A new computer

Our friend Brian, Renaissance-jack-of-all-trades man that he is, recently stumbled upon a 2006 IBM ThinkPad mini computer. A company had bought it and never even taken it out of the box. I had asked Brian to give me a second opinion on the demise of my baby computer and he told me about the availability of this small IBM ThinkPad that was going for a song.

Brian knew that my love of small computers had not served me well the last few years and he said if I wanted a superior mini computer at an amazing price, I would have to move fast. Years ago I bought a larger used ThinkPad from Brian that he had had for many years. It was a work-horse computer and I liked it, it was just too large and too heavy for my taste. I retired the big old IBM and began my journey of buying mini computers that lasted a mini amount of time.

After we had talked with Brian, Harry and I immediately jumped in the car and went to a technology store in the northern suburbs to check out this computer. Once I saw it I thought my dream of a reliable mini computer might be coming true. I told Brian this machine was like going from driving a Ford Aspire to a BMW. On the web I found the same computer selling for around $2000. This machine was priced at $400. I took out my credit card and off we drove.

I had wanted to buy the IPad, but when I went to the Apple Store in Uptown a couple weeks ago, I learned that word processing is not what the IPad is all about and I need to process words. Someday, I will buy an IPAD, they are amazing. For now, however, I am grateful for this sturdy little IBM and I will continue to read books and newspapers on my Kindle. ( Kindles, FYI, have come way down in price lately, probably due to competition with the IPad.)

My fantasy consumer dream is that this little computer will be as long lasting as my VW Beetle, Fiona. Fiona is still going strong after 12 years. Maybe if I just remember to change the oil on the ThinkPad she will go strong for years to come as well. I probably also need to come up with an endearing name for her, "baby computer" will just not cut it. This is a classy gal who needs a real name. Harry suggests "IBaMa" ??? A rather Democratic choice this election year.