What I need from a computer

I don’t need much from a computer. For the last 5 years of my life, all I've ever done on it is (a) write and (b) use the internet. No Photoshop, Starcraft 2, or any other heavy-hitting programs necessary.

I've never needed anything fancy. My desktop at home, which I used throughout high school, was a sluggish behemoth that took 5 minutes to boot up. For 3.5 years in college, my yellow Dell Inspiron was as much a "fashion" statement as a productivity tool. Last December, after I dropped my laptop in the dining hall, I bought a new Inspiron for around $500. I planned to keep it for at least the next 4 years, and use it similarly.

Too bad it sucks. For the big, fancy specs it was advertised with, my new Inspiron fails regularly at just being operational.

Case in point: The "e" key on my keyboard broke for no apparent reason yesterday night. It doesn't feel jammed; it just stopped working. Other recurring reasons why it sucks: random freeze-ups around every 10 days; its detection of ghost USB ports, inability to consistently handle CD and DVDs. The plastic shell feels cheap and adds unnecessary bulk.

I just read an article on TechCrunch about the new MacBook Air. It sounds so good -- light, fast, portable, sleek -- that I really want to shill out $1,000 to buy one. Only problem is, I hate using the Mac interface. I think I developed a revulsion to Apple computing products in elementary school, when I had to use the then-horrid machines for assignments, and I'm still feeling the lingering effects.

Basically, the situation I'm in is not pleasant. Dammit, I should have bought a Chromebook instead.