Buying a new laptop

I went out and bought a new laptop, having succesfully proven that driving over a laptop is not a good idea.

First, I watched SlickDeals for a reasonable, cheap system.  I’ve found that laptops have a short obsolescence period, and buying near the bottom end is best.  Second, I went to Best Buy and picked it up.  Best Buy has a less than stellar reputation, so I double-checked the factory seals.

And the system had a bad wireless.  DOA.   Some hours on Gateway’s chat trying to install drivers for a broken subsystem.   They gave me an RMA number; Best Buy has a less than stellar reputation.

The next morning, I went back to Best Buy.  Ten minutes for them to poke and prod and I had a new system on the way out.   Sometimes the reputation is undeserved.

Boot up Windows; download Firefox; download Kubuntu; burn CD;  install and go.

Life is better again.