In 2010, I treated myself and bought a new computer. It was a Sony Vaio and a real powerhouse at the time. It has an Intel i7 processor, a 500GB hard drive, an incredible screen, a wonderful chicklet keyboard with all kinds of programmable extra keys, and 4GB of RAM, running Windows 7.
If I’d left well enough alone, I’d probably be happily using it today with that configuration.
I’m sure that you can see where this is headed…..me being me, I upgraded to Windows 10 which was touted as the greatest thing ever. The computer easily met the requirements but they never really tell you that these are the minimum requirements. Particularly the 4GB of memory.
With Windows 10 installed, it was a really slow actor.
Really, really slow.
Of course, we know that there were two ways to fix this…
- buy more RAM
- install a version of Linux
I knew that by buying more RAM I would just be extending its life but Linux has always run with minimal requirements. In the Windows world, I did ultimately upgrade to this computer – a gaming Windows computer that really flies and I made sure I bought a computer with 16 GB of RAM.
There really is a big problem although it’s becoming less and less of a problem as time passes. This computer does not have a CD/DVD ROM drive. So, the old Sony machine still has a purpose.
For the longest times, I dual-booted Windows and Linux although quite frankly most of the time it was to Linux. In that world, it’s been a real experimental environment as I’ve tried various versions of Linux on it. It actually is now back to running Ubuntu and does that very nicely. Ubuntu has evolved over the years. I got version 4.04 at a conference in San Diego and was immediately impressed with how well it worked and could do all that I actually need.
Today, it still does although lots of bells and whistles have been added.
I finally stuck a fork in the Windows side and it just now boots into Ubuntu directly. As it does, I’m reminded of how slow a physical hard drive with moving parts is compared to what we enjoy today.
The other thing that keeps this machine hanging around is a promotion that was made back in 2010. The screen is engraved with my name.
How could you get rid of a computer that is so personal?
In 2022, there is so much that is just done in the browser anymore. I actually have to poke around the computer to remember what is installed there. I’m so used to just logging in and going to Firefox.
In the computer world, you can’t sit still. I’m now wondering if it’s time to put a Chrome Operating system on the computer since all that I’m using is a browser anyway. It’s just that once in a blue moon, I need to get something from a backup DVD.
I got the itch to do something again after reading this article this morning.
Isn’t it nice to have these decisions to make?
doug -- off the record 
Please share your thoughts here. I’d enjoy reading them.