Still no pictures... Oh well...
I've been lost playing with the new electronic toys, which is kind of pointless, but...
The IBM ThinkPad A31 arrived. The seller put a clean install of Windows 2000 Professional on it, which was interesting. I suppose Win2000 is the successor to WindowsNT, which I used ages ago in another life, when I was a servant to a government agency that must not be named. Let's just say it brings back memories. (Though this particular ThinkPad is far superior to any piece of technology I had access to then...)
Sadly, I did break down and acquire a Panasonic ToughBook. (Don't know if I mentioned that before or not.) I found a CF-29 for the cheapest possible price possible, and... Well, you get what you pay for. Hardware wise, it was OK, though the trackpad is atrocious (at times to point of being non-functional). Thankfully, I can use the touchscreen capability to get 'round that. Software wise, however... It's running WinXP, like the R40, though this system has 2 ½ the memory of the ThinkPad. Someone prior had installed Google Chrome, which I loathe. However, the damned thing wouldn't allow me to download anything, so I finally had to go a slightly updated sneakernet route, and copy AVG and FireFox over from the R40 via USB thumb drive. A run of AVG showed the thing loaded with malware, which I finally got cleared off. The battery, "guaranteed to hold a charge" did, for about 15 minutes. Luckily, I'd ordered a new one, which works fine.
However, in the best Microsoft tradition, I can't get the thing to download system updates. I'm going to try a workaround, but I just get tired of fooling with it after a while, and stop working.
So, I now have a functional ToughBook that should work to take into work situations with me. We'll see how that goes...
Right now, I'm trying to copy over some images to the R40 to customize it. (My inner geek demands I put the cool "MI-6" background from Casino Royale on it. I know, I'm sad...) I need to install a new TrackPoint cover on the 380XD (which I haven't had back out). Need to get OpenOffice onto the A31. (Again, I'll USB it over. I haven't installed the wireless card.)
All those terribly inconsequential things in life. Where would be without them?
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