To buy or not to buy...
Ok... yet another dilemma to face... nothing new... just that I really have to make up my mind once and for all...
For the Spring and Summer term, I was able to get by without any personal internet connection... i.e. I have no internet access in my room... coz I need to buy a ethernet card (which will cost about 20 buck and plus a cable costing about 5...) and pay a yearly subscription fee of around 70 bucks. I was not willing to fork out that money... so I had made full use of the available computing facility that the school provides... I use the fantastic P4 computers in Angell Hall... do all my work in the computer lab in my dorm etc etc... my beloved Laptop (hey... it is still my baby...) can't even function as a type writer any more... it hangs all the time and my work gets wipe out all the time... even though I save them like every 5 minutes, the computer just screw up so badly that the whole document (even the already saved portion) will just be wiped out... so you see... I was really depending heavily on the computing facilities that the school provide... and all these while... my friends (namely Batcha, Hafiz and Hong...) had been bombarding me with all the horrible stories of how Fall and Winter term is going to be different from Spring and Summer... and that I will not have the chance to use the computers anymore... well... as usual... those advices fall on deaf ear... and I did not really bother...
And I had a rude shock after I moved into West Quad... ok... for the start... the computer lab in West Quad is only a third of the size they have in Markley... while West Quad have like more than 3 times the people staying there... so it doesn't take a genius to figure out the maths of the probability of me getting a computer in the lab... and the best part is... the lab is not on 24/7... it is only open from 7pm to 12midnite... wow... this is really helpful... first is tat there are not going to have enuff terminals to go around... and now, there are like soooo little time for people to use them... hahaha... very helpful.... so I went to check out the computes in Angell Hall... the largest computing area in the school... and guess wat... I can't get a terminal after waiting for 5 minutes... the same thing goes for the library... nice... just very nice... I now have genuine problem to fear... and yes... it is only now that I fully realise that what those people had told me tat only a tenth of the people werer around in Spring/Summer... damn... the place now is crowded... hell... now wat????
Ok... of course there are a lot of options... first... will be to change the way I work... currently... I will take a light one hour nap after dinner till around 9 then start mugging... starting with the non computer related staff... i.e. practise my math etc etc... then after midnite, then I will drop into the lab to do my research (which I was promised by the others that it will be getting more and more of....) and my typing... coz people usually had gone to sleep by then so I have more or less the whole place to myself... but right now... the com lab is not available after midnite and so is those computers in Angell Hall.... so... one way will be to reverse the situation.... go try to get a place before midnite and do my non-computer related work after midnite in my room...
Second... will be to get connected.. ok... here is where the problem truly lies... one way will be to get a ethernet card for my laptop which is the cheapest way to go... well... since my laptop is like almost dead... I am really hesitant to buy accessories for it... so tat will leave me with a very much more expensive option... get a new desktop... so again... there are two types... one will be fix one myself... which will cost about 800+.... OR... buy a refurbished one for around 500... well... kinda confused... all things sorta suggest that I really really need to buy a desktop... coz trying to get a computer now will be like half luck half timing liao... and seriously... I am not sure if I want to do that...
But... one has to acknowledge the potential harm that a desktop will bring... I must admit... initially when I bought my laptop WITH MY OWN MONEY... I wanted to use it for work... but in the end... 90% of the time was spend on playing games... and tat was without internet connection... so now... the possibility of me spending more play time is definitely more likely... sure... the work load is definitely more... and I am definitely more discipline than I was... but still the temptations will now be RIGHT beside me... instaed of like walking all the way to the com lab... ya noe wat i am saying???.... hmm... still deciding... dunnoe how... seriously confuse... please feel free to send ya comments to me... it is yll@umich.edu or any other mail that ya people have been contacting me with... hahah... still dun have the feedback thingy fix... well... not in a hurry really... well then... bye bye...
posted by David at 8/30/2002 03:11:00 PM