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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Lamenting a laptop

Laptops. Fun, fantastic, internet producing machines that make our lives easier. We can watch Mamma Mia on DVD, listen to that great new song by Miley Cyrus and even get a paper done (after receiving that absolutely necessary extension). Sadly these fabulous activities have disappeared from my daily life because my brilliant servant, my 12" PowerBook G4, finally gave up on me after four years of faithful service. It was spontaneous albeit somewhat expected. My little silver friend had fallen spectacularly a few months back and had a few dents on his metallic exterior. Last week though, the screen became gray, filled with horizontal lines of various colors, and it kindly requested that I shut it down, and send it off on a burning pyre.Instead of having my computer at my side to service my every curiosity I was thrown into a dark mysterious abyss filled with no answers to any questions: Did Katie finally friend me on facebook? Who was that one guy in that one movie, you know with the hair? What is the average life expectancy of a tortoise? The facts that I would look up and immediately forget were gone from my life, with no substitute for "the google," I was once again unsatisfied in my search for trivial knowledge.I don't mind that I lost all of my photographs, my music, and everything that I had written in my undergraduate years of college. The lack of backing up my creations was my fault and the data will be recoverable at some point in the near future. For my expansive 500 gigabyte external hard drive this is no doubt an existential crisis. I am simply saddened by the loss of my computer, nay, my companion. I lost more than just time and productivity, I lost an inanimate object that had been there for me for years. We spent a semester abroad, traveling to various countries. It was there for me when people said that PCs were better than Macs. It was also a great space heater when my off-campus house was completely devoid of heat. Of course, it had no idea that anything was going on, it was just a series of circuits, but in that respect aren't we all? Perhaps an outrageous original price or a frequent recharging are required, but you'll never hear your monitor complain. Only in their untimely death are electronics despised, so why not celebrate their service? I recommend that everyone take the time to thank the cell phones, televisions, and computers that provide valuable services year after year without asking for anything in return.Actually I think I'll just replace my computer and not make a big deal out of it. Darn thing cost me a fortune.