Thursday, January 17, 2008

Rest in Peace, Old Mac

Well, it's finally happened. My trusty old iBook has been set aside and replaced. It didn't die in a horrible crash of unutterable proportions, but simply got old, as few computers get to do. Old, slow, cranky, but thankfully never wrinkly.


My old computer

RIP: August 2001 - January 2008

The new computer's on-board camera
takes a picture of the old,
now shut down, its sleep light no longer glowing. 
Goodbye and Hello. 

That old iBook and I have seen a lot together. It's been my trusted technological companion since August of 2001, a few months after Mac OSX and the new, square, white iBooks came out. It saw during its 7.5 years of service:
  • an upgraded hard drive, from 10 to 40 gigs
  • new memory added
  • an airport/wireless card added
  • a new keyboard (after the cats kindly removed the 'E' key)
  • an external screen when its own became dim
  • a new battery after the old one failed to charge
It helped me through many projects, fun times, and transitions:
  • 1 close call in which I nearly left the Mac universe (I've been a Mac user for as long as I've used computers) for the PC universe, and this Mac kept me so securely in the fold that now I can't imagine using anything else
  • 1 master's program and over half of a PhD
  • 2 autumns of PhD applications
  • seemingly countless term papers and their associated documents
  • 1 breakup (one which was a very good thing, too)
  • 1 wonderful spouse (really and truly: way back when he first met me, Coffeeboy was impressed that I had an iBook and that it was running beta software. He figured I must have been a fellow geek of some sort). 
  • 1 year of wedding planning
  • 44716 emails stored in Eudora, now successfully and safely transferred to Apple's Mail program
  • 5 homes in 3 different states
  • all the photos for a knitting blog, slowly, slowly opening up in iPhoto, and slowly loading in Flickr
  • innumerable history files in my web browser for knitting patterns and yarn
  • the beginnings of a dissertation, and its very many documentary demands
You almost never crashed, old friend. You never lost my data. (I have all my emails going back to 1996, freshman year of college, for example. That's almost an insane amount of memory and data). You would have kept on trucking along, maybe at 15 mph instead of 60, if I had let you.  You got me through a good majority of the previous decade of my life, and I can only hope that my new computer proves to be as excellent a machine as you were, that it can assist me through whatever comes next with just as much ease and style!

7 comments:

Sheepish Annie said...

Computers pretty much hold our entire lives. I have four old ones just sitting around waiting for me to wipe the hard drives so they can finally RIP. But I never seem to be able to do it...

Congrats on the new Mac! As a recent convert to the world of Apple, I cannot believe I waited so long to join the fold!

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

You had a close call with The Other Side--I am glad that you stayed in the fold! I love my iBook (and iPhone) to a ridiculous extent as well! I've also never used another computer...

Unknown said...

Awwww! Nice goodbye to the old and a welcome to the new. Funny I just replaced my RAM chip on my mac, hoping it will give me another 4 years, your story gives me hope that it will :)

CC said...

I am on the verge of the exact same decision. Except I am trying to jump into the MAC world and your story and comments has pushed me over the edge. It is strange how much our computers witness when you think about it ...

Anonymous said...

I have long contemplated going over to the Mac side- maybe when I have to get a new computer- but wow that was some impressive computer-age- 7 whole years! They really don't make them like they used too, eh?

Lazuli said...

To those of you thinking of switching - After working with the latest OS, Leopard, for a day or so now, I have to say I'm really impressed with its features - if you include its integration with applications like iPhoto, Mail, iCal, Safari, etc. It feels like a whole, smooth-functioning unit with many useful little add-ons. If you're thinking of switching to Mac, this is a great stage at which to do it!

Jessica said...

Dang! I've *never* had a computer last that long. I seriously need to think about switching next time it comes up (which I seriously hope is not for quite some time!).