Long time readers may remember that several months back I spilled some warm vinaigrette into my Powerbook. Although it did recover, due to the corrosive nature of the spill I was aware that I was probably living on borrowed time. The spill negated any warranties that may still have existed three years later and I decided to brave it out and see what happened. Unfortunately it died on me last Saturday. I had walked away from it to take a phone call and according to Alex the screen just went black and the hard drive started making a strange clicking noise. By the time I arrived on the scene the clicking noise was winding down, although the CD still trapped in it's drive was spinning madly. Once it stopped making noise, the CD stopped spinning and the computer was silent and dark. Nothing we tried could revive it. I'm just grateful that it happened while we're still collecting a paycheck. Replacing it would have been much more difficult next month than it is now.
It's amazing to me how times have changed. When I was in grade school computers were just beginning and they were only found in select work environments and schools. My school got our first one when I was in the sixth grade and I was one of four students in my class that were given the chance to take computer lessons. It was a DOS system and classes consisted of print, run, and that sort of thing. The computer used these huge floppy discs for saving information. I couldn't really see the point to what we were doing with it. It was just a way to get out or regular classes and feel special. I certainly never thought they'd become as widespread as they have. Now I can't imagine living without my own computer and I know I'm not alone in that sentiment.
Fortunately I have a separate back up drive. I'm not as dilligent about the process as I should be but I have backed things up once. So, the actual loss of data should be relatively minimal. I haven't backed up since before the spill but I'm pretty sure I'll remember to do it at least once a month from now on. One loss of data is enough to drive that lesson home. But losing six months out of the last 3+ years is not too bad in the grand scheme of things. It could have been a lot worse so I'm thankful for what I've still got.
Alex and I have been sharing his computer for the last couple of days so it's safe to say we'll both be happy when the new one arrives. I've ordered a MacBook, not the Pro, although I was tempted by the fifteen-inch version. It's tough to go from 17-inches to 13-inches but I think I'll be better off with the change. I've spent the last three years searching for a bag that I actually liked that could hold my computer. I never did find one. Although the big screen was a luxury, I hardly ever used it to it's full potential. I'm eargerly anticipating something more portable and more powerful. Alex may be more excited about it than I am, both to check out the new model and to get me off his computer. He's been following the new laptops since their release. On the other hand, I chose not to be tempted by something I knew wasn't going to be buying. There's a lesson there somewhere. My MacBook shipped yesterday so with any luck I'll be back up and running by Friday. To every cloud, there is a silver lining.
