Technology is our friend

For the last few weeks, we have been getting by using our laptop as our primary internet machine, because someone was too lazy to unpack and setup the desk top.  And by getting by I mean 'perfectly happy because the laptop is not loaded down with as many things so it is actually faster' and by someone I mean me 'because the laptop is not loaded down with as many things so it is actually faster AND takes up less space'

Long about Sunday night, I finally ran out of what SWMBO considered viable excuses, because she insisted that the desk top was NOT as slow as I remembered it to be.    There was also a push to procure and install a wireless router, so that we could use the Wii to stream video directly to our main TV.  Since I WAS all for this final achievement, I figured if I had to play with wires and cables at all, I might as well set-up the desk top, since it does have a better set of speakers and a larger monitor than the laptop. 

Putting together the desktop was no where near as tough as I make it out to be.  Anymore everything is either a USB connection, or color coded to match the correct plug to the correct slot on the back of the machine.  I do have quite the spaghetti mess now though.  But...the desktop is just as slow as I remember it to be.  It's an HP, and came loaded with WAY more programs than it needed on it.  As such, it has NEVER been what you would call fast to go from power on to ready to use.  It has always taken at least 5 minutes to go from me pushing the power button to being useful.  As someone (who is not me) has clicked to add every semi-useful program recommended by Windows, the actual page-to-page surfing has suffered also.  This has not happened to the laptop, as I have kept in my loving care most of its life. 

Computer up and running, I went about tackling the wireless router.  One of my co-workers heard me talking about wanting a wireless router, and told me he had one in the garage I could have for the right price...that price being free.  Not one to pass up a deal like that, I swung by his house to pick it, figuring I could use the Power of the Internet to get it running.  My attempts were loaded with fail.  Initially, both the hard wired desk-top and the wireless laptop failed to admit the router existed.  Through gratuitous use of the reset button, I managed to get both computers to admit the router was there, and that the internet existed, they just couldn't use the internet through THAT router.  This was about 10:15 last night...and I was ready to go snuggle with the wife instead of doing battle with technology.

Now, I'm spending Monday night, streaming the Orange Bowl through the laptop(plugged right in through the normal router) while I mercilessly delete things from the desktop.  At half-time of the football game, I will attack the router issue again.

This time, I'm bringing Sailor Jerry along as a wingman.