Up and Down Day

[major_clanger]

Good bits of today: looking at two flats in Birmingham for when I'm working there during the week from the New Year (one was good, the other was perfect) and meeting up with G for some drinks.

Bad bits of today: immense travel hassle, including a really bad case of different train operators failing to work together. Being sent from Marylebone to Paddington because the train has been diverted is one thing. Then being sent to Euston because it's been delayed yet again is another. Getting to Euston to be told that notwithstanding what I'd been told at Paddington, Virgin would not accept my London Midland ticket was very annoying indeed (and cost me £11). Also computer failure.

Yes, my five-year-old G5 Power Mac has finally bitten the dust. It's refusing to boot and the main hard drive is doing nothing but making nasty clicking noises. Now, everything ought to be backed up on my 1TB MyBook drive, and almost all my current work is on my DropBox folder anyway, so I can do ongoing stuff either on my work PC or my netbook. But I'll need a new main home computer; yes, I could probably resurrect the G5, but it would still have the issue of being able to run less and less Mac software as PowerPC architecture gets more and more obsolete. I'd been seriously thinking of replacing it anyway whilst I'm still eligible for Apple's educational discount, and the main question is whether I go for a PowerBook or an iMac. But right now I'm up to my eyeballs in various stuff and I'm really not looking forward to spending a day or so getting a new machine set up. But it was going to happen some time soon, so I might as well bite the bullet.

Comments

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Might simply be the hard disk, which ought to be a relatively simple fix. Probably worth doing, if only to set it up to sell on to someone.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Indeed, although I've heard that new-in-box G5s can be had for a song because of the whole Power PC / Intel switchover issue. I understand why Apple did it, but at a stroke they put most of their existing machines into imminent obsolescence (which they've now reached.)

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

No argument there.

[davidwake.livejournal.com]

I live in Birmingham. Where have you been looking?

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

The city centre / Jewellery quarter area, because I'll be working on Cornwall Street and I'd like to be close to work and close to a main station for trips to and from London.

It turns out that there's a bit of a glut of small flats in the centre; I suspect the same as has happened in London Docklands, i.e. lots of new builds and conversions aimed at yuppies that suddenly fell foul of the Big Crunch.

Both places I looked at are next to where Newhall St crosses the canal, so close to work and to Snow Hill station.

[davidwake.livejournal.com]

I've a friend who lives around there. It's the Jewellery quarter around St. Paul's church and very pleasant it is too.

It was sort of like London Docklands, except that the start was driven by lap dancing. So many well-paid ladies finishing work in the early hours wanting conveniently close housing. Birmingham: more canals than Venice, more lap dancing clubs per square mile than anywhere else in Europe.

[alexmc.livejournal.com]

> It was sort of like London Docklands, except that the start was driven by lap dancing.

ha ha :-)

[alexmc.livejournal.com]

still using my Powerbook *G4*



(but not for everything mind you :-)

Goodluck with whatever you go for next!

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Ditto iBook G4 - no need for anything faster for anything I do with a laptop.