Goodbye, Old Paint

It is with an unexpectedly heavy heart that I prepare to pull the plug on my old T1100 e-machine.

This $400 wonder has been running non-stop for almost two years and has never failed me, until now. You see it here with its cover off, because I hoped that it might just be an overheating problem. Unfortunately, it has contracted something like machine Alzheimers.

It started faltering a few weeks ago, rebooting itself spontaneously in the midst of critical activities. I would curse as I lost the results of hours of work, but I resolved to save more often and continued on.

Unfortunately, its affliction became progressively worse and now it quits about every thirity minutes or so.

I can put up with this temporarily, because I am using Synergy to link three computers on my desk. I have switched to a laptop for most of my work and Old Paint, my T1100, just runs when it can and provides access to a host of files and email that I haven’t transferred yet.

I don’t usually personify machines, but this low-end computer has provided reliable service for thousands of hours. Its plastic doors have broken off and its innards are full of dust and cat hair, but like the old Timex ads, it just kept on ticking.

I have great admiration for the team of designers whose intention created such a low-cost and reliable machine. This was our sixth or seventh e-machine and we will probably replace it with a newer generation of the same.

Goodbye, Old Paint! (mp3) You will be remembered fondly.