WHAT THE FUCKING HELL????

[conuly]

Since I'm using my mom's computer, it occured to me to check out such things as her system information. She's got tons more hard drive space (not memory, thank you moggy for the correction). That's 75 GB to my 19 GB. And here I was wondering why Adobe Acrobat didn't freeze up her computer when it loaded.... (Incidentally, thanks again Moggy for the Foxit suggestion, I haven't looked back since.)

What. The. Fuck?

I'm not talking a few measly gigs here. So, either I got massively cheated when I got my laptop (possible), computer obsolesence is faster than I could ever have conceived (also possible), or her computer is fucked up and is lying about how much space is available.

Damn. If I didn't prefer my keyboard, I might well be asking her to switch laptops with me right now. In fact, I just may do that anyway. She plays games on her laptop. I download stuff. Legally. Very legally. I have all my Latin on there - but it wouldn't be hard to switch things over. I'm going to go complain to her right now about this injustice.

Just out of curiosity, how much memory is a laptop supposed to have, anyway?

(Believe it or not, I'm not actually being as bitchy as all this. When she first got this laptop, she had offered to switch with me. I'm just now contemplating taking her up on that offer. Maybe. I *am* fond of my own laptop there *points and grunts*, but then, I was fond of our C64 as well... think that's still up in the attic, actually....)

Comments

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

"Just out of curiosity, how much memory is a laptop supposed to have, anyway?"

Early 2003 models have about 512megs at most unless you have some kind of super-powered designer kickass system... 2003 - 2005 might have 256megs, before that would be 128 megs.

If it is claiming that it has *gigs* of memory free, something is seriously screwed up.

Unless you mean hard drive space, in which case a 2005 laptop would have 40 - 80 gigs, 2003-2004 maybe 40 gigs.

My system is a relatively new one, with standard-or-pretty-nice specs for 2003 -- it has 512 megs of RAM and a 60 gig hard drive.

[conuly]

*thinks*

Yes, I believe I *am* talking about hard drive space! And I will edit this to make that clear.

MY laptop has about 20 gigs in the hard drive. That's not a joke, I am constantly working around that when downloading whole seasons of TV shows.

My mom's has 70 or so. I just checked.

[feathered.livejournal.com]

70?? That's quite huge. I've got 40 and, even though I'm almost constantly nearly full, I think we had to pay a little bit extra for that. As far as I know, 20 gigs is more normal for laptops.

Of course, I also don't know much about laptops or computers or hard drive space, so you probably shouldn't take my word as law.

[conuly]

Ah. In that case, I feel rather better.

If still massively annoyed. I want the better (but infinitely heavier) laptop! Waaah! Nevermind that the screen is too large, nevermind that nothing's set how I like it, nevermind that I don't like the keyboard, I wanna be able to download more stuff!

Actually, what we ought to do is set up the big computer as the wireless hub-thingy, then my mom and I could trade off the two laptops as we wished.

[conuly]

And it's not 70. It's 74 point something. I'm staring at the screen as I say thi... well, you know what mean.

[lakidaa.livejournal.com]

Well, my brand new laptop is a 100gigs.

But that's because it's a thousand-semiodd computer.

Most laptops, especially older ones, are much weaker than their contemporary non-mobile brothers/sisters.

My comouter may have more emory than my brother's 2 year old destop, but it's got better Other Stuff. (except the screen. My screen is something to behold.)

[lakidaa.livejournal.com]

100gig hard drive.

I can read. honestly.

[neurotica0.livejournal.com]

My laptop has a 55.8GB of hard drive space. 44.6GB of that is free space.

I have no idea how much RAM I have.

By the way, I call hard drive space "memory" too.

[firingneurons.livejournal.com]

...you have a C64? Is it in good working condition? ...*shifty eyes* Are you considering selling it if it is? ...*blushes and runs away*

[conuly]

Possibly, no idea (probably not, if it's been in our attic all this time), maybe.

How about this. I find it, I answer your questions, and then we make a deal.

[firingneurons.livejournal.com]

Awesome!!

[rho]

Well, I don't know a whole lot about laptops, but I do know that I've just got a new computer, and I went from having a 16GB had drive on the last one to a 250GB hard drive on this one. Computer obsolescence is staggeringly fast. for CPUs, you generally hear about Moore's Law, which says that CPU speed will tend to double every 18/24 months (apparently, the original was stated as 24, but it's now often quoted as 18). Hard disk capacity tends to go up at an even faster rate than that, so there's only abou 2 or 3 years difference between the two drives.

Add to that the fact that the newer one may have been slightly higher relative spec (compared to other computers of the time) and it could be even less. I'm not sure if it's the case with laptops, but with desktops I found that most manufacturers would sell machines that were very similarly speced at very similar prices, but that each one would tend to include one stand-out component, which was better than its competitors. So your mom may just have ended up buying a machine that had a large hard drive.

