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My computer is ageing

My computer is ageing.

Within days of buying the computer, the catch and hold mechanism of the card reader broke. Since I could not give my computer to the service centre for an extended period of time to replace the motherboard, I let it be.

Then my computer entered adolescence. This was a stage marked by extreme instability, irrational temper, and uncontrollable heat. Getting my computer to behave the way I wanted was getting more and more difficult. These were the days when I had to battle with OS crashes and more, and spent a lot of time reformatting my hard drive.

Then came the middle age. For six months, I had hardly any complaints to make about the machine that sits on my desk or on my lap. These days were characterized by a mutual understanding and respect. I never asked my computer to perform unearthly tasks, and my computer never expected me to wait for an hour before it booted up.

Right now, my computer is ageing. My DVD drive has stopped working. Hard drive performance is at an all time low. My computer has more memories in the shadow copies and backup than in the primary hard drive. The computer can be away from a power outlet for not more than an hour. Transfer rates from my camera to my hard drive do not exceed 500kbps.

In computer time, my laptop has remained with me for eons. In human time, it has not been three years.

Contrast this with my desktop, which has been serving me for a little less than five years.

As speeds go up and costs go down, our computers are lasting for far less time. As a result, computer graveyards are filling up faster than ever. If the trend continues, maybe we should be happy to have computers that last us for over a year.

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