Technology Upgrade
“I think I’m becoming something of a Microsoft fanboy,” I confessed to various people over the last few months.
A fan of Microshaft, Winblows, Windoze? For a person who grew up with Apple computers used in elementary and high school, Macs and Unix machines at Stanford when Larry Page and Sergei Brin was founding Google elsewhere on campus, this may seem as treasonous as a U.S. congressman defecting over to Russia. But just as Dmitri Medvedev’s country is much farther from taking over the world than the old U.S.S.R. was, Bill Gates’ company has all of a sudden went from virtual monopoly to a company that is struggling to get a foothold in the tablet and cell phone marketplace.
The good thing about Microsoft’s weak position is that it has been forced to innovate. No longer is it spewing out blue screen-flashing crap that people had to buy like it was doing pre-Windows 7 (the first truly excellent version of Windows in my opinion). So it caught my attention, and just in time too—when I was about to make a clean sweep of all the antiquated technologies in my life.
The tech upgrades in my life have included:
- Upgraded DSL service. This was definitely the biggest improvement since my DSL plan (unchanged since I moved to Colorado) was a measly 1.5 Mbps. That was a pretty good speed circa 2005, but in 2012 almost like dial-up for those who remember 55 Kbps phone modems and AOL in the 1990s. So I went to the fastest DSL plan available in my area—12 Mbps—or almost 10 times faster for downloading. This was my best and most important upgrade as it allows for quicker web page loading, no-stuttering streaming videos, and quicker downloading of CAD models when I am doing engineering work. Cost: $49/month, or just $5/month more than my old plan, surprisingly. (September 2012)
- Replaced a feature phone with a Windows Phone (Nokia Lumia 900). I liked my Kyocera X-TC feature phone, which had a tactile sliding keyboard, was very compact, had great battery life, and had a (poor) camera, play MP3s, and could post to Facebook and browse website very slowly in an emergency. But getting a smart phone was like going from a Pontiac Fiero to a Ferrari Italia. The Nokia Lumia 900 is super snappy, über userful and fun to use with Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 OS (ultimately upgraded to 7.8) and its live tiles, its tight integration with Facebook, Google products, Skydrive, etc. I love it and can’t imagine living without it. Cost: $190 on ebay refurbished (no contract and hence unsubsidized). (October 2012)
- Changed phone service: Was currently using Virgin Mobile with a $43/month (with taxes) for 1200 minutes of voice and unlimited text and data. It was a good value with the Kyocera phone, but it operated on Sprint’s “nationwide” network with no roaming. I put “nationwide” in parenthesis because Sprint has no coverage in South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and much of Wyoming—all states I went through when I did the Bismarck and Montana back-to-back marathons back in September. So switching over to Smart Talk‘s Bring Your Own Phone plan was great since it’s on AT&T’s network which has much better coverage and 4G speeds. Smart Talk is also no-contract and is $49.70/month including taxes for unlimited voice, data and text. (October 2012)
- Interfaced smart phone with Audi TT. I wrote an article about how I did this already. It is so great being able to play any song from my music library, Pimsleur language courses, and use the excellent Nokia Maps app with audible turn-by-turn directions in the car. Cost: $10 for the belt-clip mount. (October 2012)
- Upgraded to Windows 8 Professional on my HP workstation. I did this on the very first day it was available. This turned out to be a great enhancement as I love the new Windows Start Screen (inspired by Windows Phone and its live tiles) and the Modern UI. Windows 8 is even faster than Windows 7 (Microsoft’s first truly excellent OS, in my opinion) and is similarly super stable. It’s also more secure with Windows Defender (anti-virus) built in. Everything looks more gorgeous in the Modern UI. I love how not only is Windows 8 optimized for touch, but works great with mouse gestures too. It took me a few days to get used to the gestures and the new paradigm shift, but I would not go back. Cost: $40 per Microsoft’s early upgrade-by-download offer. (October 26, 2012)
There you have it: lots of upgraded technology, none of which incurred great expense. Yet I feel they all have improved the quality of my life even though all the “old tech” worked well and got the job done for most part.
One thing I haven’t upgraded so far is my 120-pound, 32″ widescreen “tube” TV. I recently read an article about how TVs are so inexpensive now that the author doesn’t know a single person who owned a TV older than 7 years. He obviously hadn’t met me because mine is already 8 years old.
Eventually (a year or two?) I will get around to replacing it. A 40″ or larger flat-panel TV would be nice, but it hasn’t been a high priority considering how little TV I watch, even after getting the Roku. A part of me does think I should be watching more television, especially in Spanish and French to practice those languages. In any case, an upgrade is next on my list and then I should be done for at least a little while.
Maybe by then Microsoft will have come out with its own TV. Or at least an xBox module that is closer in size and power consumption to the Roku and allows wireless desktop streaming from the Surface. When that happens, sign up this fanboy.