If you feel that you need more hard drive space, you might want to consider buying an external USB drive. You can get 80GB USB drives for about £50 these days, which is about $80-90. I suspect that you'd be able to get them cheaper over there too, as I believe that comsumer electronics do generally tend to cost a little more here.

[conuly]

It'd be easier to just switch computers with my mom, or to agree to use this one when she's playing her games, so I can watch my oh-so-precious B5.

[xiggaroo.livejournal.com]

So it's got a huge hard drive. It weighs like twenty-five lbs. Use it when she's not on it, at home, and keep yours for when you need to transport it.

[conuly]

Seriously, it's not as heavy as you imagine - or, rather, my own laptop isn't that light.

I need more exercise, anyway. Lugging away that massive laptop will do me a world of good.

[sparkofcreation.livejournal.com]

We got our computer (desktop) last October, and it has 160 GB, but that was a special deal they were pushing—80GB was standard in a desktop at the time. I think laptops usually have about half the memory of desktops, so I'd expect one that was new around then to have 40GB. But I know that the winter before that (early 2004) it was half that—40GB in a desktop and 20 in a laptop.

OTOH, my laptop was new in 2000, and has 10.

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm just *so* sorry I couldn't afford to buy you a laptop that cost more than the YEAR it took me to pay for THAT one. Yep, it's just SO nice to sneak on at work (since I have NO home computer) and see you rant about the craptastic world we live in wherein Uncle Gabe who has no job can splurge on a fantastic laptop, digital camera and surreally large tablet for Mommy when all I could afford during my better-paying days was a cheapo laptop for YOUR birthday.

[conuly]

*points up to apology*

It's so nice to be completely ignored.

[(Anonymous)]

That apology was general, to those who DID NOT buy you said laptop. I didn't ignore it, it just seemed insufficient. No matter. I simply won't buy you anything again for fear you won't find it adequete to your needs. I'm sure finding somewhere else to allocate a thousand dollars or so won't be a problem for me.

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

Please delete - didn't mean to post anon.

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

That apology was general, to those who DID NOT buy you said laptop. I didn't ignore it, it just seemed insufficient. To me, it was not just "rude" it was incredibly offensive and inconsiderate of the person who bought you the damn thing. No matter. I simply won't buy you anything again for fear you won't find it adequete to your needs. I'm sure finding somewhere else to allocate a thousand dollars or so won't be a problem for me.

[conuly]

Oh, for crying out loud. I'm not upset with my laptop. I'm upset with the insane speed of computer obsolesence. If you had been reading, that would have been perfectly clear. I'm also upset that I can't use my own computer right now, and am using the faster one whose keyboard SUCKS, which isn't set to my settings, and which doesn't seem to want to download quicktime. I'm also upset that there's no peace in Darfur. You're responding to my being very upset as though it were a general, and adaquate gauge of my feelings, and it's not. Go back to work, now.

[nerdinium.livejournal.com]

You could get one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822154631

You would have to take it with you if you wanted to use it elswhere, but it would give you 3 times as much storage as your mom, and for fairly cheap compared to new laptops.

[conuly]

I'll just put that on my Christmas wishlist, shall I?

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

"Just out of curiosity, how much memory is a laptop supposed to have, anyway?"

Early 2003 models have about 512megs at most unless you have some kind of super-powered designer kickass system... 2003 - 2005 might have 256megs, before that would be 128 megs.

If it is claiming that it has *gigs* of memory free, something is seriously screwed up.

Unless you mean hard drive space, in which case a 2005 laptop would have 40 - 80 gigs, 2003-2004 maybe 40 gigs.

My system is a relatively new one, with standard-or-pretty-nice specs for 2003 -- it has 512 megs of RAM and a 60 gig hard drive.

[conuly]

*thinks*

Yes, I believe I *am* talking about hard drive space! And I will edit this to make that clear.

MY laptop has about 20 gigs in the hard drive. That's not a joke, I am constantly working around that when downloading whole seasons of TV shows.

My mom's has 70 or so. I just checked.

[feathered.livejournal.com]

70?? That's quite huge. I've got 40 and, even though I'm almost constantly nearly full, I think we had to pay a little bit extra for that. As far as I know, 20 gigs is more normal for laptops.

Of course, I also don't know much about laptops or computers or hard drive space, so you probably shouldn't take my word as law.

[conuly]

Ah. In that case, I feel rather better.

If still massively annoyed. I want the better (but infinitely heavier) laptop! Waaah! Nevermind that the screen is too large, nevermind that nothing's set how I like it, nevermind that I don't like the keyboard, I wanna be able to download more stuff!

Actually, what we ought to do is set up the big computer as the wireless hub-thingy, then my mom and I could trade off the two laptops as we wished.

[conuly]

And it's not 70. It's 74 point something. I'm staring at the screen as I say thi... well, you know what mean.

[lakidaa.livejournal.com]

Well, my brand new laptop is a 100gigs.

