No Longer Computerless

After months of waiting, I finally got a new laptop! My old laptop died nearly three months ago, and I’ve been using my dad’s desktop since then. I’m glad I had at least some way of checking my email and surfing the internet, but there’s definitely something different about using my own computer. I can finally type posts for this blog without fear of my parents looking over my shoulder or having to wait until they went to sleep.

I got the powerful and portable Vaio SZ. My brand loyalty runs deep. I’m going to spend some time tonight to delete some of the “free” trial software Sony/Microsoft preinstalled on my computer (stupid AOL). After a day or two of tinkering, my laptop should be customized to the way I want.

I’ve secretly been telling myself that I would wait until I got a new computer before properly updating my resume and searching for jobs with full force. I don’t have any excuse anymore.

The Vaio CR

Doing more research on laptops, I found an affordable laptop from Sony! The Vaio CR series is moderately sized (lightweight by normal laptop standards but about 1.5 times the weight of my previous laptop) and half the price of most other Sony laptops while still having pretty good specifications. It seems like I won’t have to abandon my loyalty toward Sony!

Even at an affordable price, though, buying a computer is never cheap. All the money I’ve made at Target over the last month isn’t enough, even for a Vaio CR. I know that my parents would buy my laptop for me, but I feel really bad that I can’t take the burden off their shoulders. It’s situations like this that make me very antsy to get my first professional job.

Not A Sony

This blog is becoming increasingly hard to keep up, at least for now. Without my own computer, I don’t have the time or privacy to post anything until my parents go to sleep. Usually by that time, I’m tired and don’t feel like writing or thinking very much. Today’s post will be short because of this.

Doing some shopping today, I found a laptop that seems to be pretty good for my needs at an affordable price. I don’t remember the model number at the moment, but the laptop I found is made by HP (Hewlett-Packard).

The bad news is that it’s not as cute or as small as my previous laptop. Worst of all, it’s not a Sony (gasp!). I still have a strong urge to buy a Sony, but affordability is a huge factor right now. I sort of wish my brand loyalty was with a less expensive brand.

Fifty-two Inches

My brother came home for winter break yesterday. While I was at work yesterday, my parents and my brother went shopping. My brother somehow convinced my parents to consider buying a 52-inch LCD HDTV.

We haven’t bought a new TV in many years (at least ten). The last TV we had was a 32-inch CRT, which is quite small by today’s standards. After hurting his back a few years ago, my brother is very cautious about neck and spine injuries. My mom likes to lean her neck forward when watching TV, and my brother thinks that a larger TV would help prevent future neck problems for my mom. My brother has been pestering my parents about getting a new TV for a while, but they always said it was too much money. Somehow, someway, my brother persuaded them that now is a good time to buy a new TV.

My dad, brother, and I went to Best Buy today to look and compare 52-inch LCD TVs. Our choices in our price range were a Samsung and a Sony. Guess which one we chose? A Sony! We almost leaned toward the Samsung, but brand loyalty came out on top again. The TV would have been far too big for our car, so we are having it delivered on Tuesday. In the meantime, we are preparing for the new addition to the living room.

Since my brother had his back injury, he isn’t supposed to lift heavy objects. On the other hand, I go to the gym all the time, so I’m quite a bit stronger than him, even though he is older. So when my family decided to rearrange all of the furniture in the living room in preparation for a larger TV, it was up to me and my dad to move everything (I’m actually a little stronger than my dad now). On my day off from work, I ended up doing a lot more physical labor!

Cute Little Vaio

I didn’t have much chance to research laptops, because my brother already did his own research and decided on a new laptop. Guess what brand? A Sony! The model he chose is the Vaio SZ series, which I already know a little bit about because a friend of mine had previously looked into that series. The Vaio SZ has a 13.3 inch widescreen display and weighs less than four pounds, due to its light carbon fiber casing. My brother is opting for 2GB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive.

His old laptop (which is the same series as my current laptop) was a Vaio TR. The Vaio TR was the smallest and cutest laptop on the market at the time. Sony has since released the Vaio TX and currently the Vaio TZ series. The TZ series is smaller and lighter than the SZ series, but the SZ is a bit more powerful.

If I get a new laptop, I probably would choose the TZ series. I’m not sure, though, if I want a laptop or a desktop as my next computer. For the same price, a desktop is much more powerful than a laptop. If I get a job that has very few travel opportunities, a desktop would make sense because I wouldn’t be taking my computer anywhere. As a student, I studied from home and school, so I transported my laptop a lot. Once I have a job, there won’t be as much need to transport my computer back and forth. On the other hand, a laptop gives me the flexibility of portability if I ever need it. In the end, I guess it will depend on what kind of job I get.

No matter what, my next computer will almost certainly be a Sony.

