So, I bought a new computer...
Arod, my trusty Acer Travelmate C310, developed a serious problem last week.  The external monitor port wasn't working.  Now, for most of y'all, this isn't a huge deal, but for someone who projects powerpoint up on a screen regularly, it is a serious problem.  It would cost at least $200 to fix the loose connector (assuming that's all it is).  Additionally, Ubuntu has been telling me that the p-rimary battery in Arod is only charging to 35% of max capacity.  That's another $100 for the battery.  When the pricetag got to be 1/4 of the cost of a brand new computer, it was time.

I knew one thing for sure, I was going back to a 12" monitor.  Arod is a 15.1" system.  I let a colleague tease me into getting the bigger size two years ago, and it was a mistake.  Arod didn't travel well in my backpack.  Some of the trim cracked because titting the larger form factor in the pack was difficult.  Another problem was that Arod, although he is a tablet PC, was uncomfortable to hold up and use in tablet mode in my lap on airplanes.  With the second battery, he was just too heavy.  I bought the Palm Lifedrive to read novels on, so that solved some of the in-flight issues, but the weight and size were still problematic.  Back to the 12.1" size for me.

My research led me to several choices.  HP sells two 12.1" form factors.  One is a standard notebook that swivels so you can display DVDs better.  This is an asset on airplanes, because you can start a video, swivel the screen, fold it back, and there you go.  The other form factor is a full-fledged tablet system, where you swivel the monitor, fold it back, and the screen switches from landscape to portrait mode automatically.  It also comes with a stylus so you can write on the screen directly.  Both Stybba (Acer Travelmate C101) and Arod (Acer C310) are tablets.  I've never seriously used the hand-written capability of these systems, but I do like the idea of being able to rotate the screen to portrait mode and read.  This beats using the Lifedrive hands-down.  The Palm device is good for novels, where everything is all text, but if I'm reviewing PDFs with illustrations, the full screen is essential.

I looked at Sony' s and Toshiba's small-form systems, and they were a bit pricey.  I'm still not over the death of the power supply in the Sony Vaio notebook I was using back in 2001.  Once bitten and all that.  Acer's got the "Ferrari" line of notebooks, but they don't swivel.   HP has figured out they should let the Compaq folks run with their notebooks, and it's the better product at the moment.

With the HP models looking lke the right road to travel, I started with the mail order places.  CDW and PC Mall both had several models,  but the tablets were still pricey, in the $1400 range.  CompUSA had a couple of "off-lease"  refurb models in the $800-$900 range.  Circuit City and Best Buy had the best selection, ranging from $1000-$1200.  I followed eBay for a while, looking at what was going at auction.  It was mostly units a generation behind, and there were no bargains, with prices still in the $800-$1000 range.  Wife has never been a used car person, so even though I said I was going to try to keep the purchase below a grand, she said, screw it, go buy something new.  That put me back to Best Buy and Circuit City as the top choices.  Since both have local stores, they're required to charge sales tax.  They're both smart, though; they waive shipping charges.  Either way, it's an additional $100 or so at this level.

Since I was paying sales tax anyway, I decided to go to the retail stores and have a look.  We started at Circuit City, who had the HP TR1409, the 12.1" tablet with 1GB RAM for $1199 with a $50 mail-in rebate.  The store closer to Lakeside Mall didn't have any in stock, so we decided to go out to the one in Kenner, with a stop at Best Buy along the way.  Best Buy would give me some price comparison, plus they're an Apple dealer.

Yes, I seriously considered an Apple this time.  There are two models I took a hard look at, the 13.1" MacBook, and the MacBook Air.  The regular MacBook priced in the ballpark, $1199.  It's light and thin.  I would guess it doesn't weigh any more than the HP tablets, even though its monitor is larger.  The Air priced at $1899, but wow, is it sweet.  It's so thin and light!  Yes, everything is external, but in the world of modern air travel, external devices aren't that big a deal.  I can pack accessories in my suitcase, keeping the overall weight in line.  The large capacity hard drives and the magic of DVD-ripping make it easy to stock up a few videos to pass the time until I'm reunited with my checked bag and the external storage.  Plus, they're Macs.  Working with UNIX and fiber-channel storage like I do, there's nothing marrying me to Windows anymore.  I can run real Microsoft PowerPoint on a Mac, so classes aren't a problem.  

