Let's see... what did I do today...I rescued a bird that had found its way into one of those dodgy "discount" stores...
I watched all three hours of the SYTYCD finale...
Oh, and I bought a laptop and printer...
WOOHOO! And also ARRGGGHHHHHHH!
For the record though, I'm not typing this from the laptop, it's sitting on my bed, still in it's box... I couldn't even if I wanted to since it has no dialup compatible modem... so it will have to wait until I do the ADSL thing...
I really had no real intention of buying a laptop today... I was going to look at what was available and umm and ahhh like I always do, weigh up my options, all that malarky... I'd kinda given myself between now and the end of September to sort myself out (since there's when my contract with my current ISP runs out)... but it didn't work out that way.
And I certainly didn't intend buying a printer.
But I'm getting ahead of myself... I must begin at the beginning...
The day started out pretty normal... very low-key Supermarket Safari action (I have a cupboard FULL of stuff, so once again it was mostly fresh stuff I needed)... followed by some random wandering. Ma did suggest that we go into this fairly dodgy discount store at the end of the supermarket complex... actually I'm not sure how she even knew it was there since it's really tucked away around the side... but maybe she saw it on the way down to my place.
Either way, it was highly craptacular and immensely dodgy. Having said that I bought more stuff than I intended to (what?... everybody needs a solar powered bloodied nodding bear, gel spheres that swell up in water, swimming goggles for cutting onions... plus there was seahorse related crap for Ma).
While we were in there a bird must have flown into the store (it was essentially me, Ma, the woman who worked there and the bird)... I'm not sure what happened because I wasn't paying attention, but I think the woman tried to catch it and in the process two of it's tail feathers came out (not sure how she managed that)... so I don't know if it was in shock or just generally freaking out, but it was showing no fear so it didn't seem to be afraid of anything that Ma and the woman were using to shoo it towards the door... but it also was flying around and perching up really high, so we couldn't get at it. Eventually it flew down and was sitting on top of one of the lower shelves, so I walked up to it very slowly, extended my hand... fully expecting it to freak out and fly off... but it just sat there, looking at me, and I was able to grab it gently and carry it outside. Poor little thing. Hopefully it was okay after it flew off... I know it did head back towards the shop windows for a second, but then took off properly.
After a brief stop at the Honey Man (for a honey flavour I haven't tried before) it was back home for Ritual Unpacking... then it was off to The Good Guys to look at the "cost price plus $1" laptops they'd advertised on teevee last night (so obviously The Universe was trying to tell me something)...
There they are, stage right... the Dell XPS M1530 and the Canon Pixma MP630...The stars just seemed to align really... the prices were really good, and instead of one of the guys coming over to serve us, it was Carrie, who was essentially a big geek girl and definitely seem to know her stuff. And even though she came over a few times to see how we were going, she didn't make me feel pressured, and she didn't try and up-sell me really (well, except maybe with the printer, but that was me more than her).
I was caught in that eternal struggle of style vs substance again though... there was a HP laptop there too, which was beautiful... all black and shiny and lovely... but the touchpad was all faux stainless steel (who knows, it could have been real), but it just felt wrong and I wasn't getting as good a response from it (and I doubt that it was just because it was the display model). Plus the XPS had been more expensive originally and it was one of the brands that J mentioned (even if he said that HP's were his current favourites).
But, honestly, it's a little bit ugly.
Not "swimming in the very shallow end of the gene pool, my parents are related, ugly"... but it's a sedan not a sportscar (although, unsurprisingly it looks much better in the photos than it did in the store).
So there was much umming and ahhing... and in the end it came down to which was the best machine based on this internal "Windows Experience" number (I'm guessing it's a Vista thing, since I've never heard of it before)... the XPS had the highest one. I mean that wasn't the main reason I picked it, it had pretty much all the things I wanted (since I had to throw out the 7200RPM hard drive idea since it doesn't seem to come in any machines in that price-range.
Just don't ask me what all the specs for it are... I honestly don't remember... and while it's probably in the box somewhere, I have no idea where...
Oh wait, that's right... the internet...
- 15.4" screen
- "Tuxedo" black paint
- 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor
- 4GB DDR2 SDRAM
- 160GB 5400 RPM HDD
- Integrated 2.0 megapixel webcam
Did I really need to buy a combined printer/scanner/copier to go with it?
Not really no... I have a printer (although it's a bit crap inkwise because it doesn't get used much) and a scanner (which behaves better)... but they're both as old as the computer, and honestly, they're both fairly massive... and this does everything in the one box... plus it prints on CDs and DVDs and it has individual colour cartridges rather than my old printer which had an all-in-one ink cartridge, so if all you were out of was yellow, you had to replace (or as I did, refill) the whole thing. I was actually looking at a cheaper one, but that had the all-in-one cartridge, and I kinda let Carrie talk me into the "top of the line" one... which she then gave me at below cost price.
The prices were pretty good actually... $1149 for the laptop (plus $79 for an extra year of warranty), $186 for the printer (which was advertised at $199, but like I said, she gave it to me below cost... and I know she wasn't just talking it up because the computer popped up an alert box while she was ringing it all up to tell her the price was below cost)... and then $46.95 for a copy of Norton because it didn't come standard on the machine.
Very little did come on the machine actually... although disturbingly there is a copy of Microsoft Works 9 in the box... I didn't even know they were still making Works... but I don't use the Office programs I have that much, so it could be okay for what I need.
I am planning to install Firefox and Thunderbird on the laptop ASAP though... although I don't know if Thunderbird will convert/deal with Outlook mailboxes, because I'd kinda like to keep all my old mail.
But getting back to the money side... at a grand total of $1459.95 I was pretty pleased... although for the second time in three months I maxed out my daily spending limit on my EFTPOS card and had to split the cost across to my Visa card as well...
And I didn't even go into shock over the amount of money I'd spent like last time... well, a little bit... but it was fairly shortlived.
All that, and it was only 12:30...
Because we had trouble getting both boxes into the boot of Ma's car (and thinking about it now, had I known I was going to buy all that stuff I would have suggested we take my car, I think my boot is bigger... but I had no idea until I was actually buying it) we didn't do anything else, we just came straight back here...
Granted, then we went out to get some stuff for lunch... but I figured we really didn't need to do anything else shopping related today.
Just rounding out the day, the SYTYCD Finale was pretty damn awesome (mmm Matrix Revolution themed Paso Doble), and I think the best dancer won it (and I will state once again that Mia Michaels is a goddess of dance!). I'm just hoping that after Ten decided to stick the show on in that very late night time slot that they're going to continue to show the US version... I do love it so.
This whole working thing is a bad influence on me though... I keep spending money... new bed, new chair, new laptop, new printer... then there's going to be the trip to Melbourne, followed closely by Christmas (well, not that closely, but I think it will be here before we know it)... and I have to do that whole ADSL thing either before or after we go to Melbourne...
Oddly enough, after the last time I worked in The Nut House for an extended period of time I went out and bought my current TV and DVD player as well as my little red couch.
Bloody buggery Norah... it feels good though...
Current Mood:
1 comment:
W-hey! Shiny new computer! Very exciting (even if it's a PC!)
I assume seeing as you're waiting a bit for the ADSL transfer that you'll go straight to Windows 7 and not bother with the Vista mess? It's out next month. :)
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