journal features

dead netbook and being green

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Toronto, 2011.04.26

Our netbook packed it in yesterday. Taking it to a repair shop, they explained their prices on repairing it. It's not going to happen.

I hate to replace gear that can be repaired. Especially when it comes to electronics, it's just insane when it could be a relatively minor fix. And it's hellishly bad for the environment.

But I've finally come to the point where I'm starting to weigh the cost of repair not only against the cost of replacement but the benefit already extracted from the defective unit. And in this case, the little laptop has worked like a dog for 2.5 years. What was supposed to be a travel-only affair proved so useful around the house that it became a constant tool for both of us, whether it was sticking Kenny in front of a TV show or checking email and looking up information in the living room, or in fact having a travel-ready unit for trips. It even replaced my portable data store unit, which I bought in 2006 to plug my SD cards into while shooting a lot on our honeymoon. With that netbook in the mix already, I didn't need the data store device.

Given that a 11.6" replacement would cost less around $300, I think it might simply be best to thank the defunct thing and move on. Not so green now, am I?

rand()m quote

On the endless saga of Rob Ford, mayor of Toronto; "It shouldn't have had to come to this. I'm so tired of getting up every morning and wondering, 'What will it be today?' I'm so tired of giving the benefit of the doubt again and again, only to be let down again and again.... Somewhere a responsible adult has to appear, draw a bright moral line, tell the truth and say unequivocally what won't be tolerated. Somebody has to do the right thing."

—Denzil Minnan-Wong