PC Death Throes

My computer is busily giving up the ghost. It's a massive three years old, so I suppose it's way past it. The main issue is that it's taking 5 minutes to load the internet in the morning which drives me nuts and totally ruins my perusal of The Times online. I've tried cleaning the disc and de-fragmenting it all to no avail.

So I'm going to get one from CDiscount.com - a rather nifty little thing that looks a bit like a toy - the Asus Eee Box. I don't do anything very complicated, like make films or play games. All I need is Office, photo storage space and the internet. What I also like is the teeny price - 227Eur, and it's got Windows XP which suits me just fine.

Has something happened to Vista? I thought that XP couldn't be sold any more and that all new Windows computers had to have Vista. Not that I'm very up with these technological issues, but I was surprised I must say.

Especially as I've heard that there is yet another operating system due out - Windows 7. Reading about it on Wikipedia I was quite taken with all the codenames it's had - Vienna, Blackcomb (no, not Backcomb, that wouldn't be serious now, would it? but I wonder why 'black' and not blue or magenta...) and Longhorn. The final name is quite a disappointment really, although undoubtedly logical.

As I'm such a puny user, I'm very happy with XP however, although of course, with technology, you never know you need it until someone tells you you do. I just can't see myself making movies though or gaming. That's for the boys, and they have the laptop with the right equipment for gaming.

So I keep up by proxy, mostly financial, as I do the shopping and fork out the dosh, natch! On a positive note, Carrouf DID reimburse me for the XBox wifi widget that refused to recognise the Live Box even though it was sitting right next to it. Who would have thought technology could be so cranky. Anyway, I showed it. I took it back and with no fuss, got my money back. I decided not to tempt Fate with another one. Life is too short to spend hours blocked by sulking technology. Out with thee, foul fiend, I say! So I bought some yummy balsamic vinegar to celebrate (no, not 80Eur's worth!).

I felt quite chipper after that.