A New Laptop?

It's apparently not a good idea for hubby-Eric and I to go into a computer store together, especially one as comprehensive as Fry's Electronics...

We went in for a new power cord for Eric's computer because he forgot his cord at home. Neither of us wanted to drive three hours to get it and three hours back. I also wanted a power strip so I could plug in my various electronics in the single outlet available to me.

The power strip was easy. We found a PowerSquid and I talked Eric into it. So now I have a little squid with a single glowing eye. oooooh.

To get the power cord, we had to go to the section where they had laptops on display. I walked over and checked them out, and was approached by a nice sales rep named Anthony who glanced at my Doctor Who/Minions t-shirt and made the correct assumption that I probably know a bit about computers. I told him right out that I was just looking, held up my PowerSquid, and said I already got what I came for. He asked me what type of computer I was looking for and within 30 seconds we were looking at a handful of refurbs that I really liked the look of. At this point, anything on the market is more powerful than my old Inspiron 6000.

Anthony quickly figured out that I wanted a touchscreen, preferred the metal body, need at least a 15-inch screen and don't mind Windows 8 since the upgrade to 10 will be free for everyone. I also need Windows because that's what I have at work, and I want some continuity. He was a little surprised when I later told him the netbook I'm using is on Ubuntu.

While he was showing me a decent little Asus model, Eric came up with his new cord and heard the word "financing" and said, "You know, Laura, you really need a new computer." We decided to see if I qualified for financing. I was certain it would turn me down, but no, they gave me some credit. Enough to get the Asus. So Anthony went to the back to try to fetch it while his co-worker Righteous finished up the paperwork with us.

Unfortunately, they were already out of the Asus. Anthony apologized, clearly embarrassed, and said there were two open-box ones in the back. I'm not really inclined to go open-box, so Anthony took me around to see an HP model that was similar. In fact, it was slightly better and a bit more expensive. After some hemming and hawing, Eric and I went for it.

So I walked in to get a power cord and came out with a new laptop.

I came out to Seattle early to see my family, not to play with a new computer, so I decided to download Windows 8.1 on the new machine after making sure it worked. I plan to do a clean install as soon as I have time or get home, whichever comes first. I don't want all the crap HP already has installed on the machine.

In any case, I'm up early to head to Emerald City Comicon, and we're going to take off soon-ish. In the meantime, I thought I'd update everyone on how yesterday turned into an unexpectedly expensive day for me.