My computer is working... again

I am, for the first time in too long, typing on a computer which is (as far as I am aware) not stricken with any fatal problems, can access a wireless network, and is owned by me. I had a few brief days of use about a week ago before a hard drive problem necessitated the purchase of new hardware and the subsequent installation of a new operating system: Windows Vista.

The whole process took much longer than I had hoped it would, as I bought the new hard drive Thursday January 13^th, and today (the 19^th) is the first day I have been able to use my computer since. First Mike, a co-worker who knows computers, told me that he would install the hard drive and Windows XP over the weekend. Come Monday mike informed  me that the version of XP he had was apparently the Chinese version, so he would try and get the English version ASAP. On Tuesday I accompanied Mike to ZhongGuanCun (中关村) to find a pirated (daoban/盗版, for you Chinese language learners out there) English-language version of Windows XP, and Wednesday I get my computer back with Windows Vista on it (he said he couldn’t find the right drivers to install XP on my computer).

Although it took several days, this method was undoubtedly cheaper, as my co-worker, Mike, did all the work free of charge. This means that rather than paying several hundred yuan to some guy in ZhongGuanCun to fix it, I instead bought a pizza for Mike.

Not that I have been completely cut off from the outside world since the new year. Anyone who has kept an eye on my online action will have noticed that I stayed active (increased my activity actually) on Twitter, and I did a few things via email and Facebook as well. Using my iPod touch to type is not as convenient or comfortable as using my computer though, and reading is also easier when the text is not so small.

On the upside, I have upped my rate of reading over the past few weeks which I been semi or completely lacking my computer. I finished the book China Candid, started and finished The Geography of Thought, Three Cups of Tea, The Zen of Juggling, and today I finished Foreign Babes in Beijing. With my computer back in action, half a dozen blog posts I want to write, a few update emails, and the continual roll of new blog posts to read, I have great doubts that I will finish four books in the next month. I will aim for one book before the end of February: Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell.

Reflections on my time without a fully functioning computer

I am alive. I did not (purposefully) crawl under a rock or take a Buddhist retreat. Upon returning from my Spanish conversation night on the 28th of December I discovered, to great horror, that my computer had such a severe software problem that it could not even start up. This is within two days of my iPod unexpetedly failing to turn on as well. Both of these probelms were far beyond me, but I fortunately have resources at my disposal. A trip to the Apple store in Beijing revealed that my iPod had no fatal issue, and although I do not know why it wouldn't turn on then, it does now. Regardless, I once again have a functional way to listen to audio material and get news, translate, look up words in multiple languages, email, send texts and make calls, and find public transit routes, so issue the is more or less solved.

The computer was MUCH harder. Mike is a Jamaican man who works as an English teacher at American House. Upon hearing my computer woes, he mentioned that he studied computer science and he could probably fix it. Due to CD and flash drive problems, internet access issues, and technical issues which are either too complicated or not interesting enough to relate here, as well as an unknown and unresolved problem which prevented Windows XP from being installed, yesterday (January 7) at work I received my computer, fully functional with Windows Vista, from Mike. YES!

I spent pretty much all of Friday night (and into the morning) configuring it, figuring out an operating system that I hadn't used before, and installing and tweaking programs. Getting my music from my iPod to the computer was the worst. It is surprisingly hasselsome to do. It all got taken care of though, and I know I and more or less back online. I caught up on reading (selectively) the blogs I follow, watched the juggling videos that I had missed, and now I feel the urge to write a dozen blog posts.

The time without computer and iPod were pretty different from how I normally spend my time (which is either at work, out and about, in bed [sleeping] or in front of my computer). I resorted to DVDs and the television that my apartment came with (the first time I have touched it in months), and in addition to a movie about compensated dating in Hong Kong, I finished up the last few episodes of Chinese Paladin 3 (仙剑奇侠传三), which I enjoyed a lot. I watched it in Chinese, and since they speak is a fairly classical way in that show I didn't get everything, but I definitely understand enough to get the basic plot and character relations, and the sacrifices and decisions that some of the characters made near the end of the show basically made me cry.

I also ended up reading off of paper a bit more than usual. I recently finished the compilation of various interviews and oral histories that I was reading (China Candid), and in the past week I managed to finish a book about differences in thought patterns between east and west (The Geography of Thought) as well. I have just started Three Cups of Tea, which I am enjoying so far, and about 1/4 through. I hope to get to the rest of it soon!

Netbook, iPod, Spanish

The best part of life at the moment is that I am still so excited about my new computer. Just so you know, it was not a frivolous purchase either. My previous computer was crippled by an internal hardware problem which caused it to freeze up after a few minutes of use. I was able to find, via NewEgg, a new laptop which fit my requirements for the lowest possible price. I got a netbook, so it is very small and very light. As a consequence, it is very portable. I am actually writing this into a word processing document while sitting on the bus. I am very pleased that I found a seat. In fact, the reason that I have my little netbook with me is related to the worst part of life at the moment: my iPod touch is broken. I am now the owner of a very expensive second hand Apple-brand paperweight. I normally wouldn’t complain a lot about a small piece of electronic equipment getting broken, but this is a piece of electronic equipment that I tend to use a LOT and which is expensive enough that I would want to think long and hard before purchasing a new one. I used the iPod for making phone calls via Skype, for sending text messages to friends in the United States, for keeping up to date on both world news and on China-specific news, as well as for mapping locations and routes, converting currencies, and the incredibly versatile English-Chinese and Chinese-English dictionary. Fortunately, my new netbook can perform most of these functions either at the same level of effectiveness or at a lower but acceptable level. However, despite how beautifully small it is, it is neither as convenient nor as portable as the iPod.

Why am I using my netbook on the public bus? Because this is a long bus ride! It takes more than an hour to get from my home (which is on the west side of town) to the Cervantes Institute (which is on the east side of town). I went to the Cervantes Institute for their Spanish corner, which happens every Saturday afternoon. I didn’t go just to practice speaking and listening though! I also came armed with several sheets containing details about my own Spanish conversation night that I am having over on the west side of town, near where I live. I got Professora Selma (the lady who taught the first Spanish class that I ever took) to correct it, and I met and told several Chinese students about it, some of whom I think are very likely to come!