Buying a New Computer

On December 3, my IBM ThinkPad finally died, probably from a virus, even though I never really took her out of the house. As luck would have it, just before she died, I made copies of important files and stored them on an external hard drive. I received a message that she could not start Windows because the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM file was suddenly missing or corrupt. ¥£$&#@!!!

The picture of the old girl in her dying days shows a broken hinge. The hinge broke due to an unfortunate meeting of the laptop with the floor while the laptop was accelerating toward the floor. The special enhanced laptop lettering is handcrafted with white paint. On November 26, the display was wavering and could only be fixed by unplugging the adapter cord or by pushing down on the top left corner of the laptop. Seriously.

I was a militant Apple girl from 1984 to 1992, when I finally gave into the dark side and bought my first "IBM" computer. And now that my ThinkPad finally died, I had the chance to be re-born as an Apple girl again.

Alas... after researching prices, I realized that I would not be returning to my first love. The very cheapest Mac would ring in at $1200 CAD. I reluctantly decided to go with a non-Mac, as it would be about 50% less. I only need the computer for surfing, some word processing, and some online TV watching.

With such limited needs, I figured I should be looking at netbooks, until I read this. The article claims a high return rate for some netbooks. I decided to go for a full size computer.

The choice of computers today is quite astonishing. I was overwhelmed by the different brands, stores, and configurations. I tried Costco's online Canadian site ("http://www.costco.ca"), but the prices were not very aggressive. The US site of Costco offers even cheaper alternatives, but not cheap enough to justify crossing the border for a package pickup and having possible duties tacked on.

Finally I decided on an enhanced Lenovo ThinkPad SL510.

Reading multiple reviews, it seemed to be a good value for money machine, and it was not flashy but was powerful. Perfect. I didn't care if I had no choice of designer colours, or if I wouldn't be able to play a decent video game on it.

Deciding where to buy the computer was another matter. Eventually I bought the computer from Lenovo directly, using a discount code I found while surfing. A great source for researching shoppers like me is Red Flag Deals.

At redflagdeals, I found that most folks bought their computers directly from Lenovo, and I also found many discount codes, including the special one for redflagdeals that I eventually used. Before making the purchase, I obsessed over whether I would eventually find the computer for a lower price. Would it be cheaper on CYBERMONDAY, November 30? Should I wait until Boxing Day? Now that it is Boxing Day, I have finally had the chance to find the answer to my burning question. On these three days, Black Friday (November 27), Cyber Monday, and Boxing Day, I tried all discount codes and found that it was the *same* price, no matter which code I used, or which day I purchased, so let's score one for the little obsessive researching mommy. I bought it on Black Friday, and that was the right decision. According to the Lenovo website today, Boxing Day sale prices are the year's lowest prices!

So you know what to expect if you order from Lenovo, here's a timeline of my purchase process.

I ordered my computer on November 27. It was ready for shipping in Shanghai on December 5 and departed December 7. It arrived at noon on December 8 in North York, Ontario. It arrived in Vancouver's port on December 10. It arrived on my doorstep on December 14. I was promised 11 business days, and that was pretty close to what I got. It crossed the country twice before arriving in my grubby hands.

The day of the promised arrival was fairly annoying. I stayed home most of the day waiting for the package, which would arrive any time between 9-7 pm. At 4:45 pm, I gave up on waiting and took a hot bath. As soon as I lowered myself into the water, the doorbell rang. I'm pretty sure the delivery guy was waiting outside until I got into the water before he rang the doorbell.

Before the computer arrived, I worried about where I would get a web browser. I would need a web browser to download a web browser! Setting up the pristine new computer was incredibly easy. It was already equipped with Netscape AND a 60 day trial of Microsoft Office 2007, as well as a trial of Norton. Well now, they've thought of everything.

The only thing I regret is the quality of the display. It seems a bit fuzzy and low res. My old computer had better resolution. Ten days later, I'm used to the fuzziness.