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A New PC
I loved my alien PC—it was, after all, in its own Frankensteinian way, my own creation. I had been my own Igor, shuttling back and forth between home and Fry’s, buying case, mother board, Athlon chip, RAM, floppy drive (yes, I know they’re antiquated, but I hate being without one), hard drives, cables, and glow-in-the-dark accessories. It had performed like a champ for nearly two years, until that unfortunate NVidia accident.
It could be fixed. “We can rebuild you.” Like Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man (seems a cheap fix these days, doesn’t it, six million dollars?), it could rise, phoenix-like, from its ashes, but Second Life awaited.
Rationalizing I needed a backup PC, I drove to Frys and bought a Sony VAIO dual-core system. No flashy case, no lights, one GB of RAM (it's now at two gigs, as I bought and successfully installed another gig stick), and 128 mg of on-board RAM (now disabled because I stuck in a PCI Express video card). Way more computer than the alien box.
When BellSouth reps came by my house a week ago Friday, I switched—after 15 years—Internet Service Providers, and doubled my DSL speed. And so I was back on SL.
And just in time, too, as my new property was beginning to require all of my attention.
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Photo: These are the aliens who sold me faster DSL.
I loved my alien PC—it was, after all, in its own Frankensteinian way, my own creation. I had been my own Igor, shuttling back and forth between home and Fry’s, buying case, mother board, Athlon chip, RAM, floppy drive (yes, I know they’re antiquated, but I hate being without one), hard drives, cables, and glow-in-the-dark accessories. It had performed like a champ for nearly two years, until that unfortunate NVidia accident.
It could be fixed. “We can rebuild you.” Like Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man (seems a cheap fix these days, doesn’t it, six million dollars?), it could rise, phoenix-like, from its ashes, but Second Life awaited.
Rationalizing I needed a backup PC, I drove to Frys and bought a Sony VAIO dual-core system. No flashy case, no lights, one GB of RAM (it's now at two gigs, as I bought and successfully installed another gig stick), and 128 mg of on-board RAM (now disabled because I stuck in a PCI Express video card). Way more computer than the alien box.
When BellSouth reps came by my house a week ago Friday, I switched—after 15 years—Internet Service Providers, and doubled my DSL speed. And so I was back on SL.
And just in time, too, as my new property was beginning to require all of my attention.
-----
Photo: These are the aliens who sold me faster DSL.
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