Should You Buy A Chromebook?

Every time a person comes to the point they consider buying a new laptop, there are a number of things they should consider. Sadly, most people don't put as much thought into their purchase as they think they do. Oh, they read some reviews, they bargain hunt, and they talk to their friends, but in the end, most people buy a new laptop based on cost and performance.

Of course Mac users are a bit different. They don't consider anything but a Mac so they actually have far less to take into account.

So why do I say people don't put as much thought into buying a new laptop as they think they do? Because most people don't think that much about the requirements they have for a new laptop vs the choices available.

Arguably they don't have to think too hard about it. No manufacturer is going to sell a laptop these days without the basics of built-in WiFi, webcam, and a web browser to get on the web. Those basics can be assumed to exist in all but the most esoteric alternatives.

So what are the hot buttons for most people? Screen clarity/visibility, battery life, performance, feel of the keyboard, and brand loyalty - many people will buy Mac/Dell/HP/Asus/Acer simply because they bought them before - seem to be some of the most common attributes people consider. And all these are really good ones and typically are hardware and brand related.

So how many people think about their software requirements? Probably quite a few, but how they think of them may be a bit lazy and not really defining the need. For example, people tend to think "I need Microsoft Word/PowerPoint/Office" when what they really mean is "I need word processing/presentation/office suite application(s)". That really is far different than needing a specific product. It is a mindset that causes people to miss out on really good options.

Consider two laptops that are fairly equivalent with Brand A costing $300 and Brand B costing $350 but comes with basic Microsoft Office. Some would consider the $50 for the software to be worth it. I do not consider it worth it when there are less costly (i.e. free) alternatives that are as good or better and save me money (go check out LibreOffice or Google Docs before thinking you have to have MS Office).

Also, unless you're buying a Mac, people automatically assume they must buy a laptop running Windows, and that leads to a decision between Windows 7 (if you can get it) or Windows 8.

You know what they say about when you assume.

There are two other options besides Windows and MacOS that most people don't even consider: Chromebook and Linux. 

There are a number of companies that sell Linux laptops, including brand names like Dell. A Linux laptop is typically a little less costly as equivalent hardware running Windows, but not much. They also are a lot less costly than equivalent performance hardware from Apple.

But for most people a Linux laptop is just as much overkill as the Windows laptop is for their computing requirements. Linux laptops are performance heavyweights usually and you don't find all that many low-end laptops configured running Linux for sale.

So what do normal people really do with their laptops?

Statistics collected from various online and research organizations show that average people spend most of the personal computing time doing just a few things: social networking (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.), web browsing (a lot of that is men viewing port sadly enough), email, online shopping, watching cats/goats/babies in videos, and occasionally writing a document.

So for these people, any and all Windows, Linux, and Mac laptops are overkill. They simply don't need all the features (also called bloat) that come with Windows laptops and the huge wads of crappy "free" software manufacturers install on them, or the Macs with all the fancy multimedia creation/edit/whatever capabilities. And for most people, even Linux could be overkill, though with its ability to be customized up and down, left and right, inside and out, it doesn't have to be.

And that brings us to the subject of this (unfortunately) long post: the Chromebook option.

But should you buy a Chromebook? That all depends on what you intend to do with it. A Chromebook is not a laptop replacement for some people, but can be for a lot of people. If you are of the normal kind of folk and you are only looking for web browsing, email, online videos, social networks, etc., then a Chromebook may definitely be for you,

Allow me to introduce you to some of the premium advantages of a Chromebook over anything else (except maybe the Linux laptops).

Number 1, at least for me, is a 7-second boot time. That's right. From complete power off, battery out, cold as the grave, not-on state, to login prompt is 7 seconds. Every time. And it doesn't get slower with age.

Number 2, security. Seriously, people need to think about security. Do you really want the government running spyware in your operating system? I'm talking to you Microsoft and your Windows OS fully loaded with their secret agents. And do you really want to slow down your machine by loading additional bloat in the form of anti-virus/anti-spyware/anti-malware software that is REQUIRED on Microsoft Windows computers just to keep them from being commandeered by the bad guys?

Number 3, ease of use. Really, if you know how to open your laptop, type in your password, and use a web browser, you are 90% there. You don't really have to do anything else to it. It's just there, working and running from the moment you turn it on.

Number 4, low cost. Did you know that Microsoft Windows requires a minimum of 16 GB of disk storage just for the operating system? Did you know that most Windows laptops have about 20 GB of the hard disk full once you have everything loaded and up and running? This means you need bigger hard drives, more power, and faster CPU to handle the additional loading. Chromebooks get by with less hardware and that means less cost.

