I've made pro and con lists, tossed and turned, and fretted over my computer systems.

My HP media thing is behind my fav. Korg keyboard. I run Band in a Box, mess with funk Jazz a lot, and play classical arrangements of crazy stuff. I have stage lights, big amps, a Bose stick, a pair of huge speakers, power mixers etc etc.

My kids have left. It took some time. One in England, one a few miles away with his g/f.

So we renovated one room my daughter had pained bright red and dark black, with a very conservative grey. My desk is there, a filing cabinet, and my camera gear.

I have a laptop running Linux, works OK, I can't type well on it without a wireless keyboard, and then it gets far enough away I need glasses to see it, well....

So I was going to buy a new bunch of stuff and build a computer. Got the costs to where I thought it would be ok, and was going to put Linux on it.

But I kept coming back to the ipad. The upstairs computer would be for writing, and photo editing, which I now do on my HP media centre. Everything backs up to a 2TB hard drive sitting on the network as Z:/

So I went yesterday, got part what through the shopping cart at Tiger Direct with a list. I went to the counter and told them sorry about this, but I'm going to sleep on it.

So I'm off to Best Buy to buy a Mac. (shoot me now). I just have the cash. I don't want to mess with Linux and find there is no driver for the thing they sold me and I take it back.

The ipad and out music collection will be better there.

I really don't know, but I just need to have no hassles, good photo editing, and open office.

On the other hand a guy I know has a Risc based Sun workstation that runs Unix. It was bought to run training programs for dispatchers. They used it about 30 days. He wants $100.00 for it. I offered 60.00. I bet it ends up on the floor beside the desk, as long as the entire o/s and development stuff is on it.

Is this an extreme case of GAS? Geez...

John Conley
Musica est vita