It’s been well over 4 years since I officially pulled out of Chicago at the end of my previous gig. That was the last time I used a desktop machine on a regular basis. Oh sure, I’ve still got the Dell box running the latest Ubuntu server edition, but that machine’s stuffed in the basement of the townhouse. I generally ssh into it, and the only time I use the attached monitor is when I’m upgrading the distro.
I don’t quite know what that really says but it seems like a sign of something. I’m not in the nerd top 1% but I’m up there. In college, I built a computer out of wire, chips, and breadboard. I programmed it with switches. The only output it had was blinkenlights.
That was some of the most fun I ever had.
There have been a few times since where I’ve thought, “Wonder what I can get at the low end of the desktop market.” Now I’m not sure I’m even interested, although a Mac Mini is a little tempting. Only because I could probably afford a good laptop in addition to a used Mac Mini or micro-PC. Still, I’m probably much more inclined to get just a 15” MacBook pro, like a lot of the folks on The Setup.
What it really says is that mobility has trumped all. The laptop is the briefcase of our era. Soon that might be the pad.
Reminds me, I need to get around to buying an app phone.