Technology #7

I always want more technology. Life could get very complicated if I had more money because the only thing that's providing any limit at the moment is my pay pack.

My ipod died a while back. I don't really know why, and I still have it on the off chance I'll learn something that will allow me to bring it back to life, but probably the hard drive has a fault. I finally said it but I still don't believe it. I'm keeping the dead ipod. Yes I have changed the battery, twice, I worked out how to do that.

I really miss music and talking books on the train. I travel about an hour each way each day and that's 10 hours a week to fill in. Yes I do read, yes I read paper versions, but I do love my technology. What I really want is a UMPC. Ultra Mobile Personal Computer for those not familiar. Usually bigger than an ipod, maybe a 7 inch screen, often folds like a laptop. Fully functioning pc. Play my music and do everything else. The best ones are also phones. They are expensive with the cheapest being over $1000 is Aus dollars and the ones with 80 GB or bigger hard drives being A$2000 or more.

So, a major chain department store (I don't give away advertising) has laptops in their catalogue, 120 GB hard drives and 1GB of memory. Ok, it's not 7 inches, more like 15, but they only cost $798. But I've been away at the LT conference in Melbourne for a few days and I've missed the beginning of the sale. I see the ad 4 days after it's begun. I decide I have to ring first, no use getting anyone to drive me all over the western suburbs going from store to store. 1st says they only have the floor stock left. 2nd has two but they are only the 80GB. I play cards on the puter and think. Go back to the catalogue and there's a store in the burb, about 20 minute drive away that I'm planning to go to in the arvo to watch a movie. Ring the store, they have 2 left and I ask them to put one away for me. We drive up there, I get my hands on it and because I just can't resist I open the box at the coffee shop and find the battery is charged so I have to put it in and start it up and load the operating system and explore to see what it's like and I look at the C drive just coz and I find that it only has a 70 GB hard drive. Damn. Oh well. Bummer.

I take it back, thankful that I haven't gone too far, keeping it turned on so I can show the people at the store. I'm nice to her, it really isn't her fault, there's nothing on the outside of the box that shows the size of the hard drive, she's nice to me, I get a refund and walk away without a laptop.

Good news is the first store, when Julie went to them today to see if the floor stock is still available and see if she can bargain them down on the price (she's good at that, I'm not), finds that even though it has been sold they are getting 10 more in and seeing as I've had such a drama getting one they are putting one away in my name. They don't usually do that they say. Now I just wait for the phone call, and hope they can get one in on their order......................