I finally acquiesced to the inevitable, and am posting from a new laptop. My Powerbook G4 is still alive, but it makes an intermittent clicking sound like a Japanese beetle, freezes up routinely, and has a battery life of ten minutes. It’s been running virtually nonstop since I bought it in 2002, so I don’t blame it at all. I’m significantly slower than I was in 2002, and my joints click too.
Somewhat disappointingly, Macs haven’t changed much in the past few years. My new MacBook Pro looks almost exactly like the G4. A few things are different – a higher-res screen (which I shall try to keep clean by NOT eating whilst typing), a new (silver!) keyboard that I have to punch with some force to avoid dropping letters, and a built-in webcam, which seems like fodder for a scary movie. (If it turns itself on while I’m blogging at 2am, I’m putting tape over it). But on the whole, now that I’ve migrated my files, I feel exactly like I’m using my old computer. This is probably an ideal user outcome – except there is a doppelganger of my laptop lying on the bed. And I somehow spent several thousand dollars. Creepy.
Naturally I have to keep the old laptop, clicks and all. The emotional attachment is too great: I wrote my thesis on that laptop! (Which wasn’t fun for either of us). But I’m sure it’s giving me reproachful looks as I type on this new keyboard.
I’m sorry, ok? It’s not you, it’s me.
Explodingdog posted a tribute to his defunct Powerbook G4 which shows I’m not the only one to get emotional over breaking up with a laptop.
I can feel your guilt, Jess. I am typing on my third personal PowerBook / MacBook Pro, and each of these carries a lot of memories !
But their fate has been better than yours: my 2004 PowerBook is now tended by my parents, and I gave my 2001 G4 to my daughter !
Aw, hand-me-down computers are great. Although in my family they’re usually hand-me-up (me to my mom). My old laptop may eventually go to my mom, but I want to wait and see if Leopard (plus a new battery) cures its worst problems, because my mom can’t troubleshoot. I was actually waiting for Leopard to buy this laptop – but after they pushed the release back, I doubted my old one would make it that long.