Late to the party

I'm no Luddite, but it's finally dawned on me to upgrade. But not in any major way.

So, I spent the morning trying to track down the scent of melting plastic that's been hanging around the desktop computer.

I duly unplugged everything and checked all the leads - did some dusting, too - and rearranged plugs and cables, all to no avail. I could not find the problem.

Defeated, I put everything back and fired up the computer to see if it was just the dust (you know how dust bunnies are: feral, belligerent, ferocious). Everything worked perfectly... until I tried to log into my main e-mail account.

Uh-oh. No keyboard. Yer... what?? Nothing I did would connect the damn thing - it kept asking me for the software. Now, I keep all my software CDs filed, but do you think I could find the blessed thing? No. Not. HAPPY!! At all.

I shut everything down and went away to think about it. Have coffee, will brainstorm.

The solution was simple: "Use the laptop, my young Padwan, yooose the laptop!"

So I've connected the laptop to the broadband and I'm somewhat mollified. Of course, most people I know have rid themselves of the bulky tower unit and separate monitor; not me, I like the beast, but I fear it's time is at an end.

Sure, I'll find the keyboard software, but is it worth it? The system is slowing - my guess, because I can no longer get the automatic upgrades I need - installing new hardware, like a motherboard, extra ram, memory, etc, will be expensive since it's been, oh, four years since the last upgrade, and I have a perfectly good laptop that's less than eighteen months old.

I'll be saving space, too, and power connections, and I have mobility with the smaller unit.

This means I'm catching up with the modern trend of the laptop and printer only on a desk. All I need do now is remove the files, and bookmarks, I need from the desktop unit and move them.

Bummer.

Oh, and the burned plastic smell? I'll be damned if I can find it!