How long should a desktop computer last? I can’t remember how long I had the previous one which eventually developed a problem no one seemed able to fix. It still functioned but as I worked, the contents of my screen kept rolling off to the right. I could summon it back, but this happened constantly, more like once a minute than once every hour. Impossible to continue that way, so it had to go.
In fact, I still have that computer which is the only means by which I can play CDs or DVDs. Not that I ever do. There are also quite a few old photos on it. Just what I need – more photos.
My last computer was purchased in 2019 and it had become sluggish some time back. Months ago I talked about getting a new one before prices went up any more, but then the old thing rallied and we struggled on, but now, it was time.
The question was whether to buy or to lease. I read the pros and cons which was no help at all. I was persuaded once to lease a car which in the end I bought anyway. Deep down, I suppose I prefer ownership.
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The closest place to purchase a computer was at Best Buy in Saratoga Springs, so that was where we went last Monday morning.
It has been years since I went into a Best Buy, 5 perhaps, or maybe more. It was always a busy store, full of customers and sales people running around. Last Monday, you could have heard a pin drop. There may have been one other customer, but – it was early.
We found computers and there was little enough choice, so it was soon decided, but where were the sales agents? Grant went to grab one from another department and the young lad began a sales pitch in a monotone, as if from rota. He did not pause to see if we were following or whether we needed clarification.
Yadda, yadda, yadda…
Basically it was a matter of: “If you buy this, you also get that. If you have a membership here, you get 10% off which is cheaper than if you pay 90% over there because xyz….etc etc.
Clear as mud. Just give me the bottom line.
In the middle of the transaction, a young lady salesperson arrived. Very young, but also clearly in charge. She continued the speedy sales talk, but at least she was smiling and personable. She had a headset plugged in to one ear and was taking calls at the same time, though very discreetly. A multi-tasker.
To be honest, I was more fascinated by the young woman than I was interested in what she said. It cheers me up to see young people that are bright and lively. I tried to remember being that age. Obviously, I was once, but I don’t remember ever being as cheerful or poised.
I was once a multi-tasker, but I could never have coped with everything that young woman was dealing with.
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Leaving Best Buy, I was depressed. The world has accelerated far beyond where I could comprehend the working of every day things and when I got the data transferred to the new computer, – would I be able to access it? I had barely kept up with periodic updates, but a whole new PC? And how long would all this take?
For a very small price a couple of years ago, I picked up a little tablet. It was to replace the iPad which had kept me sane during a hospital stay. The iPad too is worn out, though I daresay a young person could rejuvenate it.
The tablet is useful for my daily puzzles and when I buy books on Kindle, that is how I read them. I can also get my email and access Word Press, so I was not completely out of touch. For a split second I considered putting together a post using AI to create some pictures.
But that required a good mood and a sense of humour, both of which were currently seriously lacking! Added to which I would have gone mad trying to write anything on that tiny keyboard. These days I have trouble on a full-sized one. My fingers have become dyslexic. When checking what I’ve written, I find the right letters but in the wrong order. Often my finger strays to adjacent keys.
So that idea was a non-starter.
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In any case, there would not have been time for such attempts. The weather was good and Autumn was in full swing. After much discussion and changing of plans, we headed for Killington which is a ski resort in Vermont and a good place to view the hills. It is also not too far, just a 90 minute drive.
We had a very nice outing there on Tuesday, though I must admit that I was still feeling decidedly grumpy at the prospect of the following day when I had an appointment in Albany followed by the abandonment of my PC for the great transfer.
A drive in the country almost always brings me out of a mood and it did cheer me up, temporarily. In Vermont the trees were a riot of colour and the hills are always lovely. Mostly, we were able to stay off main roads, happily bumping along down country byways.
As you may guess, I took many photos, more than 300, but I cannot share a single one.
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Nothing to do with the new computer. I cannot place the blame there.
It was entirely the fault of my clumsy fat fingers, even though I cannot figure out how I managed, instead of deleting a single image, to delete the whole lot. Normally, on returning from a day out, I promptly download the camera, but because the PC was going the next day, I decided to wait.
Then, as we travelled toward Albany, I continued clicking away. When I know a shot failed, I usually delete it to avoid clogging up the computer with rubbish. The camera offers a choice: Delete: Current image comes up highlighted in yellow. I click OK to confirm.
In order to erase All images, I have to click a button to move the highlight down, – a deliberate action which I did not do, yet after clicking OK, I immediately knew what was happening from the way the camera responded and there is no way to say “No! Stop!”
Earlier, my bad mood had returned, but I simply sighed. Grant glanced at me, sensing – something amiss. “Everything?” he asked, when I confessed.
The same thing happened to me once before with considerably less devastating loss and that time I was seriously annoyed. This time, despite an already poor frame of mind, I simply harrumphed and let it go. Maybe because of my mood? I deliberately didn’t try to remember images I was never going to see.
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Then again, perhaps it was relief. Being computerless was backing things up and whenever I got back online, I was going to have trouble catching up. Perhaps it was as well to be rid of those 300 pictures!
…..to be continued…
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I bought my first desktop in 2012, when I moved away from London and found the keyboard on my 10 year old Dell laptop irritating. I wanted a REAL keyboard, like a typewriter. So I bought a HP PC from Amazon, adding a 1tb storage and dvd/cd drive. as extras. It was half the price of the Dell laptop that I had bought in 2002. In 2020, HP informed me that they were no longer ‘supporting’ the out of date (8 year-old) PC I had bought. And it was glitching furiously. So I bought a Buffalo 500GB portable hard drive and saved all my stuff onto that before buying a new PC, direct from HP. Now I had a really fast SSD drive, as well as 1tb storage, and still had a DVD/CD drive included. That was the same price as the one I had bought in 2012, so relatively speaking, a bargain.
Fast forward to 2026, only 6 years later. HP tells me that my PC is now ‘outdated’ and they will soon stop ‘supporting’ it. So I look at their current offerings. Bigger and faster SSD, but no option to add any hard drive, let alone 1tb. No DVD/CD player, that has to be bought separately, as an accessory. But not from them, someone else. And it has to be compatible. So what we are dealing with is deliberate ‘planned obsolescence’. Our computers would still have worked fine, but the company says “NO” and installs glitches to make you buy a less specified replacement. This is a very long answer to your question, but that answer is 6-8 years.
Best wishes, Pete.