The burial is tomorrow...

[Chris James]

Here we go again, another cheap PC tower down the drain and I could care less. Been working on my laptop most of the weekend but I dislike the keyboard or perhaps it dislikes me.

These things last me a few years, they die and i replace them.I never lose data since I store nothing on the hard drive. Learned that lesson a long time ago. My contribution to capitalism is buying a new one when needed. The hard part these days is finding one without a Windows 8 operating system, I don't need all those fancy bells and whistles, just something that lets me browse the internet and process words.

So there you go, I am off to shop around, take advantage of sales and not allow myself to be sold a higher priced model, I rather like the shopping aspect since i can usually con the salesperson out of a new keyboard and mouse if they don't come with it. Cheers!

[Nigel Gordon]

If you just want to web browse and word process I suggest you look at Linux, Firefox runs on it and Open Office is a very good word processor.

[Camy]

Or, if you're happy online and don't mind using google docs, then grab a chromebook. Cheap, and a virtually instant boot.

https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=chromebook_acer_c710

[colinian]

You know, computers have feelings. If you yell at them or abuse them they're likely to respond by acting wonky or ignore you from time to time.

When I started high school (the 9th grade) my folks gave me an eMachines PC. When I started doing a lot of Photoshop and programming and needing PHP and MySQL running on my PC (in the 11th grade) I built a new PC and gave my eMachines PC to my sister (after wiping the hard drive and reinstalling Windows). Liz used it until she started high school, and she got a laptop and gave the eMachines PC to our younger sister. Annie used it until she started high school and got a laptop. That eMachines PC is just over ten years old now. And it's still running, though it's been upgraded to Window 7. Annie still uses it, but primarily to back up her laptop.

None of the three of us ever yelled at or abused that eMachines PC, and it's kept running. PC's life is the same as dogs, so the eMachines is the equivalent of 70 human years old. Not bad for a computer with a Pentium chip, 2GB RAM, and a 360MB hard drive (now augmented with a 1TB external.drive).

There's an old Crosby Stills song, "Treat Your Children Well" that works well if you mentally substitute 'PC' every time you hear the word 'children' in the song. And remember those lyrics the next time you want to yell at your PC, or your parents when they're trying to use a PC!

http://www.youtube.com/embed/ztVaqZajq-I

Colin

[The Pecman]

Here we go again, another cheap PC tower down the drain and I could care less. Been working on my laptop most of the weekend but I dislike the keyboard or perhaps it dislikes me.

Chris, are you sure the whole system is down or is it just the hard drive? 90% of the time, the internal parts are fine and just a drive replacement will cure the problem.

I run three or four cheap PCs for miscellaneous crap around the house, and they never break. I have a few that have monitors that are literally 7-8 years old, and the only thing I ever replace are the hard drives.

Two important principles: 1) you gotta back up, and 2) sometimes the only way to fix a computer is by using another computer. In my 30 years of using them, these two concepts are more true today than they were when I was starting out. (Technically, I started in 1980, using an Apple II running CP/M.)

Computers are inherently evil, but it is possible to beat them into submission and keep them going for a long time if you keep your wits about you and know what you're doing.

I disagree with Colin about treating PCs nicely. I go with Bogart's philosophy: "I've never met a PC who didn't understand a good rap in the mouth or a slug from a .45." A whip and a chair works for me. Most of the time I fix computers, I'm muttering, "you f@cking son of a bitch piece of crap bastard pile of c@ck-s@cking sh!t I will see you in hell before you stop working and I'm as serious as a heart attack," on and on, for hours on end, a long continuous stream of curses until it's fixed. It works for me. I will not take no for an answer, especially from a PC. And I get abused by Linux, various flavors of Windows, and Mac OSX all the time. I just won't let them get the better of me.

[DesDownunder]

I am tempted to offer a lecture tour on how to swear at computers.

I always tell a new comer to computers, especially those running Windows, that the first thing they should learn is how to swear. The more offensive words to the ears of one's grandparents, the more effective will be the results of a cooperative computer.

If all else fails, taking an axe to the table on which the computer sits usually succeeds in scaring the hell out of the computer and gaining its cooperation.

Sadly, sometimes it is necessary to take the computer outside and exorcise its demons by burning it at midnight.

[The Pecman]

I am tempted to offer a lecture tour on how to swear at computers. I always tell a new comer to computers, especially those running Windows, that the first thing they should learn is how to swear. The more offensive words to the ears of one's grandparents, the more effective will be the results of a cooperative computer.

I like the way you think!