Two factors swung me back to the HP:  Tablet functionality and operating system.  The two Macs were nice and thin, but they still have the classic airplane problem.  When the guy sitting in front of you puts  his seat back, you can't open the notebook to a 90-degree angle.  This was a serious deal-breaker, but not the only one.

Operating system did play a role in my decision.  I'll be the first to admit that Macs are better than PCs.  Everyone I know who's ever switched to a Mac has never regretted it.  The guy in the jeans is definitely cooler and better than the guy in the suit.  In spite of this, however, MacOS is still a proprietary operating system.  Yes, I know it's a UNIX now, but it is still what it is.  I'm a big believer in open source.  I want to continue to use Linux with the Gnome desktop and Mozilla applications such as Firefox, Thunderbird, and Sunbird.  So, I sighed and walked away from the Mac section at Best Buy.

Going back over to the HPs at Best Buy, I was startled.  Circuit City was selling the 1409 for $1199 - rebate.  Best Buy had the 1419 model for $1149, the same net price, but no hassle with the rebate.  The two systems looked identical, so I had to read the specs.  The computer at Best Buy was the 2GB RAM model, and for fifty bucks cheaper!  Sold, says I.  Unfortunately, they were out of that model!  The guy says he can order it from their warehouse and ship it directly to the house, no extra charge.  I was OK with that, particularly since I was able to have the luxury of putting my hands on the display and trying it out.  

Last night, I cleared all of my stuff off of Arod, so I could pass him on to Kevin.  Kev' s been using the desktop PC we've had in the den since the storm.  It's in need of a re-format and general clean-out from all the crap he's accumulated on it, but otherwise, it's held up nicely.  Last fall, I noticed that Kev started once again taking an interest in the piano, so I suggested to his godmother that she get him a MIDI bundle so he could connect his 66-key Yahama to the computer.  We set up Stybba for that role, and he's had fun with it.  Now he'll switch over to Arod, and I'm back on Stybba until the new computer arrives.  I was trying some different things with Stybba and Ubuntu last night that I'll discuss on Linux-Blog.  

Now, for the final issue when I buy a new computer, what to name it.  Once upon a time, the first PC I ever bought was a Tandy 2000, an 80186-based box.  It was in an all-white case and was much faster (8mhz at a time when the typical PC was 4.77mhz), so I named him Shadowfax, a tribute to the great white horse ridden by Gandalf in LotR.  When I bought one of the original Compaq portables, he was named Stybba, the pony given him by Theoden, King of the Mark.  Currently, Shadowfax is my main web/mail server, a 2U system in the rack.  Stybba is the Acer Travelmate C101 that I'm on now.  My desktop system is a Compaq named Hasufel, the horse loaned to Aragorn by Eomer in "The Two Towers."  The 1U server in the rack that is now running the NOSRA website and wiki is Snowmane, the horse of Theoden King.  The big 4U Compaq Proliant in the rack is Windfola, the rugged horse of Rohan that carried Dernhelm (Eowyn in disguise) and Merry to war in Gondor.  My remaining AlphaStation, a 600au running Tru64 5.1b, is Roheryn, the horse Aragorn rode as a Ranger of the North.  Roheryn was brought to him by the Rangers just before the war in Gondor began.  

The new tablet PC will be, Firefoot, horse of Eomer, Knight of the Mark, sister-son of Theoden King, and King of the Mark in his own right after the passing of Theodin King:




Stybba will stay home, as my "e-book reader," and Firefoot will travel with me.  I'm excited!