Firstly, my new laptop had arrived on the 20th of December, and here are the specs:

Inspiron 9300 – Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
Display – 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
Memory – 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm
Video Card – 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800
Hard Drive – 100GB 5400rpmHard Drive
Operating System (Office software not included) – Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
Network Card – Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software – Adobe® Acrobat® Pro 7.0, Adobe® InDesign® CS2, Adobe® Photoshop® CS2, Adobe® Illustrator® CS2
CD/DVD Drives – 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Wireless Networking Card – Intel® PRO 2200 and Dell 350 Bluetooth Internal Wireless Cards
Office Software (not included in Windows XP) – Corel WordPerfect word processor, Microsoft® Office 2003 Pro
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) – Symantec AntiVirus 9.0
Primary Battery – 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (53 WHr)
Hardware Warranty – 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr HW Warranty Support
Dial-Up Internet Access – 6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Digital Imaging – Corel Photo Album™ 6 Starter Edition, Adobe® ImageReady
Miscellaneous – Award Winning Service & Support
Operating System Backup & Recovery – PC Restore recovery system by Symantec
Media Center Enhancements – Remote Control for Windows XP Media Center Edition

That 256mb video card really kicks serious kicking places, and the speed of the entire thing is phenomenal. It was quite pricy, though.

Secondly, a nice article on dating computer geeks. The fact that it’s almost entirely true makes a nice bonus.

http://www.completeevil.com/geek.html

And lastly, the essay that I submitted for a scholarship on how technology will advance within the next 50 years. I never really covered that 50 years part well, but instead I inserted great 1984 ideas. It’s not like anyone really reads the essays anyways, I think…

Technology has advanced at a great rate throughout the nineteenth century and continues to grow in both power and speed. Simple mathematical calculations that took hours on the first computer model now take milliseconds to figure on a modern computer. Information is transferred at phenomenal speeds from computer to computer; at the current rate of technological advance, computers will be able to access terabytes of information within databases in mere seconds. Any news, past or present, will be available to anyone who needs it, in any form of media (text, images, or video). Paper books will be replaced by electronic documents or devices and libraries turned into storage areas for servers and e-books. Technology will also be easier to use and be more user-friendly for those who are not technologically apt. More people will be able to work at home from their laptop or desktop computers while achieving the same level of productivity. Cars and other automobiles will have advanced GPS systems that will auto-pilot the car to its destination with less of a chance for collision and avoid other road hazards as well. The issue of privacy will ultimately deter the advance of technology in some aspects, such as recording all the information about a person in one common database (records like current address, phone number, occupation, salary, crimes committed, etc.). If privacy were not an issue, there will most likely be cameras in every room recording every second of everybody’s life. This will be an advantage to the crime fighting force to determine who committed which crime and when. A person’s statement may no longer mean anything, as technology will take the place to determine the truth. This level of technology will not take away anyone’s freedom, but it will make others aware of exactly what people are doing with their “free” time. The advance in technology will aid the field of medical practice, not only with information of current discovered diseases, but also with a method of curing the disease quickly, efficiently, and effectively. Robotic devices could take on the job of the common nurse or of an advanced surgeon. All in all, the advance of technology will bring an advance to society as a whole, making every day tasks of life simpler and more productive.

Oh yeah, to carry on the tradition of computer naming, I have given a name to my laptop. My first computer, Trevor (still runs well, only with 98, though). My second computer, Tanya (still a great computer for any sort of gaming, even with the most intensive games like Call of Duty; now it is owned by my parents). And my third computer, which is my laptop, is named…

…

…oh monkeys, I just remembered that I have homework in about three classes that I need to do, including a stupid 8th grade collage for Family Living. Monkeys. On drugs.