But that's because it's a thousand-semiodd computer.

Most laptops, especially older ones, are much weaker than their contemporary non-mobile brothers/sisters.

My comouter may have more emory than my brother's 2 year old destop, but it's got better Other Stuff. (except the screen. My screen is something to behold.)

[lakidaa.livejournal.com]

100gig hard drive.

I can read. honestly.

[neurotica0.livejournal.com]

My laptop has a 55.8GB of hard drive space. 44.6GB of that is free space.

I have no idea how much RAM I have.

By the way, I call hard drive space "memory" too.

[firingneurons.livejournal.com]

...you have a C64? Is it in good working condition? ...*shifty eyes* Are you considering selling it if it is? ...*blushes and runs away*

[conuly]

Possibly, no idea (probably not, if it's been in our attic all this time), maybe.

How about this. I find it, I answer your questions, and then we make a deal.

[firingneurons.livejournal.com]

Awesome!!

[rho]

Well, I don't know a whole lot about laptops, but I do know that I've just got a new computer, and I went from having a 16GB had drive on the last one to a 250GB hard drive on this one. Computer obsolescence is staggeringly fast. for CPUs, you generally hear about Moore's Law, which says that CPU speed will tend to double every 18/24 months (apparently, the original was stated as 24, but it's now often quoted as 18). Hard disk capacity tends to go up at an even faster rate than that, so there's only abou 2 or 3 years difference between the two drives.

Add to that the fact that the newer one may have been slightly higher relative spec (compared to other computers of the time) and it could be even less. I'm not sure if it's the case with laptops, but with desktops I found that most manufacturers would sell machines that were very similarly speced at very similar prices, but that each one would tend to include one stand-out component, which was better than its competitors. So your mom may just have ended up buying a machine that had a large hard drive.

If you feel that you need more hard drive space, you might want to consider buying an external USB drive. You can get 80GB USB drives for about £50 these days, which is about $80-90. I suspect that you'd be able to get them cheaper over there too, as I believe that comsumer electronics do generally tend to cost a little more here.

[conuly]

It'd be easier to just switch computers with my mom, or to agree to use this one when she's playing her games, so I can watch my oh-so-precious B5.

[xiggaroo.livejournal.com]

So it's got a huge hard drive. It weighs like twenty-five lbs. Use it when she's not on it, at home, and keep yours for when you need to transport it.

[conuly]

Seriously, it's not as heavy as you imagine - or, rather, my own laptop isn't that light.

I need more exercise, anyway. Lugging away that massive laptop will do me a world of good.

[sparkofcreation.livejournal.com]

We got our computer (desktop) last October, and it has 160 GB, but that was a special deal they were pushing—80GB was standard in a desktop at the time. I think laptops usually have about half the memory of desktops, so I'd expect one that was new around then to have 40GB. But I know that the winter before that (early 2004) it was half that—40GB in a desktop and 20 in a laptop.

OTOH, my laptop was new in 2000, and has 10.

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm just *so* sorry I couldn't afford to buy you a laptop that cost more than the YEAR it took me to pay for THAT one. Yep, it's just SO nice to sneak on at work (since I have NO home computer) and see you rant about the craptastic world we live in wherein Uncle Gabe who has no job can splurge on a fantastic laptop, digital camera and surreally large tablet for Mommy when all I could afford during my better-paying days was a cheapo laptop for YOUR birthday.

[conuly]

*points up to apology*

It's so nice to be completely ignored.

[(Anonymous)]

That apology was general, to those who DID NOT buy you said laptop. I didn't ignore it, it just seemed insufficient. No matter. I simply won't buy you anything again for fear you won't find it adequete to your needs. I'm sure finding somewhere else to allocate a thousand dollars or so won't be a problem for me.

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

Please delete - didn't mean to post anon.

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

That apology was general, to those who DID NOT buy you said laptop. I didn't ignore it, it just seemed insufficient. To me, it was not just "rude" it was incredibly offensive and inconsiderate of the person who bought you the damn thing. No matter. I simply won't buy you anything again for fear you won't find it adequete to your needs. I'm sure finding somewhere else to allocate a thousand dollars or so won't be a problem for me.

[conuly]

Oh, for crying out loud. I'm not upset with my laptop. I'm upset with the insane speed of computer obsolesence. If you had been reading, that would have been perfectly clear. I'm also upset that I can't use my own computer right now, and am using the faster one whose keyboard SUCKS, which isn't set to my settings, and which doesn't seem to want to download quicktime. I'm also upset that there's no peace in Darfur. You're responding to my being very upset as though it were a general, and adaquate gauge of my feelings, and it's not. Go back to work, now.

[nerdinium.livejournal.com]

You could get one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822154631

You would have to take it with you if you wanted to use it elswhere, but it would give you 3 times as much storage as your mom, and for fairly cheap compared to new laptops.

[conuly]

I'll just put that on my Christmas wishlist, shall I?