Wishing things were faster
I’ve spent the last few hours trying to get an older laptop “up to date”. The usual stuff: patches to the OS, signature files for the antivirus package, newer versions of mission critical software. And it was a painful process.
The laptop is my “before the one I use now” model. One that I bought a number of years ago. A machine that used to seem fast. A castoff, relegated to service with my amateur radio gear because I can’t seem to justify the purchase of the latest and greatest. You get the picture.
That’s the part that “does not compute”. The subjectivity. There’s been no loss of speed, or fit for the job. The slow is in the mind of the beholder. My mind. I mean, I fend off the complaints from users, all year long. “No sir, your machine is just as fast as it was six months ago…” And then, in the privacy of my home, I’m just as critical without reason. A sad thing. A sign of what is wrong in the computer/human relationship.
Maybe, if I just use the bloody thing, I’ll get over the desire to upgrade. Maybe the machine will run Ham Radio Deluxe and several other packages in a way that is just “FB”. Perhaps I’m saved from other problems, because XP is stable and tested. Even the CAT cable may work properly. There… I feel better. This computer is exactly the one I need for the job at hand.
And if nothing else, I’ve saved a cool grand by not trying to buy another laptop.