Family Support

My brother is having a pretty difficult time in medical school, but my mom said she’s happy that he’s telling us about it. She said no matter if it’s good news or bad news, it’s important that he has family support and that he knows that. Whenever my mom says something like that, I always think how appropriate that statement is in terms of coming out. I imagine that telling my parents that I’m gay is bad news. But will I have the same family support?

As if medical school wasn’t hard enough, my brother’s laptop died today. His laptop is actually a year younger than mine, which makes me wonder how long my laptop is going to last. This also means I get to go laptop shopping! Yay! I hear brand loyalty calling me again. Sony anyone?

A New (Cam)Era Begins

My new camera arrived today!! It was supposed to be another two weeks until it shipped!

For those of you in suspense, which is maybe one person, I bought the Sony W200. I decided that if I am going to have this camera for at least five years (like my last one), I should get a really good one. Not only that, but I also got a great deal on it by buying through Dell. First rule of shopping: never pay full price. As for the Canon SD850, I didn’t really like it when I saw it at Best Buy. It’s not as small or as shiny as the Sony W200 (I like shiny things – I’m like a cat). It’s also not as Sony (brand loyalty strikes again).

Unfortunately, the battery that the camera comes with wasn’t charged, so I have to wait FIVE AND A HALF HOURS for it to fully charge. That’s just crazy. I’m all excited to play with my new toy (though I’m still riding the high from my last new toy – my mini coffee maker), and I have to wait for the battery to charge! Oh well, c’est la vie. It’s not like I have anything in particular of which I want to take a picture. Yet.

My old camera only had a 256MB Memory Stick, but my new Memory Stick PRO Duo for my Sony W200 is going to be 4GB! I was going to go with a 2GB one, but there was a really good deal on Amazon, so I upgraded. It should be arriving any day now!

Since I (finally) have a new camera, it seems fitting to celebrate the life and times of my previous camera, the trusty Sony P7. With just a 256MB Memory Stick, I have taken over 9000 pictures with it since receiving it as a surprise Christmas gift from my parents in 2002. I really wanted a camera that year (I had never had a digital camera before then). After all the festivities of Christmas were over, my parents took me aside and gave it to me. I don’t think it was wrapped, but I was completely shocked and overjoyed. There’s a picture of me holding the box with one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever made.

My Sony P7 has been to six states in the US (I’ve only ever been to nine or so), one province in Canada, and even to Taiwan. It has been with me through my last two years of college and all three years of graduate school. It’s been reliable until the very end. It will be very hard for my new digital camera to live up to such a legacy.

Camera Shopping

I’m in the market for a new digital camera. I’m in the market for a lot of things, which is funny because I don’t currently have a job. Anyway, my current digital camera is five years old (I got it for Christmas from my parents in 2002), and while it’s fine most of the time, it can be a bit glitchy sometimes. For example, it might take a movie instead of taking a picture, and the flash takes longer to load than it once did. So, I’m trying to find a new (better) camera.

I enjoy photography, but I’m not a very good photographer. I like artsy photos, but my pictures never turn out artsy. My photos are just photos, rather than “good” photos, if that makes any sense. I have some friends who take fantastic photos, even with point and shoot cameras, but I have no idea how they do it. Even though I’m not good, I still like taking pictures, so I like having a decent camera with which to practice.

When looking up reviews of cameras online, I found the same sorts of differences that I found in reviews of the coffee maker. Some sites would say a camera is mediocre or god awful, and other sites would say the same camera is the best camera around. I’m pickier about cameras than I am about coffee makers, so I have to pay close attention to all the reviews. It’s pretty difficult.

Besides being picky, I’m also immensely loyal to brand names. I get it from my dad. Almost everything that my family has that could be Sony is Sony. My current laptop is a Sony, and my previous three computers were all Sony. All the TVs in my family are Sony, including a TV that is older than me (and still works!). My current digital camera is also a Sony. Because of this brand loyalty, I’m again looking into Sony digital cameras. My brother’s current digital camera, however, is a Canon (gasp!). He seems to like it, so I am willing to consider Canon as an option.

At first, I was looking into the Sony T200 for its ultra-compactness and 5x optical zoom, but the touch screen controls are a little confusing. That’s definitely not good for when I ask other people to take a picture with my camera. Now I’m looking at the Sony W200. It looks like really high quality in a small package. While I like higher optical zoom, I don’t want a big camera that I would find cumbersome to carry everywhere. The comparable model I’m looking at is the Canon SD850, but it still seems like the W200 is still a little better (I might be biased).

Another direction I could take is a slightly less powerful model, like the Sony W35. I could buy two W35s for the price of one W200. I’m sure the W35 is already significantly better than my current five year old camera. I can’t decide!