New computer...

[neotoma]

So, my computer basically ground itself to death on Tuesday. I took it to the local MicroCenter, where I had originally bought it, to see if it could be repaired but the cost of repair estimates were high enough that it was basically the same price to buy a refurbished computer from stock and proceed from there.

I also bought an enclosure and pulled my old computer's hard drive, rather than pay the data transfer fee -- $20 vs $70.

Sadly, the best computer for my money was a Windows 8 machine, which has a terrible interface that is so frustrating that I wanted to smash the screen within 30 minutes of trying to navigate it. Fortunately, you can find freeware skins to emulate the Windows 7 layout, which I did immediately after installing Chrome and Firefox.

So I have a new computer and another couple of hundred dollars in debt, but I'm not trying to search job postings from my Kindle. So that's good.

Comments

[isis]

Haha, yes. If I couldn't use Classic Shell I would go nuts. B tells me that Windows 10 is a return to 7-like layout.

[neotoma]

Yeah, the sales guy promised that I'd be eligible to a free upgrade to Windows 10, but I'm not happy at the idea of suffering through Windows 8 first.

[madripoor_rose]

Ugh, they always find the worst moment to break down, don't they?

[jenab]

I've heard of nothing but bad things about Windows 8. I'm hoping my computer lasts till later in this year when Windows 10 comes out.

[neotoma]

Win8 is super annoying. It might work fine as a tablet/mobile OS, but it's terrible for a desktop/laptop one. The sales guy tried to sell me on how customizable it is, but customizable means choosing which icons are up, not actually having control of how the display functions.

[fyrdrakken]

Congrats on having evaded major expenses in computer replacement! I briefly thought I was going to have to replace mine a few months back, but it turned out to be a lone program that was eating up the hard drive. And considering I generally only turn my desktop on one day a week, I was very grateful to keep using the one I've got for a while longer.