Wednesday, February 27, 2008

The Computer and Me

Well, it looks (knock on wood) that my computer woes have been temporarily resolved. Apparently my computer had a problem with its directory, whatever that means. I am not terribly computer-savvy, so this means next to nothing to me. There was also a lot of dust around the computer, enough to elicit gasps of horror from the computer tekkie who fixed it (well, horror and extreme irritation, but the possibility of having to endure abject public humiliation is enough to prevent me from going into that too deeply). Let's just say that a few dozen chocolate chip cookies might, just might, go a long way in mollifying his anguish at the state of my computer. Take heed, Gentle Reader, and wield thy vacuum judiciously.

Poor computer. It has endured a lot of moving, many little fingers whacking its keys, and me with my squirrel-like mania for building up unwieldy iTunes and iPhoto catalogues, not to mention my delight in filing every single narration, clever bit of writing, or poetry recitation my kids have ever done into a groaning folder marked Homeschool. I guess a nervous breakdown was inevitable. We're an intense family for a machine.

The desperation of having almost lost all that crap does force me to consider the thorny question of "what to do" with all those iPhoto pictures I have stored. My iPhoto gets arthritic when it gets close to 4000 pictures, and right now it's almost at a standstill, labouring breathlessly whenever I open it for yet more downloading. Ironically, of the at least 6000 photos I've taken with this camera, I have yet to print out anywhere near 100 of them. And no, I am NOT talking about FDPG's weird Cheezie photo collection. I'm talking about summer holidays, when butterflies landed on Max's hand and sat there while he walked all the way down the street. Winter sled rides, captured most blurrily, when we still lived on the mainland. Pictures of giant icicles from the drains. Trips in my father's row boat, the kids disappearing into their life jackets. Picture of snails, when Dominic was in his Snail Phase (and let me tell you, I take an awesome snail picture). Way too many pictures of the kids asleep, clutching blankies. Okay, maybe I am talking about FDPG's Cheezie collection, but my point it this: None of them are essential, per se, at least, not in the same way you keep track of birthdays and first tooth-losings and first two-wheeler outings and Christmas dinners and old relatives with newborns sort of events. This whole dilemma typifies why I still cling to my Luddite raft when the ocean is teeming with new technology. All this tekkie stuff is fun and exciting, but it also means so many more onerous complications to deal with, none of them as tangible as I would like.

What to do? Do I do a Scarlet and wait for another day, or do I spring for an external backup drive, despite the fact that this old eMac is, well, old?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well if you spring for a new iMac you get that fancy comics software right on there?

But I think an external hard drive would be a good idea. And thinking about keeping the iPhoto library on another drive maybe?

When I got this computer and Mat got a new laptop, we stripped a lot of stuff from his old laptop and let Tigger use it. Works out pretty well.

Nicola said...

every now and then I transfer about 400 photos to a CD - time I did it again because I think I'm up around the 1100 mark!

Anonymous said...

Just how old is your Mac? That's usually the decision maker right there. The external hard drive may not be al that compatible with your older OS (operating system) and may actually slow down your processor. Food (in the form of bytes) for thought.

If the income tax man is good to you, or your computer is over 4 years old, you may want to spring for a new one. Just Sayin. ;)