Number 4, solid state baby. When you look at a Chromebook and it says it has a 16 GB disk, your first reaction might be "that's tiny". By Windows laptop standards it is. You couldn't even use the machine for anything other than booting it up and looking at it if it were running Windows. But that 16 GB is 16 GB of solid state disk that is completely bare-butt empty until you put something on it. And with the Chromebook tied to the cloud as it is, most of your files and data are not stored locally anyway, they are on the net and the device keeps some of it synced for offline access - and you can control that.

Number 5, portability. Faster, prettier, and way more useful than a netbook of comparable size, Chromebooks are lightweight alternatives that do more, do it faster, and do it with less frustration and headache than Windows netbooks and small laptops.

Number 6, applications. I bet you didn't expect this one as a Chromebook advantage did you? It actually is. Think about it. Everyone who has a mobile phone (Android or iPhone) is used to finding and downloading apps from an app store. If there's something you need, you go to the app store, search for it, find alternatives, and then click to install. Bam! Done. In similar fashion, that's how a Chromebook is. Chrome has apps and extensions and all of these are in the Chrome store, just a few clicks away from being yours. So instead of googling for some obscure application names, clicking through half a dozen download selection screens, and then installing - all the while hoping it doesn't break something already installed on your machine - it's simple and easy and safe.

So there you have it. Should you buy a Chromebook? That all depends on you. I like mine. I wrote this post on my Acer Chromebook while sitting at Chick-fil-A. I have an older HP workhorse laptop running Linux Mint that is my heavyweight. But the thought of carrying that 8 pound beast everywhere is not on my to-do list.

Personally, I find that I do everything on my Chromebook now. That includes writing my novel - yes, I am still writing on it after 3 years, but it's near finished now. The only thing I do on my big laptop now is programming, video editing, and gaming. For everything else, there's Chromebook.

Should you buy a Chromebook or should you spend 3 times the money on a bloated old Windows goat? Your choice.


Copyright 2013, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Back On Windows, And I Still Find It Lacking

Yesterday was my first day back on a Windows laptop full time at work. I have not used Windows as my primary OS for work since sometime back in 2007 when I had the opportunity to dual-boot my corporate laptop to run Ubuntu. Ever since that day, Windows was always the afterthought, not the prime OS on my machines.

But I started a new job yesterday that requires Windows. Not only does it require Windows, but the target hardware is running embedded Windows. And I have set aside C programming for the time being and taken up the C# programming language for my new job. 

Yes, my programming world has changed.

Do I mind? Not really. I still know that Linux rules the embedded space, and the server space, and completely owns the super-computer space. And I will still use Linux at home. I know that I will still be writing C code on my personal projects and C# is an excellent language. That is sufficient.

No, I don't mind. This new job gives me the opportunity to advance my skill set and do something different for a change. A welcome change actually. I needed to be challenged with something new again. And getting used to the constraints of Windows again will definitely be a challenge.

But I have been using Windows 7 and XP off and on when necessary since I made the conversion to full-time Linux. But I didn't have to rely on it. Mostly I booted into Windows at home just to play World of Warcraft and at booted to Windows at work just to access some Word document that used some obscure feature of Word that Microsoft decided to not document in their "standard".

Yet I still found it a bit shocking how much I have to wait on my computer. This Dell laptop has a Core i7 CPU at 2.7 GHz and 8 GB RAM and is running Windows 7. It is slower than my previous work computer with a Core i5 at the same clock rate and RAM when running Linux Mint and the Cinnamon UI.

And no, there's nothing wrong with the laptop. A Windows user would probably agree that it is quite zippy. But the Linux user would complain of delays.

Seriously. It seems like there is delay in every mouse click and every access to a flash drive.

The other thing that is a bit numbing was realizing I could no longer simply "sudo apt-get install" anything I needed. If you need to do something, you have to find the app for that. I did remember "portable apps" and I downloaded and installed that. That is a big improvement but I still lack the control of the environment that I had in Linux.

So here I am on day 2 of my return to the Windows world. I have determined to satisfy my Linux cravings by keeping my personal machines and personal devices on Linux and I accept that the company I am working for now deems the use of Windows on the desktop and Windows in the devices to be a good thing. For them, it works and I have no complaints.

I will probably write some more over time as I try to adjust my software development paradigm to the Windows way. It requires me to change because developing embedded C code on Linux and developing embedded C# code on Windows are two different paradigms.

Imagine growing up and learning to drive here in America. Driver sits on the left, cars pass on the right. Imagine you've been doing that for years. Now you move to England. Driver sits on the right, cars pass on the left.

It's that different.

