Broke

[bloodyrosemccoy]

Dude, I just found out my computer is magical.

Last night it turned from a laptop to a desktop before my very eyes!

Of course, this is the kind of trick it can only do once--not because we might figure it out upon multiple viewings, but more due to the way a screen lamp can only burn out once before it's, y'know, burned out. And, unfortunately, the trick is not reversible.

So my computer is broke. Conventional wisdom suggests the best course of action when you laptop screen breaks is to buy a new laptop. I've never liked the idea of disposable electronics--if I buy something, I want to get real use out of it, which may explain why my iPods and cell phones and whatnot stay around until they literally fall apart. Now, yes, things develop fast, and I won't eschew a new thing if I think it's a REAL improvement over its predecessor, but you gotta impress me. I won't buy something just because it's the latest. It has to be really useful. Like how the Nook I'm typing this on is really portable and saved me from having to buy another bookshelf.

Plus, I like this Lappy.

So my options are to grab a spare monitor (we have those here in Casa de Nerd) and make Lappy a Compy, or replace the screen if the manufacturer is willing. Both options mean limited intersocks for a bit, because typing on an e-reader is annoying as all hell, dammit. Get me a keyboard any day.

Comments

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

Replacing screens is tricky work, and a lot of places won't do it.

They're thin sandwiches of glass, with the bad habit of being fragile.

That said, good luck!

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

It entirely depends on whether your life depends on your being able to carry your computing about with you.

Conventional wisdom in *my* universe says replace the screen, if you can get one without having to mortgage your soul, but in my universe there are a lot of people who are technically capable of doing said screen replacing (including me). If you can't afford to replace the screen just yet, obviously go with the external monitor.

[cougarfang.livejournal.com]

My boyfriend is all about patching electronics back together (or sometimes patching electronics to each other in a strange lumpy Frankensteinian mess - he'd rather buy two broken Sanza mp3 players for super cheap and cobble together one working one than, y'know, actually buy a working mp3 player) and he once replaced his own laptop's screen, after using it like a desktop for a while. So it's doable, and IMHO doesn't look any much more fiddly than normal tinkering-with-electronic-innards, if you have a nice tinkering-friendly laptop.