[Erin] Not what I'm used to

This past weekend my husband was finally able to do something he's been wanting to do for a while: buy one of these. (I think what caused the balance scale to tip toward making this decision was the information that I'd be tying up our old computer for most of this week; thanks, Rod!)

No, we can't really afford it, but when you factor in the cost of losing everything packed onto the hard drive of our elderly p.c., which has been acting very cranky and temperamental lately, it's not so bad. And when you start pricing brand-new computers of the non-Apple variety, and start adding on the amount of memory you'll need to run a certain unnamed operating system plus actually be able to do anything else beside run that certain unnamed operating system--well, let's just say that in the long run we'll probably save money.

Of course, since the elderly machine still works, a long-time dream of mine came true, as well: the old machine now resides on a desk in our living room/homeschooling headquarters, so the girls and I can make use of it during the school day right here where we do most of our work. And I got a nice surprise, too: a new flat-panel monitor, to replace the giant energy-sucking CRT that came with the old machine once upon a time back when cathode-ray tubes were still considered to be a good idea, technologically speaking. I couldn't have kept the old CRT if I'd wanted to, because it required a behemoth-sized desk to support its giant weight and massive proportions--and I'd rather not have to climb over a computer desk roughly the size of Rhode Island on my way from the living room into the kitchen, no matter how good that might be as a form of exercise.

I think I share the average crunchy con's love/hate relationship with computers and associated technology. There's no denying that having a computer can provide some crunchy benefits; e.g., looking information up on the Internet saves excessive driving, online shopping can be more targeted and efficient and thus less prone to impulsive consumerism than actual shopping, and so on. But the other side of the equation is the cost of technology, not only in terms of real dollars, but also in terms of its ever-growing impact on our lives, and its tendency to become important beyond all proportion to its worth.

That said, I must admit that the iMac is really, really cool. I came into the room while my husband was setting it up, and admired the sleekness of the screen, the perfect rectangle of the minimalist keyboard, the intriguing paradox of exciting technology and a nearly unobtrusive profile. I commented on it; my husband replied almost reverentially, "Yes, and you should have seen how it was packaged. Opening it was practically a Zen moment." (Note to Apple: this is high praise from a man who routinely criticizes the shoddy packaging of everything from CDs to electronics to inexpensive bits of gadgetry.)

Cool or not, though, I have a feeling that when I finally have to give up this old machine--and I really don't want to--it will be replaced with another one rather like it. Yes, it could be better, but I get used to working with things as they are, and quickly find myself outside of my comfort zone when too much changes too fast, even if the changes are for the better. There's a certain comfort in those little boxes that pop up with the alarming news that a fatal exception error has occurred; there's a rhythm in knowing that add-ons which are supposed to be compatible almost never are; there's a level of excitement in not knowing just when the graphics card is going to shut down in the middle of a download, to say nothing of the suspense of wondering whether or not any of your work was saved. I could get rid of all of that, I'm told (especially by my husband, who's more than willing to help that happen), practically overnight; but I'm used to this old machine, and at least the disappointments and frustrations, such as they are, are never really a surprise.

Come to think of it, I'll bet that attitude of mine is the reason I keep voting for Republicans.