I know there are some out there would say "oh you just need to try Windows 8 and you'll change your mind".

No. No I won't. I've tried Windows 8 and I completely dislike Windows 8. It is a disaster and Microsoft knows it. As far as Windows goes, Windows 7, in its latest patches, is probably the pinnacle of the Windows family of operating systems. The last one to have such solid working was probably Windows 98, second edition. That is not a joke.

It's not about hating on Microsoft. It's not about loving on Linux. It's not about fan boys or fan girls. And it's not about technical purity. It's about the OS experience.

I have tried Windows many times. I have used it as a user, a tester, and a developer. And I have this to say to Windows:

"You have been weighed. You have been measured. And you absolutely have been found wanting."

Copyright 2013, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Betty Farley’s Fried Apple Pies

Betty Farley’s Fried Apple Pies

This is the recipe for Betty Farley’s fried apple pies. The crust recipe is Jackie Pauley’s “fruit pie crust”. We have known it always as “fried apple pie crust” in the Farley household because that’s about the only fried pies mom made.

This recipe makes about 10 small fried apple pies (about the size of a half-sandwich).

Ingredients Needed

Filling

About 2 pounds of apples, or 6 large apples.

½ cup sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

Pie Crust

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda (see note)

1 tsp salt (see note)

2 eggs

2 tbsp shortening (Wesson vegetable oil)

½ cup canned milk (Carnation canned milk)

Flour Note: If you are using self-rising flour you do not need to add the baking soda and salt. It is already added to the self-rising flour.

Things Needed

A pot big enough to cook your apples. A 4 quart pot should be plenty.

Rolling pin and surface to roll on (I use wax paper typically).

Extra flour to put on rolling surface and your hands.

Skillet and cooking oil to fry the pies in.

Plate and paper towels to put hot pies on.

Preparation

Cooking the Apples:

Peel and cut apples into ½ chunks. If you want more of an apple sauce filling, cut them smaller. Put apple chunks into a pot on medium heat with about ½ cup of water in the bottom of the pot. Don’t add too much water as a lot of liquid will come out of the apples themselves.

Add the sugar and cinnamon. The amounts given are only starting suggestions, you should figure out your own tastes and add or reduce accordingly.

Cook on medium heat about 20 minutes, giving a couple stirs to prevent overcooking the bottom. But do not over stir the apples unless you want them mashed into a sauce. I prefer chunkier bits so I did minimal stirring.

Once apples are cooked to desired softness, remove from heat and set aside covered. Note I like mine less soft and I don’t want them too runny so I try not to overcook them and I prop the lid open to allow moisture to evaporate from the apples.

Work Surface:

Prepare your work surface for rolling. I use wax paper, and several sheets of it over the course of making the pies - I have to replace it after a few pies. Lay down some flour on the work surface and have everything ready.

Hot Skillet:

Put your skillet on medium heat with enough oil to cover the bottom. I think I prefer the heat to be a little more than medium, but that is up to you and your stove.

Pie Crusts:

Combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl using a wooden spoon or your favorite method. Once you have it thoroughly mixed, the dough should be quite stiff and sticky.

Sprinkle enough flour onto the dough mixture to allow you to cover it on all sides. Cover your fingers and hands with flour in a vain attempt to keep it from sticking to you. It will be very sticky so just get messy and don’t worry about it.

Once you have a ball of dough covered with flour, pull off a wad about the size of a golf ball or a little bigger. Get it well floured and roll it in your hand a bit. Then on a well-floured surface, roll it out with your rolling pin. It will want to stick, so take your time and move it around with lots of flour on your hands and everything else.

You want it rolled thin enough to give you a simple crust on your pie without tearing. Too thick and the crust will be kind of chewy. You may have to sacrifice the first few you make to trial and error. I did, and they were still delicious.

Once you roll out a thin sheet of dough about twice the size you want your pies to be, they are ready to be loaded and sealed. If you have too little dough, pull off some more and start the ball over with the dough you are working with. You can do this several times, it’s ok.

Depending on how big your pies will be, add anywhere from 2 to 4 tablespoons of your cooked apples on one half of the dough sheet, leaving room by the edge to seal it. I used a little too much on some pies and some apples squished out. But I would rather have too much than too little. It’s up to you.

Once you have the right amount of apples on the dough, fold the other half of the dough over the filling and bring the edges together. Use a floured fork to press the edges together to seal the pie.

Now immediately transfer this completed pie to the hot skillet.

BE CAREFUL! Hot oil burns. Trust me on this. Don’t let the pies “flop” over.

