Brain Freeze

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Dr. ShrutzLove or How I Learnt to Stop Obsessing and Love the Notebook

First of all, a loud sorry to all those AMD fans whose hearts I will be breaking by talking about my choice in laptops.

Whoops! Did I break the suspense? No, that's right. I did not get a Turion. Okay, I am hearing the muffled oaths and loud sighs from that camp there.
Don't GO! Hmph. If you're that angry, go ahead. But don't come back complaining that you didn't hear the end of this story. There's only THIS much I can do, right?

Now, to the rest of you, I am assuming I am talking to Intel/PowerPC fans, or you're neutral about it, or as clueless as a friend of mine who asked, "Shrutz, what exactly is a notebook?" (No, I did not point her to a stationary shop, it took me a good part of half an hour to explain what little I knew.)
Around this time, last year, I'd changed my desktop from an HP Pavilion to an assembled li'l beauty. Ahem. Not too many concurred. I almost had hate mails from all the friends I did not call before I made the decision to buy an Intel-256MB RAM-80 GB etc computer.
I am kinda bemused, really and decided to make a huge ruckus the next time I had to buy a computer.

My chance came sooner rather than later.

In the post arrived my offer letter from IIM, Bangalore with a note appended. Briefly summarised, the note said, "Psst. Our hallowed campus has WiFi." (Yes! Mortals! Eat our dust. We stay connected in the MESS!)
"You need a wireless card/Centrino processor when you arrive on Campus. Choose your own WMD or our systems club will find you one." (Get a good notebook, we don't want idiots wearing our jackets to be carrying around some monstrosity of a PC .)

Hmm. Interesting choice to make. Suddenly, the air was buzzing with the expectancy of wannabe B-schoolers asking that inevitable question, "Will I be caught dead lugging THAT lunk of metal around?"
Sigma or self?
I settled down to ogle some serious booty, ahem, notebooks.

I can't BELIEVE the price of onions nowadays! Okay, maybe that's fodder for another post. Yeah, I can't BELIEVE the prices of laptops nowadays!

Without wasting any time, I'd started browsing the Dell, the Sony, the HP and the Compaq sites. Everyone on my Yahoo messenger was pinged with that inevitable question, "So, which one?".

Many, many MANY chat windows later, I was left with a list of prerogatives.
1) Configuration. (Like DUH!)
2) The lighter the better
3) BUDGET!
4) Looks. (Hey, I AM a girl!)
Which is when mom told me, "Ask your brother-in-law."

The Dells were looking seriously viable (especially for my moolah) and so I sent some configurations over to him with a mail that said, "I think the Dell is a good computer for me." Now, BIL was in the U.S at that time and the Dells are really cheap there.
Pat comes the reply, "Kiddo, you don't have international warranty here. I am not a fan of the Dell."
I sat and wept for 10 minutes for my poor innocent achachan who never wants me to use hacked software. (Uhm, is Big Brother watching?)

And, I went back to configuring laptops online. On an aside, it's a seriously entertaining pastime! I saw a very good-looking Sony Vaio that was canned by the users in C-NET.
The whole injustice of life prompted me to write an SMS to another B-school wannabe.
"I think I am in love. But, he's a good for nothing. All looks, no substance. Sigh. Why are the good lookers always like this?!"
Before I could get some soothing replies, I added, "He comes in Raspberry RED! Sigh, whatta laptop. What a waste."

A week later, achachan was ensonced safely at home in Singapore and sent me some more links to laptops.
The ostensible excuse for the torture was given by chechi, "We just want you to check everything out."
I blabbered incoherently, "I see the sugarplum fairy dance on my shoulder with a laptop in her hand. PLEASE don't make me do this anymore... Pretty please with a cherry on top!"
I was bawling....

Which is when I saw...... HIM.
The Apple Macbook. 13.1 inches of pristine white perfection, Intel Duo processor, the bells and whistles, boots in Windows (tm) . I nearly fell to my knees and wept for sheer joy.
Which is when they reminded me, "You really don't want to use pirated software anymore?"
I blathered, "But... so...pretty... so...good... config...I am in true love."
I am serious, people nearly had to pry my fingers loose of the mouse button. I was spending time staring at the Apple and rotating it 360 degrees, ogling at its neat little touchpad and it's grey keyboard.

True to his promise, achachan sent yet some more links and added in the mail, "Why not a Lenovo?"
Uhm, surely why not?? They are good. So, off I went to check the Lenovos and nearly had an aneurism on the spot. Never was a website closed with such haste.
Toshiba, Shruti?
Cool laptops, no moolah...

Achachan phoned me one day, "So, what do you think?"
I croaked out, "The Apple..."
"Yeah, but the Mac OS, Shruti."
I was staring at my Firefox open on the Apple website.
"Well, Shruti, you won't be able to use your software, like IE."
I was insulted, "I use FIREFOX!"
He decided it was better he changed the subject.
Achachan said again, "I think the Vaios are cool."
"I think the Vaios are expensive."
Long silence at the other end of the line.
"You must understand you will be using it only for two years."
I nodded my head fervently, unfortunately he couldn't see.
"So, what do YOU want from a system?"
"A good configuration, if only to keep the hounds of hell off my poor back."
He considered, "So, it must be robust."
"Uhuh. I won't drop it."
Achachan knows me very well and I am pretty sure he suspects that I might. My grace of motion is very well known in the family.
"You will get another laptop in 2 years."
"Yeah, but this is an important decision." Chechi interupted
I mumbled, "Yeah, like marriage."
Chechi burst out into laughter, while achachan coolly interjected, "Unlike marriage, this one isn't forever."
Touche!

I got a mail the next day, "I think the Dell is a good computer for you."


Two days, 20 mails, a million laptops and a gazillion configurations later, I was the proud owner of a Dell Inspiron 640M with about the same specifications I had decided on three weeks ago.

Later that day, Sigma puts up their configurations...
The vendor? Dell.
Some things are always meant to be.

Viva Dell & B-schools. Cheers!

PS: To all the hounds of hell (you know who you are), the Blogger has decided on a T2400 (1.83 GHz) Intel Centrino Duo processor with 1 GB RAM, a 80 GB 5400 rpm hard disk, a dual layer 8x DVD R/W, 14.1' Tru-Life screen on a Dell Inspiron 640M with a wireless mouse. You shall kindly keep off her back, since, as you can see, the configuration is FAH-bulous.

Sigma, our Systems Club, is getting Dell Latitude D520s and D620s.

In case I forgot to mention it, yeah, I am off to IIM, Bangalore on the 24th of June, laptop in hand. Maybe, I ought to warn the poor souls there.....



Copy-write Shrutz :: 9:17 AM :: 10 Sneaky Remarks:

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