I am in a state of feverish anticipation. My laptop would have been four years old in July. Unfortunately it exploded several weeks ago and was declared unfixable. In magnificent style I was not bumped up the queue for new laptops (despite the fact that they are re-equipping people with perfectly good machines every day) and had to remain in my place in the queue. Needless to say my place in the queue was very near the back. Why would a developer who has to compile large applications and run IDEs like Visual Studio 2003 need a new machine sooner than say a manager whose only use of his computer is Outlook and Word for ten minutes between meetings? Surely he can just use a replacement machine that is significantly worse than his four year old laptop was?
Anyway, on 27th May all will be forgiven because I will get my new laptop. For most people in the business this is probably more of a hassle than a joy or it's only a minor pleasure to be able to get their emails faster. For me, it's next door to a religious experience. I am also slightly nervous. This is like meeting your new boss or an in-law for the first time. It could be great, but what if the backslash key is in a stupid place or it doesn't have a Windows 95 key? While most people view their new laptop/desktop as a tool, mine is the inanimate object with which I will have the closest possible relationship.
My previous laptop (that exploded) had, in its time: three hard drives, 64MB memory expansion, 256MB memory expansion (x2), two new keyboards, three docking stations and a new screen. And by the time it exploded the current keyboard was severely broken. I give these things SERIOUS use!
The only thing that worries me is that the IT people don't know how much this means to me. They could easily break my heart and put back my new laptop three months (they've done it twice already). I do actually have a delivery time and place but even so I remain apprehensive. They don't realise what power they have over me!
