03 April 2012

My First Laptop

"If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger."
~ Frank Lloyd Wright


Isn't that a profound observation from so long ago?

We are surely moving swiftly toward becoming a race of chip-implanted, push-button fingered, agile thumb slaves to our technology.

I do not have a smartphone. I have a dumbphone. It takes me ten minutes at a time to text someone, not only because I have to have complete sentences and punctuation, but because my Captain Kirk flip phone only has numbers so for each letter it requires multiple key strokes. That and my fingers are just too beefy for those buttons.

I have not succumbed to i-anythings. I like the idea of the iPad but just see it as an extension of my already overloaded and overburdened mind. My kids do have iPods and I borrow one from time to time (I do have the Square app, and I love that) to take silly pictures with Instagram or try my luck at the first level of Angry Birds (I just don't get the appeal - but Bookworm I love!).

My seemingly centuries old HP desktop is really toasting my buns. It has crashed several times in the past year and I hate the XP operating system on it. It is just a beast. Plus I have about 3,456,221 pictures on it, and that seems to be taking up too much room. I will also be looking into some sort of off site back up storage personal fluffy cloud system before too long. I am lucky that I work with a gifted IT guy who knows my penchant for opening up 25 browser windows at one time and running multiple memory sucking programs at once.

Today, I have finally saved up enough money from the sale of my 'simple truths' to walk into Best Buy armed with multiple gift cerficates through the SCRIP fundraising program for our school and buy my very first laptop.

So in honor of this momentous occassion (calloo-callay!) I put together a little treasury of things that I now have my eye on to accessorize this special purchase. I have a feeling that accessorizing my new baby will become a full-on obsession.

'My First Laptop' by TesoriTrovati

In honor of buying my very first laptop today, I found some awesome accessories that I know I will not be able to live without!

Red Leather Tote Handba...

$155.00
Steampunk 32GB USB Flas...

$158.00
Macbook netbook or lapt...

$9.99
USB Typewriter Computer...

$899.00
CHEVRON MacBook Pro 15 ...

$29.50
4GB USB Flash Drive Bri...

$39.95
Laptop Cover

$32.50
Laptop Bag Laptop Sleev...

$64.98
Singing Bird Pink Lapto...

$26.90
USB flash drive necklac...

$100.00
Laptop Tote Bag padded ...

$94.00
Organic Ergonomic Compu...

$23.00
Cantilevered Laptop Des...

$979.00
Button Badge or Magnet ...

$1.50
Baby Elephant USB Flash...

$35.00
13 inch Laptop Case, La...

$19.50

Your turn...
What technology can you NOT live without?

Do tell!

17 comments:

Courtney Breul said...

Congratulations on the new laptop! I must confess, mine is my iPhone because it has the phone, all of my contacts, my music/books, gps thingy (if I can ever figure it out) and games.

Alice said...

I'm with you Sistah! I'm so far behind the times that its embarrassing (to my kids at least--I couldn't care less). While I do appreciate some technology like my flip phone that I only use when I travel, and my desktop computer, I've not succumbed to the lastest crazes such as iphones etc. And I'll take a desktop over a laptop any day because my wrists can't handle the flatness of the laptop. I dig my heels in at getting the newest, bestest, latest, of anything just because everyone else has it. My husband, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. I joke that future generations will not know how to read a map, spell, do math, etc because it's all done for them at the touch of a button. And we'll probably lose our voice boxes at some time down the line since we all want to communicate by email or text. Yes, I'm hopelessly old fashioned.

Congratulations on your success witht eh Simple Truths line!

Christine said...

Yay for new laptop!!

The tech I can't do without? Aside from "the internet", I'd have to say my iPad with 3G and wireless. It's my portable brain, my calendar, my library, my cash register (LOVE Square!), my gateway to learning cool stuff (yay for podcasts), and my personal arcade, when necessary. I thought I could easily live without one, but now that I've had it for a year, I know I can't. Love it!

Rebecca said...

Ugh....I hate blogger sometimes....third time trying to post a comment here! I honestly couldn't live without my iPhone and my iMac. I am not computer savvy and apple just manage to make everything so easy and fluid to use. I have had my mac book for over 5 years now, and apart from buying a new battery, and shelling out for some extra memory, it's had no issues, and still runs pretty fast. More money at the outset, but then not much to spend on it (or time wasted on it!) since then.

lunedreams said...

