I like my new ThinkPad X120e , even though it comes with Windows 7. One day I’ll probably change it to Ubuntu, just as I’ve done with all my other computers. But for now it’s fine. I like that it suspends or hibernates and dependably comes back to life, unlike every Linux computer I’ve owned.
My ThinkPad has only an 11 inch screen, but it’s easier to lug around with me than my previous 13-inch. I didn’t believe it before, but an 11-inch screen – unlike a 10-inch screen – is still big enough. The ThinkPad has a marvelous keyboard, runs for five or six hours on battery, and costs two and a half times less than an Apple product. It’s not as light or as powerful as one of those, but it’s perfectly adequate for my needs, and I won’t be as distressed if it goes missing like those 1,500 laptops that (according to the British Airways in-flight magazine) are disappeared each day in British airports. (I think it’s more likely to be nabbed on one of my India trips.)
To the ThinkPad I added Office 2010 so I can share documents a little more reliably. It’s not as nice, or easy to use as LibreOffice, and starts almost as slowly, but there are a couple of advantages, like you can pin documents you use often to the Recents list. Oh, and the right mouse button context menu (though it occasionally does the weirdest things).
I like my new IPhone. It’s a lot simpler to use than my old Blackberry. The phone calls are crystal clear when they aren’t disconnected after 2 seconds. I’ll probably end up reading more books on it than my new Kobo. I also listen to music more often on it than on other devices, and I definitely won’t bother buying another camera. On the other hand, if I had to actually buy an Iphone (and not receive one from work) I probably wouldn’t spend that amount of money. Those old monochrome Nokias with a one-inch screen and batteries that last about 3 weeks aren’t half-bad either.
I’m making an experiment and leaving my eye glasses in my pocket or at home. That means I don’t have to spend every morning looking for them in the most absurd places. I can see most everything I want to see without my glasses and fortunately I don’t need to drive a car every day. I also notice that when I don’t put my eye glasses on for a part of the day, my vision is clearer without them for the rest of the day. Maybe all these years I didn’t really need to wear glasses after all. Primary School blackboards are the best friend of the world’s opticians and optometrists. Maybe one day when every child owns a laptop, the eye doctors will go out of business. Or at least stop forcing six year olds into glasses.