You want to turn the pie over once the bottom starts to brown. It only takes a few minutes but I had time to start rolling out the next pie while one cooked. I kept a rolling wave of pies going into the grease this way. You will have to add more oil to the skillet along the way, that is expected.

Once you flip over the pie and both sides are a glorious golden brown (or dark brown as some of mine turn out), remove from the skillet and place on paper towel on a platter or plate to drain off some of the oil. Immediately sprinkle sugar on the top to taste.

Copyright 2013, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Tribune - A Flash Fiction By Kevin Farley

"You will do it! I command it! And you are sworn to my service" The small girl stood erect with hands on hips, spewing defiance in the face of a coppertone dragon so large, he could hold the girl in his mouth whole.

"No, I won't, Princess," the dragon rumbled. "And to be correct, I am sworn to your protection, not your service." The dragon lay casually on the stones of the garden suntrap enjoying the last of autumn's warmth. His voice was deep and rich and commanded respect that he did not receive from the princess. "Furthermore, enacting petty vengeance on other children does not fall under the terms of protection."

"They ruined my birthday party. You were there, you saw them. They made fun of me. They... they..." She searched for some kind of loophole, something to prompt the dragon to action. "They hurt my feelings. You are sworn to protect me and that means to keep me from getting hurt. Now you have to do something."

"Princess Mira, a seven-year-old will get her feelings hurt often. It is part of growing up. And it is apparent you need your feelings hurt some more so that you learn to control your tongue and stop being such a brat." The dragon huffed a sigh, moving enough air to blow the girl's hair into a mess.

"Stop doing that, Vinnek. You messed up my hair on purpose." She fussed with a ribbon to tie her hair back behind her head. "You're a dreadful dragon. You never do anything I say and you're absolutely no fun. And you're mean to me. Mother and father don't believe me because they don't see what you do. But one day they will and you'll be sorry."

The large dragon's eyes rolled up, something like a human rolling their eyes, and it sent Mira into a firestorm. "I hate it when you do that! Stop doing that eye thing! It's creepy and condeselling."

"Condescending. I think you meant condescending, which was precisely how you should have interpreted it." Vinnek huffed again, nearly knocking Mira over.

Mira righted herself and launched her next verbal attack on the huge dragon. "I'm telling father! I'll make him believe me this time."

"Tell father what?" said a voice from behind the stubborn princess.

"Father! Vinnek refuses to protect me and then he was condes.. condescending to me." She turned to Vinnek and stuck out her tongue in victory over getting the word correct.

Vinnek looked hopefully at Uldar for rescue. "Ah, Uldar. Good thing you're here. I was about to eat your youngest daughter. Had I thought she wouldn't be as bitter as her words, I already would have. But I really don't want the large indigestion that would come with such a small morsel."

King Uldar bent down to give Mira a quick hug. "Now Vinnek. Remember, no eating the children, it's part of the rules."

"You're the king, you can change the rules." said Vinnek with a quick wink.

"Not today, Vinnek. What is the latest crisis?" asked Uldar.

"Daddy! Vinnek is…" began Mira.

"Quiet, Mira. I am speaking to Vinnek", said Uldar, cutting off Mira's attempt to control the confrontation.

"Her ladyship wants me to scare the little hooligans that laughed at her at that debacle of a birthday party yesterday. Remember? The one where she wouldn't shut her mouth until she got all of them annoyed with her?" Vinnek rumbled deeply. "It gives me indigestion just thinking about it."

"You saw them, Father! They made fun of me and hurt my feelings. I think it is only right that Vinnek scare them into respecting me." She stopped spitting venom long enough to push out a pouty lip and summon a few tears in hopes of swaying her father to her point of view. "And now he's making fun of me too."

King Uldar sighed. "I'm sure you see it that way, Mira. But remember, Vinnek is a dragon, he is condescending to all humans. He's not making fun of you, it's just the nature of dragons to feel superior. Even if they're not rea--"

"Of course we are!" interrupted Vinnek.

Uldar continued, "And besides, Vinnek is not some servant you can order about. He is a guardian, sworn to our protection, and that includes your protection, but not your vengeance."

Mira fumed. "It's not fair! And now I can't show my face around them ever again! They have no respect for me at all!"

"Mira, my daughter, I love you immensely. But respect is not gained by having a dragon force it. It is earned by your character and your actions. Now go back to the palace and find your mother before I order Vinnek to hold you in his mouth for a few minutes for punishment." Uldar winked at Vinnek as Mira stomped away.

Mira grumbled to herself, but loud enough for her father and the dragon to hear, "What's the use in having a dragon if it won't do what you tell it to? I'd just as soon be locked in a tower as spend another day in a dragon's care."

