After two weeks of silence from my Craigslist post, I had forgotten it. While people who want Macs tend to be diligent about searching for available machines, I figured it was too old for anyone to care much. On the other hand, I knew laptops would be in high demand, even the old ones, as long as they still work. So it came as a surprise when two different people contacted me this week requesting more information. Both were sincerely ready to trade a laptop for the eMac, but one had a new laptop, and wanted cash for the difference in value. The deal was good, but I couldn’t come up with the cash, so I took the older machine.
Indeed, I was surprised the man offered to simply send me his laptop to try it out, and pass on the eMac if I liked what he had to offer. It would also mean paying the shipping for the 50 pound eMac, but I was sure I could afford that. The laptop isn’t here yet, but if it comes, it will be a Dell Inspiron 4100. What I actually hope to do is run Linux on it. I already have decided to leave Windows on the desktop machine, simply because I need the superior printing ability.
I make no secret the two things I hate most about Linux are the X server and CUPS. While both have solved a lot of problems for many folks, I find them generally unsatisfactory for my use. However, there is no good alternative, particularly for the X server. From what I read, it seems there really aren’t enough developers for X.org, while at the same time, there is a militant refusal to even discuss something better suited to the desktop. So it’s the only game in town, and I’ll have to use it. Much as I like text-mode web surfing, there are too many places where it simply will not work. At this time on the Net, whole sites I use, like this one, aren’t designed to cooperate with Lynx or Elinks when you want to operate a blog. However, I still find it comfortable to operate from the CLI for most things, so I expect to avoid running X on the laptop by default.
Frankly, the laptop is likely to be my primary, daily use machine. Not only is this a matter of habitual uses, but as the economy sours further, I have to consider likely scenarios. Having long ago committed myself to a missionary vision, it may well be I have to leave all sorts of things behind and travel some distance in serving the Kingdom of Heaven. While it’s possible I can do my best work without a computer, it would at this point severely cripple my thinking and writing. That is what I do most. Being ready to continue that work by having a usable laptop gives me a measure of peace. All the more so when I consider the increasing instability of the times.
The current track of our national government will yield devastating inflation of the US currency. Now is the time to trade our few dollars for assets we best believe will serve our needs in an uncertain future. No one can predict the actual outcome. Yes, it’s just barely possible things will work as our leaders claim it will. However, it is so unlikely as to be ludicrous. Prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.
