The Late Great Acer

Last Wednesday I plugged my little Nook into my litte Acer to do a little download. Unfortunately, my Acer selected that particular moment to release its grasp on life and went to that great cyber-junkyard in the sky.

I certainly got my money’s worth. For a little over $300 I got a 9″ netbook that served as my primary/only computer for most of that time. When my desk-top’s motherboard did a swan dive into oblivion only weeks after I got the Acer, the Acer took its place. I used the Acer for browsing the internet, making and showing Power Point productions, tracking the medical histories of the shelter cat and my own cats, and of course, Snooding. The Acer had been to Seattle and to Cape May. It had been sat on by cats, bumped by doors, and slid off car seats when I had to brake suddenly. Best damned investment I ever made, and I’ll miss it.

My first thought was to go out and replace it with another Acer, but the Acer packages I was finding were not as attractive as the one at Radio Shack three years ago. I had hoped to keep the price to under $400 since there was no way I could afford to pay more (heck, I can’t afford to pay that much). The Prof went with me to evaluate the different makes available, and while I found a Toshiba I kinda sorta liked, nothing was really wow-ing me the way the Acer did.

Then The Prof suggested radical, albeit in an oblique way. “I’d suggest a MacBook, but I know you hate them.” Well, in all fairness, I had been making fun of his in a merciless sort of way since the day he bought it. At the same time, with Windows 7 and Office 10 out, I knew I was going to face a pretty stiff learning curve anyhow. And let’s face it: some of us make fun of what we’re jealous of.

I’m typing this entry from my brand new MacBook Pro, courtesy of The Prof. I haven’t figured out all the bells and whistles yet, but I have to admit, it’s kinda neat.

The Acer is dead. Long live the MacBook. *brushes a tear from her eye*