A huge pain it would be, and I was not looking forward to it!
My 4-year old laptop was slow as molasses and I knew I had to upgrade soon if I didn’t want to loose my sanity. That day finally came in October 2010, but after two weeks of research, looking at specs, comparing eight models of different brands to choose from, deciding to buy online or in store, trying to find the best deal and get the most for my money, I was ready to throw in the towel! Then I asked myself why it had to be so complicated? (I know, I know, it’s me …)
Just buying something that was newer and better than what I had shouldn’t be that difficult right? Unless you’re like me, trying to find the perfect computer for less money…! If I used no more than four of the most important criteria it would be a cinch, so I said to my husband on a Sunday night: let’s go to the store tomorrow and buy the computer. Enough research done, opinions asked, going back & forth, etc. I made my decision!
| It still took about 30 minutes to look and play with the laptops on display, asking a few questions, looking at specs again and choosing from 3 models, keeping my most important criteria in mind. I wanted another HP, that was lighter, faster, with webcam at a reasonable price.
Final decision made, and I came home with my new baby: |
Eager to test it, I played some videos, opened some websites that used to take forever to load, and was happy to see things happen (almost) instantaneously. A huge improvement, also thanks to the Windows 7 operating system (haleluja, no more Vista!!!).
However, the next chore was waiting for me… personalizing my new computer, moving files and programs and cleaning up the old one which would be used as a back up in my hubby’s office. Just thinking about it made me want to cry, but that’s not me. All I needed were some tips to make the transition as easy and smooth as possible. So here I had to go again with my ‘research’ …. Jumped on the internet and found a lot of outdated tips from 2001 to 2008 with only a few written in 2010. Knowing myself, I would still create my own plan, drawing from information I gathered. But now I was at least prepared to make the moves ‘soon.’ It still took me almost three months working in increments, but hey, life happens!
I’m still getting used to my new laptop and sometimes miss the features of my old (entertainment) laptop, except for Windows Vista! But I wanted a workhorse not a play thing, so I got one. 🙂
For the sake of keeping things ‘short’ but sweet, my next post (instead of this one) will list some tips on how to transition from the old to the new (laptop that is). Happy New Year by the way!