I head out in a couple of weeks, off on a grand adventure back in America. I’ll be at a conference and a school, and on the mainland for three to four months.
I am going there computer free.
Mine is packed up in the nine crates. Ditto for Kristin’s. The old Mac will pack out on Monday, to go by air to Hawaii — that’ll take maybe 60 days to get there. The old PC is in the nine crates. Ti, the ever faithful Apple laptop, is here with us, and will travel with K and the kids straight to Hawaii, blogging the whole way, I’m sure.
Me, though, I’m heading off on my adventures with what I can carry. I might have a thumb drive somewhere in my kit, but really, it’s me, my Popcorn, and a couple of external drives full of entertainment.
I suspect that I will need automation while I school. It seems to always work out that way. What I don’t know is, can I get by with what I can scrape up? Will the computer labs and libraries have enough to let me do my work there, for freeeeeeeee?
The wife — how I love her so — told me that if I get there and need a computer, to just go get one. Maybe, she suggests, I get one of those snazzy new Apple laptops. Something to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, and something to take to Iraq, to keep in the front of my flack vest to help stop bullets aimed at my heart.
I love that lady. She’s so good to me.
So, that got me reading, and obesessing, and coveting. 64 GB of solid state drive. OS X. All the goodies that come with iLife. 1.8 ghz CPU. Mmmmm. Yummy.
But then wouldn’t you know it, I read this article about a new flavor of Ubuntu that would also work on the Asus Eee PC. I went and read up on the Asus Eee line, the new 901 and higher series machines they just announced, and I just about soiled myself. Less than 1 kg in weight. Up to 20 GB of solid state drive.
And Linux.
So, here’s the dilemma. I could get an Apple Macbook Air, with all kinds of sexiness, OS X and Windows XP dual boot, and have all of the best Mac and Windows goodness in a machine that will weigh nothing and will boot in a snap.
Or, for about $2500 less, I could get a Linux machine that’ll meet most all of my needs, not play any games really, and will be tinier and lighter.
The Apple, at about $3100, would be the bomb. But then again, the Asus Eee PC would be such a deal, and it’d be robo-geeky for its price performer and Linux aspects.
And I’d be Microsoft-free, which is always a good thing.
So, what do you think? Robo-geek with a sexy Apple toy but at a $3k price tag, or ?bergeek, for somewhere in the $500 to $600 range?
June 6th, 2008 at 1:24 am
I vote for robo-geek. I’ve heard enough of your whining about your cobbled together machines. Also, the Army pays for your housing, health care, major moves, and subsidizes your food and gas. What is better to spend your money on than a well engineered and designed computer?
June 6th, 2008 at 1:27 am
I got the MacBook Air, but I didn’t opt for the SSD, and I’m not dual-booting Windows. So my cost was well under $2K. I can sync my camera to iPhoto, and my iPhone to iTunes. Life is good.
However it really does need something like this.
June 6th, 2008 at 2:28 am
You’re not seriously asking that question, are you?
What would Bob do? He’d build a Heathkit, but that’s not an option, so he’d go with the next best thing.
June 6th, 2008 at 6:00 am
I think the wife would much prefer to have the Apple, mainly since, post Iraq, she could probably lay claims to it herself!
And yes, Heathkit — that’s funny.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Keep in mind the hardiness if you will of the computer. I managed a px in Balad Iraq, and so many people would buy nice computers, bring them to Iraq and look at me in complete amazement as to why the computer was malfunctioning. Well for one, they aren’t made to withstand the rigors of a soldier and his gear as he is moving from place to place. The screens have issues handling the heat, as do they harddrives and motherboards. If I was preparing to go again, seriously, in Iraq, I would buy a cheaper throw away type computer for the desert. And I’m sure you know, but getting a connection to go online, in your quarters is near impossible unless you hook up with someone that had bought a connection. Very pricey, and dodgey no less. Just a few thoughts from someone who has been there done that.. and of course an army wife who has withstood two deployments to Iraq. If it were me.. spend less.. get the nice one when you get back.. and have a computer over there, that you dont have to babysit to make sure its ok. Good luck!
June 9th, 2008 at 10:12 am
I stopped by the PX here on post, and they have the baseline Apple Air for MSRP. So, I would expect the same at the post in GA. But…..
If I buy from Apple, I can get the student discount. And the free iPod Touch, 8GB version. Free. I like free.
And since I know my wife doesn’t read the comments, I can say it here: I might also buy an Apple TV, to configure while in GA and to drop off with the family when I get to HI en route to Iraq. Just because.