I had an issue too a couple of weeks back. For 2-3 days my comp kept freezing for no reason, and I had to restart umpteen times for it to work. Jokingly I told mom that prolly my comp's caught a cold as the weather here was freezing. I tried everything I knew but it was all the same. Then all of a sudden it started working quite normal. And guess what? The weather had gotten pretty warm by then! Did the comp really catch a cold?! O__O

    oh and talking about rates.. and well that applies to even household appliances.. ya almost everything's ridiculously high in Lanka compared to int'l market. But isn't it like, downsizing comps and other items supposed to downsize their prices as well?

    PS: Good luck with your Uni work and all! ^__^

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  2. Harumi - They sure do! :D Yes, it is too late, he's already bought it! Some people enjoy Apple's 'walled garden', hence the huge fanfare surrounding their products.

    I totally know what you mean about weather and computers Harumi! :O Mine just crashes when it gets too warm, and works well during cold days (might've been a problem in the cooling system). I have the faintest suspicion that these guys are doing it on purpose! lol ;D

    Well, even the household appliance prices came down, and that's because the tax levied on them was taken off. I don't think there's such a tax for computers, which makes you wonder where this huge difference comes from! :D

    Thanks for the wishes Harumi! :D And thanks for the comment as well!

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  3. Yes, Murphy's Law behaves perfectly well for PCs.

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  4. mhmmm talk about PC crashing when u really need them

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  5. True, those darn machines have a way of crashing when you most want them to work.

    There are times when this field can drive your stress levels up the wall, but most of the times, it's fun.

    Good luck with the uni work.
    Cheers!

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  6. Kirigalpoththa - Haha, true that! :D

    GG - haha, they do man... in the middle of the most important work. :D

    Azrael - That's good to hear! :D It's just the enthusiasm of people who code (for free sometimes) that really made up my mind about what I want to do in life. :D

    Thank you mate! :)

    Thanks for the comments, you guys! :)

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  7. APPLE is good for recording noh? Like logic and cue base run really fine on pro book. Let me find a good lap top for you.

    Cheers!

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  8. Meshak - Thanks for finding me that fabulous lap. I'd be searching all over if not for you! :D

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