new computer!

[sophinisba]

My old laptop sort of stopped working on Sunday. That is, it stopped taking power from its AC adapter yet again. I could have bought a new one from Dell for $50 or so but I have been meaning to replace that computer for a while anyway because it's slow and clunky and annoying in a lot of ways, the biggest probably being that it can't read CDs or DVDs anymore, and since the only TV in the apartment is the tiny one in my friend's bedroom, I have been relying on my computer more and more for watching movies and TV shows. So I went out and got one yesterday morning! (It wasn't as much of an impulse buy as it seems, really. I'd looked into buying a new one a year and a half ago and I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted.)

My new computer is a Toshiba Satellite A215-S7437 and so far I like it pretty well. It has a nice wide, bright screen and in a few minutes I'm going to try watching Heroes to see how that works. I'm still adjusting to using Vista and Office 2007 (because, you see, I've stuck to my daily writing goals, even with this! Go me!) and having the Delete key way the hell up in the upper right corner of the keyboard, among other things. I've transfered most of my documents from the old one but can't transfer everything because I can't keep the old one on long enough on battery power. So Firefox doesn't have the bookmarks and bookmarklets it should have and lots of toher things still need to be dealt with, but in general I'm very happy with the new one.

My techie cousin who helped me get the wireless network set up asked if he could have the old one to play with and I said yes, so I shall have to remove all traces of the fanfic before Thanksgiving. I'm sure he'll wipe it clean anyway, but I just couldn't stand handing it over the way it is. :)

Comments

[shirebound]

I have a 3-year old Toshiba Satellite M35 that I love (except that I had to replace the hard drive a few months ago). Enjoy your new baby!

[sophinisba]

I don't know much about computers but I have heard from a lot of people who have Toshibas and like them, especially here on LJ. I am optimistic, although I can't seem to watch Heroes this evening, and NBC was the one network whose player worked really well for me on the old computer. :/

[shirebound]

Sophie, how does a person watch TV on their laptop?? I've heard about it, but never done it. Is there a site, or download, or special software? Would you be willing to walk a newbie through it? I wouldn't even know where to start.

[sophinisba]

It is just something I've started doing in the last few months and I really like it a lot. Well, for a while before that I was watching a couple shows on iTunes, but that never worked very well for me. (And now I've found out I can't transfer my iTunes library to my new computer because the old one doesn't have a working disc drive and I don't have an iPod. This makes me kind of angry.)

Anyway, you can watch a lot of new TV shows on the Internet by going to the network websites (nbc.com, abc.com, cwtv.com) and following the instructions there. Every network has a slightly different system and you'll probably have to download some kind of player program from each one, but that usually goes pretty quickly as long as you have a good internet connection. Sometimes the video is choppy or gets out of sync with the sound, and sometimes that can be fixed by pausing or moving the cursor back a few minutes, but sometimes not.

There are usually short ads every 20 minutes or so. You just have to sit through them and on some versions there's a button you have to click to start the video again after the add has played.

I hope it works for you!

(I hope it starts working again for me too! I've come out to the library for a bit this evening because my Internet connection at home isn't working!)

[shirebound]

Thank you, that's very helpful! *smooches you*

I hope you get your home internet back SOON.

[sophinisba]

Ha, I have the connection back already. I am so spoiled. :)

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

We have a Toshiba that is positively ancient that mostly works but is slowly dying and M. only uses it very occasionally. It's er...older than I've been on LJ because it was the first laptop I had ever and I got it from my mom used that summer of 2002. So it's a miracle it works at all, really! :D

[sophinisba]

Is that the one you can't take anywhere and have to have propped up on a special stand so that it won't overheat, or the one that sits in the livingroom and never gets touched? :D

I will be sad to part with my Dell because it is also my first laptop and the computer one which I found slash, fandom, and a lot of other good stuff. I have carried it around to a lot of places and written and read a lot of porn on it. Right now it is sitting folded up in the corner, poor thing.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

Random: Every time I walk to Walgreen's, it makes me think of that day we took that long walk and were brainstorming!

The Toshiba is the one that just sits in the living room and never gets touched, lol! (Er...M. does use it occasionally)

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'm using a Toshiba Satellite as well! No idea what model it is though. It's a great laptop and other than the viruses I don't have any problems with the computer per se :)

[sophinisba]

I have not figured out what to do about viruses yet. Also I can't seem to watch new NBC shows, but other people also seem to be having trouble with that in the last few days so maybe the network will come out with something better soon. I am excited about the new computer!

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Psst, my Toshiba says hi to yours *g*

(http://photobucket.com)

[sophinisba]

Hee! My new computer has this little slot in the front where supposedly you can transfer pictures from your camera's memory card without going to find the cable. I am too tired to try anything else new tonight, but I am hopeful!

[shirebound]

That looks EXACTLY like mine!

*waves*

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Yay!!

*waves back frantically*

[mariole.livejournal.com]

Wow, thanks for the report! Let me know how it goes. Good luck!

[sophinisba]

Thanks! I think once we get settled in together things are going to go very well. :D

[baranduin.livejournal.com]

Good job! Toshiba's a good brand!

[sophinisba]

Yay! It gave me a good feeling when my techie cousin said he'd also bought a Toshiba from the same store last year. :)

[frolijah-fan-54.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the new computer!! If the old one doesn't charge how are you going to get all your stuff off?

Sounds like this new one should work much better for watching movies and TV shows - enjoy!!

[sophinisba]

Luckily my mom also has a Dell laptop and the adapter is the same. I was at their house this weekend so I was able to have my old computer on there, and should be able to take care of some more of this stuff next week too. It was a good thing this happened while I was there so I was able to borrow a car and go out to get the new computer.

[frolijah-fan-54.livejournal.com]

AHHHHHHH - that was lucky!! Good luck with the rest of the purging from the old computer. I've heard that even when things are deleted it can be retrieved - hope your relative isn't that talented of a geek!!

[sophinisba]

I think he is very talented but won't actually be interested in my old files, so mostly I just want to get them out of the way enough that he won't stumble across them accidentally, as anyone would do if they turned it on now. :)

[i-o-r-h-a-e-l.livejournal.com]

Congrats for the new laptop! :D

[sophinisba]

Thank you! I'm already quite fond of it.

[honeyandvinegar.livejournal.com]

Ah, how cool. I myself have probs with my comp right now. It's going to the repair shop; it's less than a year old. Nice, eh? I'm glad you got YOUR stuff sorted. Hopefully, I'll follow.
*thankful for husband's desktop, but already feeling her back crimp up*

[sophinisba]

I got a longer warranty on this one because I did not bother last time with the Dell and then I had a lot of problems that were expensive to fix or just did not get fixed at all. I hope you get your comfy laptop back soon! :(

[lilybaggins.livejournal.com]

Oh, how exciting---am jealous of your bright and shiny new toy! I want to get my old laptop working SO badly... just don't know whether to try to upgrade it or try to buy a used newer one somewhere.