The Quest of Buying a NoteBook.

Roughly about 3 months back, I embarked on my first ever journey in the Quest of Buying A Notebook. Yesterday, I finally ended the tasking event by purchasing an awesome HP Compaq Notebook. Never, have I felt so lost before as compared to when choosing which type of laptop I would want to purchase. =____=''

The journey started when I had seriously set my mind into getting one. Roughly a month before Christmas.

First step : To convince my parents that it was actually a good investment to purchase a laptop at this point of my life. (In other words, to try and extract money from them XD). Getting budget. Can't do anything without budget.

Surprisingly it wasn't that difficult, meaning to say it didn't take me as long as I had feared to convince both my parents. Mum was a little bit more difficult, sometimes she makes it so difficult as if she has a personal grudge against new technology or something. Haha. But you know, ComTech as a course subject sure makes a damn good excuse *winks* Also, this laptop was meant to be my long-overdue-close-to-expiry Christmas gift from last year.

Step two : Figuring out what I wanted.

This was probably the most confusing chunk of it all. I was (probably still am) brand blind, computer jargon dumb and, confused by other people's comments and advice, not to mention easily intimidated by words that claims to be English but doesn't appear so. Like, what the hew does WXGA Clear SuperView TFT Display mean? So anyway, it was a delicate learning process. Despite not knowing which brand to get, I knew mostly the basics of what I should be looking for in a good laptop. I thought I'd make a head start from there and continue with eliminations along the way. After scouring through newspaper adverts, checking it up online, asking for 'expert opinions' of various sources and lots of wondering aimlessly in digital malls later I believe I am now better equip with the knowledge I need to know to buy a proper laptop that fits me. I now know which graphic cards are essential for gaming purposes, for instance. And that there were such things as virtual memory. I also knew that there were millions of laptops selling now in the market. @___@;

Step three : Figuring out what I wanted Part II

Up until last week I only managed to know what I didn't want. I didn't want Dell, Acer, Toshiba nor Sony. Definitely didn't want a Mac. Even though my uncle suggested that it is a pretty good choice and Mr.Avila would give the thumbs up with all bias-ness XD I am a HP COMPAQ person!!!!! Let's just say I found my calling. *smiles*

Step four : Conquering Low Yat Plaza - a male dominated world.

I must admit I couldn't bring myself to do it alone. So I brought back-up. Dragging a male friend along, I braved myself to face the complicated world of Low Yat Plaza - a place where the gender ratio is severely skewed to the males, where the mere existence of females seems to be laughed at or jeered upon sight (I always feel somewhat mentally sexually harassed...), where it is so constantly over-crowded that if one faints and fall it could probably cause a 3 hour worth of human traffic jam within the mall. With my friend's help, we toured the area a little bit more, examining prices of a few selected Compaq model as well as leaving options for other laptops. It was a long and dueling process. The pace of life within the mall was so hectic and stressful! It came to a point where I was on the verge on giving up, and was willing to just buy the model at any given cost and get the hell out the place. Lucky for me, Lady Luck was on my side.... we came across this particular shop that offered a great deal for a Compaq one couldn't possible refuse. =D I allowed my friend to do most of the talking and negotiating, since at least he looked like he knows what he's talking about. All my requirements were met : 2 Gb RAM, 120GB Hardisk, NVIDIA GF Graphics etc.... (yes I am trying to show off whatever meager knowledge I have about computers 8D ) And hence a deal was closed.

p.s : Heck. Even the young male assistant waiting on us was definitely younger than I was. That made me feel lost, dumb AND old. Awesome.

Anyway, the end of the story? I left the mall an extremely satisfied person. 8D So did my friend, as I had to pay for his lunch as a token of gratitude and then ferry him home. I left my dad RM2500 poorer too. Since in addition to the laptop I also went ahead to purchase a Sony stereo headphone set and a Kingston 4Gb pendrive.

Hehe. Thanks daddy. *hugs tight*

There's a good side to this all. Finally I can understand computer talk with a clearer depth. I can stop embarrassing myself with dumb-ass questions. In fact, I can ask questions appropriately without feeling/appearing like one XD~ I don't have to freak out in panic mode every time something happens to either my desktop or laptop and run crying to my older brother.

I, have grown up today.