Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Digital feline dude
Every so often you read about cat ladies -- you know, the ones who've got scores of cats in their apartment. They come into the news when neighbors notice a stench and the local authorities have to clear out the kitties.
I'm kinda like that with computers. I don't care if they're outmoded and can't play the latest computer games, because I'm not a gamer. If people want to throw out their ancient (circa 2000) PC, I'm glad to take them. I usually just stick some more memory in 'em, install Linux, and they work just fine.
This weekend I added another computer to my collection. This one came with Windows 98, which I'm leaving on there for the novelty. I boosted the memory from 128 to 256 megs (using memory from non-functional computers), cleaned up the spyware, added Mozilla Firefox and Opera, and removed unnecessary programs from the autostart list. This rejuvenated Gateway runs much snappier. I am writing this post from it.
By my count, this is my sixth functional desktop computer -- and that's not counting my two main desktops, and my IBM ThinkPad laptop. So that makes nine PCs in all, not counting a couple of nonfunctional PCs I've cannibalized for parts. (There's a second ThinkPad which I don't use, because the internal connection to the power supply is broken.)
So call me the digital feline dude. But at least working with computers is an inexpensive hobby: I learn useful skills, and the PCs don't bother their neighbors with their smell.
Where to store them is another matter . . .
UPDATE: The stray Gateway has found a good home.
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I'm kinda like that with computers. I don't care if they're outmoded and can't play the latest computer games, because I'm not a gamer. If people want to throw out their ancient (circa 2000) PC, I'm glad to take them. I usually just stick some more memory in 'em, install Linux, and they work just fine.
This weekend I added another computer to my collection. This one came with Windows 98, which I'm leaving on there for the novelty. I boosted the memory from 128 to 256 megs (using memory from non-functional computers), cleaned up the spyware, added Mozilla Firefox and Opera, and removed unnecessary programs from the autostart list. This rejuvenated Gateway runs much snappier. I am writing this post from it.
By my count, this is my sixth functional desktop computer -- and that's not counting my two main desktops, and my IBM ThinkPad laptop. So that makes nine PCs in all, not counting a couple of nonfunctional PCs I've cannibalized for parts. (There's a second ThinkPad which I don't use, because the internal connection to the power supply is broken.)
So call me the digital feline dude. But at least working with computers is an inexpensive hobby: I learn useful skills, and the PCs don't bother their neighbors with their smell.
Where to store them is another matter . . .
UPDATE: The stray Gateway has found a good home.
