My jaunt to CompUSA today took quite some time to complete, as I predicted earlier. Thankfully, the repair tech I spoke with (name withheld to protect the innocent) was incredibly patient and eager to please. He was a trainee, so he had to run back and forth to answer my questions; however, he kept running until every one of my concerns was addressed. I feel indebted to him for his assistance, and I will be sure to let his manager know.

I was so impressed, in fact, that I went ahead and bought the Tungsten C anyway. It’s a little hard to hit the buttons accurately, but I think I’ll get used to it eventually. (Hey, I’ve actually gotten faster since I started blogging this entry! )

My hard drive finally bit the dust last night. I’m taking it to the friendly folks at CompUSA to see what they can do. (Pre-Thanksgiving day sale tonight, though…ugh. I despise lines.)

My contingency plan is currently either (a) purchase a Tungsten C (with a $100 rebate through January) if I decide to repair the notebook; or (b) bring home a Mac if I don’t.

IN OTHER NEWS This is my 100^th blog entry. Mahalo nui loa to both casual and faithful readers. I never dreamed this would reach the audience it has, and I’m very appreciative. Thank you all.

I wish computers would either work, or not work. It’s frustrating that they occasionally can’t decide.

I’m really happy that I saved 12 CDs’ worth of data, but I wish the computer would say Operating system not found 100% of the time, rather than 20%. It would narrow the choices I have to grapple with significantly.

…does it make a sound?

It’s a good philosophical question, but I’m not thrilled that I actually have to answer it. It’s letting me blog for now, but every so often my computer starts making sounds like a jackhammer…clunk, clunk, clunk. (I kid you not, I can literally hear the heads bouncing on the platters…crash, crash, cra, cr, cr, c, c, c, …)

Incidentally, I heard these same sounds a few weeks after I bought it. After shipping it to be repaired, Compaq shipped it back with a note saying nothing was wrong. It’s out of warranty now. (In fairness, this is pre-HP, so maybe, possibly, they’re better now. Don’t buy from them unless you’re sure they are.)

So, as you can probably imagine, blogging is going to be light for a few weeks, but I have a question in the meantime: should I try to get this [notebook] computer repaired, or should I buy a new or semi-new one?

If I do the latter, it’s going to be a Mac. Yes, I’m a Switcher. When I got started on computers, PCs kicked Apple’s…well, let’s just say that Apple had a run for their money. However, times change, and stupid Microsoft tricks like product activation, trusted computing/Palladium, and the inability to fix problems because the Windows CD isn’t bundled have caused me to shy away from the platform. At the same time, not having to type a serial number, UNIX stability, and its superior multimedia software makes Macs very appealing. Oh, and of course, there’s Aqua.

So, while I (gulp) try to coax a few more backed up files out of my CD burner, what do you think: fix this or buy a Mac? Comments welcome, desired, and appreciated. See you in a ‘few.