I've just realized that my main computer at home was built in 2001! It is a Pentium 4 1.5GHz, 640MB memory, 120GB hard drive, DVD ROM, DVD RW, Sound Blaster Live, 19" LCD screen, etc. Over the years I've replaced the hard drive, CPU fan, and power supply (moving parts). This computer is used for web surfing, email, IM, some programming, and is the "temporary" server for my telnet BBS and websites. I find it completely usable and never find myself wanting to upgrade. Isn't that amazing? Who needs a dual core 3 GHz computer with 4+ GB of memory, 750 GB hard drive, etc? Maybe gamers, graphics designers, video and audio production, but not average computer users.
It is kind of sad that this computer will be retired once I move to Toronto and start working from home. I'm going to buy a Sun Ultra 20 M2 workstation to use as my primary Java development workstation for both work and personal development projects. It will be running Solaris 10 or Open Solaris Developer Edition. I'm also going to buy an Apple iMac and Adobe Creative Suite Web Premium Edition. However, before I buy these I plan on making a significant investment in one of my ideas which will remain a secret for now.
It will be a shame to retire my current very usable workstation. Maybe it will become a dedicated BBS server?
Working from his home office in Toronto,
Ryan de Laplante can be found developing software in
Java by day, and obsessing with technology by night.
Ryan has been designing and writing software for
IJW since 1998 and is very passionate about his work.
