The QuickBooks Crisis II

Prolonged contemplation kept leading me back to three thoughts: Whether I like it or not, QuickBooks is one of the key tools I need to run my business, and it will no longer run on my old hardware. As an Internet business, I need to keep my technology current. And I have a budget for “technology” that I would not have completely drained otherwise (although I am planning to pay for a Sunshop version upgrade in a few weeks).

Dell had a tempting sale on their Vostro line of business laptops (which, as a Babylon 5 fan, I simply must call the “Vorlon”). Vorlons won praise in my source for all things techy, the Octopus Overlords computing forum. The deal I was looking at expired within 48 hours. So I jumped. Yes, I bought a new computer.

On one hand, this is a bad development for all of the reasons that I laid out last week. OTOH, I haven’t had a new computer since 2005, and I’m really looking forward to moving into my new souped-up Vorlon – I upgraded the CPU from 2.1 to 2.4 GHz, added a 256 MB Nvidia video card for gaming, and upgraded to a “wide view” (higher resolution) screen. Obviously, I have to name it Kosh.

Kosh is not due to land until around July 1. I hope this will keep me current for another four years:

Vostro 1520, Genuine Windows Vista® Business Bonus-Windows XP Professional downgrade Unit Price $1,143.00 (Sale price $948, delivered)

• Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Business Bonus-Windows XP Professional downgrade
• Processor Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz, 3MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
• Memory 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz, 2 DIMM
• Video Card NVIDIA® GeForce™ 9300M GS 256MB
• Hard Drive 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with Free Fall Sensor
• LCDs 15.4" Premium WXGA+ Anti-Glare Display (Wide View)
• Optical Drives 8X DVD+/-RW with double-layer DVD+/-R write capability, Roxio and Cyberlink PowerDVD™ DX 8.1
• Wireless Cards Dell Wireless™ 1397 802.11b/g Mini Card
• Primary Battery 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

ACCESSORIES
SanDisk 8GB Hi-Speed USB Cruzer Micro Drive with U3 technology