Thoughts and Ramblings

One way or another, I am going to replace this laptop. I have decided that $400 is not worth it to fix such an old computer. The question remains, should I replace it with an iBook, or go with the more expensive powerbook. The only reason to go with the powerbook is the bigger screen (got used to a 15" screen), but the iBook has nearly the same resolution as my current laptop (1024x768 vs. 1152x768). The other minor issues of note is the iBook can only video mirror (without a hack), and it doesn’t have gigabit ethernet. Is that worth $600 difference to me? I am holding out hope that I can get one of my dad’s old laptops working and then not have to replace it until the intel ones are out.

Well, more work went into the laptop yesterday. I have gotten it to the point where it seems to be working. I further localized the problem to the graphics card on the logic board, which means if I really want to fix it, it will cost me $400, not worth it. Basically, if I push on the graphics card, it goes.

When I took it apart, I kept trying things such as disconnecting the internal screen and other stuff. I also oiled one of the hinges. Then I started putting it together, piece by piece, testing it at every stage. I eventually got it completely back together and could not get it to fail. This could be a good sign. I only need to to last at most 8 more months. Here is to hoping it will.

Well, my time recently has been consumed by trying to fix my laptop. Here is the issue:

If I move the screen while the computer is on, the video card goes nuts. I thought it was the cable, but now I am not so sure. I have a small workaround. Put the computer to sleep, and do whatever, but once I wake it up, do not touch the screen under any circumstances. At least when the video card freaks out, I can still sleep the computer. At least I learned how to open the computer, remove the logic board, and generally put the thing into as many pieces as possible. I forgot to take pictures. Oh well, maybe next time.

Well, I am going to write down what happened over the weekend before I forget. Basically, highlights for the weekend have mostly to do with sporting events. I went to the Volleyball game yesterday against Kansas State. I can now say the volleyball team is not loosing because of me. I had been to 4 of their games before, and they lost every one, but the beat k-state yesterday. Then I went to the soccer game against SMU. We beat them 4-2, so now the Aggies advance to the 3rd round and the sweet 16.