Tuesday 4 April 2006

Pic of the day: I have it temporarily in the living room until I am finished transferring all the software I want from the machines running in the home office.

Timewarp and new PC

Today I got my new super awesome computer! It is the most awesome computer that has ever graced my living room. It seems to be so awesome that it bends the flow of time itself... or perhaps that's just me?

I was at work and it was nearing the end of the workday when I got this sudden urge to go visit the computer shop where I had ordered the new PC a week ago. The agreement was that they should call me when it was finished; they assemble their machines locally. Actually that is why I chose them: I had rather specific requirements for my new gaming machine, so I wanted the features I needed (okay, "needed") such as a faster hard disk. And I didn't want to pay for things I don't need, such as a TV or radio tuner or memory card readers. Anyway, they put together their computers themselves, and the time it takes is somewhat unpredictable. Last time we actually agreed on a delivery date, and they overran that with several weeks. This time I had told them that they didn't have to hurry. Despite this, I felt the urge to go there right then.

Being a rational person, I didn't just go. What would the world come to if we all just did to the first thing that came to mind? So instead I squirmed for a few minutes and then came up with another errand that would take me some way in that general direction. And indeed, as I was about to return to my workplace, my mobile phone started to ring. It was from North Corporation, the computer shop. They just called to inform me that the computer was ready to pick up.

If I had walked straight there as soon as I felt like it, I would have arrived either just before or just after they called. Creepy, isn't it? It is kind of disturbing to think that there may be someone in my head who knows the very near future, and that it isn't me. (Of course it could be Jesus -- it is certainly well within his abilities -- but since when did Jesus take an interest in personal computers?)

***

The computer was rather heavy, at least the last few hundred meters back to the office. They certainly seem to grow heavier the longer you hold them, but then again I am used to that now, having carried so many of them through the streets over the years.

I was in luck that a coworker living in the same area had his car with him, and he kindly offered to drive me and the computer home. What an amazing coincidence... So here it is, the super awesome machine that is supposed to replace three of my old ones. Actually it is not super awesome by gamer measures; there are lots of people who buy far more expensive machines than this. But it is pretty good where it counts: The hard disk has a speed of 10000 rpm, whereas the previous had 7200 and the ones before that 3600. And the graphic card is a NVIDIA GeForce 6600, a new generation compared to the 5500 I had before. Of course the real elite gamers have the 7 series now, but then again they pay for the privilege.

It didn't take long before I had installed Oblivion. As expected, it now ran smoothly even with pretty high graphic resolution. And "pretty" is quite literal in the case of Oblivion, which is already suspected to be RPG of the year.

But I have other hobbies too. I needed to install OpenOffice.org, the free productivity software. I actually only use the text part, Writer, so I didn't install the rest. And Opera, the web browser that is not just fast but sticks to standards. Not to mention that I have a lot of mail in it. This requires some fiddling to get transferred from my old daily writing machine to the new. Also I transferred the whole My Documents folder, including all my Norwegian Sims save games. Must remember to install The Sims2 on this machine.

I also installed Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8. Of course it started with no memories of its past lives. What is worse, I downloaded and installed the patch / upgrade that is out for the program. I should not have done that. I should have remembered the old warning: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I now am unable to end most sentences by saying "period" but instead have to use the British "full stop". That is not a big deal, except I've used "period" since version 5 all those years ago.

Because I tried first with a poor microphone, I had to restart and train it all over again. Luckily my arm is not so bad that I depend on it, I just use it on and off. That way I hope to not wear out either my voice nor my wrist. Hey, one can always hope. If I continue to play Oblivion, the wrist is definitely in danger. I have to restrain myself.

Then again, I'm used to that.