Sticker shock

To set the context for this post, you have to realize that there are two places that I’m forbidden to go unattended.  One is new car dealerships and the other is anywhere that sells new computers.

Now, in my defense, it has been two years since I bought a new computer.  So, I’m starting to get the itch.  I just happened to be on Walker Road in Windsor and there’s this big box store with the big yellow price tag sign.  What could a few minutes along hurt?  Plus, there would be actual products there.  Online, there are so many offerings from partners, that it gets difficult to tell what they’re actually selling themselves.

Besides, I’d seen a friend’s brand new computer at a summer meeting and had been curious ever since.  This store has just about any kind of computer that you’d want.

Ever the Business Education teacher, I always like to observe the layout of stores and what you have to walk past in order to get to what you really want.  If I was buying along the way, I would be well in the hole by the time I got to the computer section.

Then, I started to poke around.  If you’ve ever bought a computer for yourself, you know the mindset.  You’re looking for a computer that will last forever.  So, I started to look.  I’d be interested in a computer that would last forever without payments that would last forever as well.

I wandered into the Apple section.  The new design of the MacBook Pro has been something of interest via the pictures for a long time.  But, how’s the keyboard?  That’s the biggy for me.  Now, I’d be moving from an older computer with real keys that have considerable travel to them.  I proudly took keyboarding in high school and it’s a skill I use daily.  There was a promo showing on the beautiful screen so I make the cursor float over it and started typing.  My first reaction was that I hated it.  In the rush to make for a slimmer design, there just wasn’t the travel I was accustomed to.  I’d probably get used to it over time plus the gigantic trackpad – the question in my mind was “why should I?”.  That, no touchscreen option, the problems with dust and keyboard (even with the improved one) and the $2799 encouraged me to move on.

On meant the Windows section.  I had two goals in my mind – I wanted to touch the Alcantara fabric and check out the whole design from Microsoft.  The feel wasn’t bad – my nagging question this time was “could I keep it clean?”  The keyboard was again of the slimmer design but there seemed to be more travel to the keys but certainly would be a new experience to have to grow in to.  Of all the Windows laptop offerings, this was strategically placed so that it was clear that this was #1 and then there was everything else.  Number one was also reflected in the pricetag…

There actually was a nice collection of products from other manufacturers – Acer, Asus, HP, … Pricing seemed to run the gauntlet and it was very important to read the specifications carefully.  I was curious about the design and feel of the Acer Swift 3 and its various colours.  The keyboard seemed very nice and there was a variety of Acer products on display.  I was pleasantly pleased but aluminum seemed to be the case choice.  I’m intrigued by the blue model.

There was another manufacturer that I was specifically interested in that wasn’t visible in this area – Dell.  I specifically wanted to check out the XPS with the infinity edge screen.  The screen was beautiful.  The keyboard seemed to be nice to type on.  Could I use a white computer and not have it look badly over time?  Again, the price tag was a little shocking – although less so than some of the other units.  On the Dell website, there was a version of the XPS that came with Ubuntu rather that Windows.  That was something that I was really curious about.  On the Dell website, the machine is priced the same as a laptop that comes with Windows.  It seems to me that it should be cheaper than having the Windows version.

I suppose the best thing that happened was that I wasn’t approached by a salesperson to talk me into buying something!  I did a nice wander around looking at various machines.  I also did leave with a better idea about keyboards.  It’s interesting to see the difference between 7th generation and 8th generation processors.  More importantly, I left more confused and no closer to an ultimate decision.

Then, I drove by the Ford dealership where they have a beautiful green Bullitt Mustang model for sale …

I understand why I need a chaperone.