Still on the search for my next computer

Like most programmers, once I get stuck on a problem, I can't stop thinking about it until I find a solution.  These days I have been shopping for a new computer.

My current computer, a HP DV2000 laptop, circa 2006, works OK.  Over the years, I have only made two upgrades: I doubled my RAM from one to two GB and I have switched my primary operating system to Linux Ubuntu over Windows XP.  For reference, my wife and I actually have the same exact computer, except that she didn't make any upgrades.  Amazingly, both computers have been working fine for all of these years.  (The only real deterioration is that neither of our batteries hold much of a charge, which could be fixed for 20 dollars).

So, even though my current laptop functions just fine, in the last couple of months, I thought it was about time that I (and my wife) upgrade our machines.  I'm not exactly sure why.  Maybe it's well placed advertisements, maybe it's my wife's subtle coaxing, or maybe it's the stark difference between my dual display powerhouse work setup versus my aging home laptop - but I think it's about time for an upgrade.

My wife says that I am not a good shopper, and she is right.  I know that I only have a finite amount of energy per day, and finding deals is something that I just do not want to spend any attention on.  If I'm shopping for a pair of jeans, I'll walk into the Gap and buy the first pair that sort of fit me OK.  In contrast, my wife will start browsing online for Jeans, eventually go to the Gap, take a hard look at every pair they have, go home, look for deals online, order three different pairs of jeans, try each pair on a few times, return two of them, and  voila, she has a pair of jeans.  In the end, it's clear that she looks better than I do.

But for a new computer, I have taken on her exhaustive approach and I have been scouring the world wide web for my and my wife's next laptop.  For my own reference, here are the upgrades from my current laptop that I am hoping to get for both my wife and I. 

• 2GB to 8 GB of RAM. 
• 80 GB hard drive to at least a 128 GB solid state drive.   
• 5.5 Lbs to less than 4lbs total weight.
• S-video or VGA output to HDMI output.

The one place we diverge is in the operating system.  My wife is looking for a Windows machine, but I'd like to use OS X or Ubuntu.

In the end, I decided to give the 13.3-Inch Apple MacBook Air a try.  I just put in an order for a refurbished model for  $999 ($1087 with tax).  It only has 4 GB of RAM, which I couldn't upgrade, because it is refurbished.  This will be a learning experience for me, because I have never owned a Mac before.

For my wife, we decided to get the 15" Samsung Series 9 a try. It has 8 GB of RAM, runs Windows 7, and is 3.6 lbs.

It's been a quick 7 years since our last laptop purchase, and I hope these new machines could serve us for a long time as well.  If they last us through 2020, that would be pretty remarkable.

I started this post saying that once I get a problem in my head, I can't stop thinking about it until I reach some conclusion.  After several days of shopping, reading reviews, and evaluating my needs, I couldn't take shopping anymore.  So, the only resolution was to make a decision and commit to one choice. I'm glad I made a choice so that I can go back to building apps, learning about coding and programming and doing anything else besides shopping.

Taxes

I just did my taxes today.  Here are some observations.

Turbotax is not linux friendly.
I am running Ubuntu and my default browser is chromium.  After logging into their site, I got a warning saying that I had to use either Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or Chrome.  I guess Chromium isn't the same as Chrome. Ok, no problem, I have firefox.  I switched browsers, logged in again, but was denied access again.  I didn't feel like debugging the problem, so I decided to log off of my ubuntu operating system and use Windows.  That's what dual booting is all about.  So there's one more reason why I can't wipe Windows from my life completely.

Turbotax is pretty user friendly.
I used Turbotax last year, and it was able to remember some of my information.  Since none of the major financial details in my life changed at all (lived in the same place, worked for the same employers, and so on), it was great that Turbotax was able to auto-populate a lot of details.  I'm not sure why, but it was able to import alot of my wife's information while I had to input some more items, but it was more or less very easy to use.  I finished inputting the details in about 15 minutes.

No default is the default.
For many screens in the Turbotax wizard there are a series of options with the final one being none of the above.  For example, they might ask, have you worked over seas, or worked in the military, or made money gambling etc ... and you can check yes to one or more of these.  But there's also another choice at the end that says, None of the above.  I hate it when that None of the above choice isn't selected by default.  I guess that's just a pet-peave of mine.  If it weren't for having to click on that choice, I might have been able to finish my taxes in 10 minutes.