I just got my first laptop late last year and I LOVE it! I feel unshackled! I also sprang for a totally affordable wireless router (at Best Buy) to go with our cable modem, so I can be online anywhere in the house. I love that I can write in the car on my lunch hour if I have to (of course), and work anywhere in the house. I think this will make your computer related work much more enjoyable! Congratulations! (I don't have an i-anything either--no ipod, no smart phone, no kindle, etc. I don't want the expense or the time sucker of downloading apps/music, etc., plus when would I ever use it? I'm either at home or at work, where I have a computer, or driving to one or the other.)

mairedodd said...

congratulations erin - best of luck with everything...
i love my ipod as i really love to listen to music while i work (sometimes) - but it is a hand-me-down from the kids! which is fine with me...

Laura S Reading said...

Congratulations! I am very much like the "old you." (pre-laptop.)
I am in the market. At first I was looking for a tablet but now believe I really need a screen at least 11" but still want the lightweight portable options. So, netbook or notebook? I don't even know the difference.
With Best Buy downsizing and Acer discontinuing lines, etc (all of which I heard from computer savvy others)I hope now is a good time to purchase and not regret it within 6 months. The worst thing for people like me is taking the leap only to discover whatever we get is obsolete before we take it out of the box!

EB Bead and Metal Works, LLC said...

Congrats on the new laptop and I can't wait to see what you accessorize it with - love the Steampunk jump drives! Mom and I use Mozy to back up our hard drive in case of, yet another, crash. Two years ago I went through two external hard drives and a jump drive in the course of a week. I just about cried when I lost photos that I can't get back.
Mom and I also love the Square and I adore my Iphone (can play Bejeweled!). Have fun playing!!!

Davinia said...

I'm trying to keep up with all the technology. I always tell my kids that when they put me in the nursing home I want an ipad, iphone, ipod and a mac computer that way I can keep in touch with everyone. If my 93 year old almost totally deaf mother was up with all the tech stuff, communication with her would be so much easier, I could text her (in very large print) as phoning her is impossible now due to her lack of hearing. Plus she would be less disconnected from whats happening around the world.
Love my ipad, I was able to blog whilst on holiday in Bali, check emails, keep in touch with friends and family and I'm totally addicted to Words with Friends scrabble.
Have fun with your new laptop.

Riki Schumacher said...

Hi Erin, so glad to have some time to visit!! Seems like ages. Congrats on your new baby, you are hooked for sure! Well, I'm a Mac girl, so its my iPad now, soon to be my iPhone one of these days. xoxo Riki

jeanniek said...

I can live without all of it and do. I have not succumbed either. I can so totally relate to this post and the texting...well lets just say I'm jealous is only takes you 10 minutes to text. phooey!

It's nice to hear some people still "save up" for things. We are such a society of need-to-have-now!

Lets go shopping

Off the Beadin' Path said...

So happy for you that you have a brand new laptop! I'm sure it will make your life easier, in the way that only techie toys can! Translated: expect some frustration! That's not news to any of us, is it! I couldn't believe that a flashdrive could be a necklace..over the top! Nice selection of accessories, who knew?

KayzKreationz said...

Congrats on getting your new laptop. Looks like you've got some really cute accessories picked out. My first pieceof technology I CAN'T live without would be my laptop. But then, I'd also want my Android phone, but I also love my Nook for reading/games, etc. especially on trips.

Sally Anderson said...

My iPhone. OMG, my love for that is ridiculous. But it's my everything -- I text a lot b/c all my friends and family are far away. I do "face time" with those friends & family who have iPhones, too. Love that. It's my calendar (without which I wouldn't know where to be when). My games (Words with Friends -- all over the country -- is so much fun). My Michael's coupons (paperless is so much friendlier ecologically). My GPS (works better than our TomTom). My weatherman (HA!). My timer for keeping track of freelance time. My camera. My browser when I'm in the car. My QR reader. My pay-for-Starbucks thingy (touch a button & it's paid for). My dictionary (Websters app). My 3rd ebook reader (also have a Nook and a Kindle). Oh, I love all things iPhone. (Also love my MacBook Pro but it's second to the phone).

Patti Vanderbloemen said...

"Captain Kirk Flip Phone"...I actually laughed outloud when I read that line! Thank you for that...I needed it! I am a 51 year old technology nerd....I have a love/hate relationship with all of my devices. I use my IPad. Constantly. And I am ashamed to admit how much time I DO spend on it! Congrats on your continued success!

Brandi Hussey said...

That has got to feel good - congratulations on your new laptop!! How's it working out??

ladynoble said...

My desktop Mac is my BFF! I am on it for work, for inspiration, for art, for EVERYTHING. I remember walking out of the Apple store carrying it (graduation present to myself). I am all about learning/embracing new technology it is UBER good for artists in so many ways. YAY to a new laptop!!

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