I got a new computer, I got a new computer, I got a new computer!! I got my tax refund and I put most of it in the bank for the summer of no income, but I took some of it and I went to Best Buy and I got a new computer!!
Ahem.  Okay, don’t go away, I’ll stop singing now. 😀
It’s an e-Machine T6216. The computer itself is very nice, no problems so far or expected. I bought a workhorse, I didn’t go for flashy. I knew what I needed and I got it. But there are two major differences (and one minor) that are making me a very, very happy camper right now.
One, the new keyboard is exceptional. It took an hour to get used to it, but now that I have, it’s amazing. It’s not one of those ergonomic ones, but it does seem to have some of the differences incorporated. The only difference I can see is that the bottom row of keys are rounded and larger than in a traditional keyboard. That and the three buttons down the side…
Cut, Copy, and Paste. The back of the keyboard has more stuff, but that doesn’t interest me. I keep email and internet up all the time, and I seldom use the calculator. Don’t really need the remote-control type buttons either, not very often. But Cut, Copy and Paste–God bless the genius who came up with putting those there. This is so cool!
The minor change is I have a new pair of speakers and both of them actually work. I didn’t listen to music at first when I got my Dell, so it took me forever to notice that the left speaker didn’t work. I’ve dealt with it all this time, but now hearing the difference in my Evanescence CD–whoohoo!
And the biggie? The really spectacular wonderful change? I got a 17-inch flat panel monitor!! And OMG it’s beautiful. Incredible. I am SO glad I didn’t rein myself in, try to get off as cheaply as possible. Anyone who spends a lot of time in front of the computer, needs to get a flat screen. (I assume the flat-screen but full-size monitors are the same technology? They are cheaper!)
Let me tell you, I’m going to call Best Buy and tell them to put better pictures on their monitors on display. I’ve looked at flat-panel before, and never been impressed. Sure, the size was awesome, but the pictures didn’t look any clearer than my CRT monitor could do.
IT WAS THE PICTURE. The autumn picture that comes on Microsoft products does not look good on this screen for some reason. But this–wow, wow, wow.
Do yourself a favor, go look at one. Stand directly in front of it, as if you were using it. From the side they look bad, I think it’s the anti-glare thing. Put something on it that’s the right resolution to blow you away. Just keep looking till you’re blown away. Because you will be.
I wrote 4,226 words today. I was on this thing all day (of course!) working and playing with my new toy. And no headache. No eyestrain. No walking away reminding myself it’ll be really hard to write if I make myself blind in twenty years.
The monitor added about $200 to the price of the package. My eyes and my writing are worth the investment.