Having a backup computer is important

I've had previous experiences with computer hardware failure, namely having a laptop computer dying on me, leaving me without a PC to do any sort work or connection to the internet. Having a single point of failure for tools or equipment I use on a very regular basis can be a severe vulnerability and it is necessary to have a backup.

I learned this lesson through experience, after my first jaunt where my primary computing device was a laptop. It was great for about the first 1.5 years, then it died on me after expiry of my warranty, the extended care package also did not cover additional repairs at 100% and every time that something would fail, it would always be diagnosed as a motherboard "failure" which would cost just enough so I would seriously consider getting a new laptop instead.

After having enough of that experience, I decided that laptops had a too high cost of failure in terms of time (as repairs had a 1 month turn around time) and financial cost (ie. $700~$1000 for a motherboard replacement) to repair. Being experienced with the assembly of desktop computers, I know that I can generally replace damaged computer parts for far, far cheaper. I decided to switch back to having a desktop as my primary working system 3 years ago and put together my own system. The machine was working great until today when the computer started acting up when the power started cutting itself out during use. I am highly suspicious that the power supply needs to be replaced and I just put an order for a new part online for about $40 for a new unit.

The difference between $40 and $700~$1000 is staggering, and in addition, instead of having to wait 3~4 weeks for the repair, I'll have the parts arriving in the next few days to make the replacement.

When it comes to mobile computing, I have opted to have a cheap $400 netbook for use when I am on the road. Equipped with 160 GB in hard drive space and an atom processor with 7~8 hours of battery life, the machine has sufficient enough kick for me to watch movies on the go, digitally enhance and store travel photos, and the usual net browsing and e-mail applications. Should anything should happen to my little netbook, I would be far more comfortable with discarding it and getting a new once for about the same price. I am very happy with the decision to change my computing setup years ago, because it is finally paying off.