Uldar shook his head. "Sorry, old friend. I don't know why we spoiled this one as we have. I don't recall the others being quite this bad."

Vinnek looked up with huge eyes at the man before him. "It's because you're getting old for a human, and that is making you soft. Or maybe just soft in the head. Besides, I do remember a certain prince that was just as bad, perhaps worse."

Uldar laughed. "You wouldn't be talking about me would you? I couldn't have been that bad."

"Don't fool yourself young human. She is her father's daughter." Vinnek yawned, revealing massive fangs as long as a man's forearm. "But I was definitely busier with you. You kept sneaking off and getting into trouble, always keeping me on my toes. By the way, you're welcome for all those times I saved your human hide."

"Well, I thank you and all the dragon lords for your protection." Uldar patted Vinnek behind the ears and scratched a few well known itchy spots. "I know she's trouble. And I know she annoys you, but I believe that she needs you to help undo some of our spoiling. Just try not to eat her before she learns a little respect, okay?"

Vinnek leaned his head over, enjoying the scratching and finally rumbled out dryly, "I'll try to restrain myself."

Giving a few final pats, Uldar settled down on the stones and leaned back against Vinnek's warm side. The two of them sat there in silence for several minutes.

It was Vinnek who finally broke the silence. "What do you want this time?"

"What makes you think I want something?" asked Uldar.

"You have that look about you. I've known you since you were a brat on your mother's breast. I sense the question in you." Vinnek twisted his head slightly eliciting a loud pop from his own neck bones. "And you're wearing riding leathers."

"Care for a flight today?" asked Uldar.

Vinnek looked up and then toward the palace.

Uldar motioned toward the palace and all around. "She's quite safe. I just want you to meet someone. It won't take long and Mira and the others are well protected."

"Very well," said the dragon. "But I know nearly everyone in the palace, the keep, and the city. Who is this person you want me to meet?"

Uldar stood up to give the dragon room to move. "I'll explain when we get there. I'll show you the way if you don't mind giving me a ride."

Vinnek rose to his feet and stretched like a cat. Spreading his wings, he gave a nod to Uldar. "Climb up, and lead on. Just don't get too cozy with the idea of a king riding a dragon to battle. I don't do that sort of thing."

They flew to the far side of the palace, toward the tiny village where a number of the palace servants lived. Uldar guided Vinnek to a small house at the edge of the village that was in dire need of maintenance.

A pale woman in simple, peasant's clothes rushed out at the sound of Vinnek's wings and the thud when Vinnek landed his bulk near the house. Strands of brown hair hung loose from a hastily tied bow and lay across her cheek and shoulder. Sad, brown eyes bore the look of a great strain that was no doubt the cause of the dark circles under them. She seemed aged beyond her years.

"I have a child trying to sleep. Who's making that racket?" Seeing King Uldar dismount from the dragon, the woman dropped to her knee to bow. "Your majesty, forgive me. I did not know it was you."

Placing a gentle hand under the woman's arm, Uldar said to her, "Rise, Nemeela. How is Rachel?"

Nemeela glanced back toward the squalid little house. "She is the same, my lord. Maybe a bit weaker. She's been asleep most of the day." She kept her eyes down.

"Vinnek," said Uldar, "I would like you to meet Nemeela, widow to the warrior Clemons who died for his people and particularly his king last year at the battle of Crane's Way. If it weren't for Clemons, I dare say I would have been killed that day. And Nemeela, you can look up, I don't mind, I would like you to formally meet Lord Vinnek, protector of our house."

Vinnek lowered his head and tried not to look menacing. His rich, deep voice vibrated the air around them. "You're husband was a good man and a great warrior Nemeela. I met him once, before the battle. He showed immense courage and loyalty in the king's service. You should be proud of him."

"Thank you, my lord. I am very proud of my husband, may he rest in peace." She turned back to King Uldar. "And I am very thankful for the pension you provide us, my lord. But I have to wonder, why have you come back so soon? Have I done something wrong to displease you?"

"No, dear woman. I came back to check on Rachel," replied Uldar.

"Momma, what was that noise?" A frail girl, no more than five or six years old, emerged from the house. Seeing the dragon her eyes grew big and she nearly shouted, "A dragon! He came. I told you he would, Momma. I asked the king to see the dragon and he brought him!"

Nemeela rushed to her child's side. "Rachel, you shouldn't be up. You're still weak."

Uldar came over to the pair and bent down beside Rachel. "Would you like to meet a dragon, Rachel?"

Rachel's smile brightened her entire face. "Oh yes, please!"

"May I?" asked Uldar, holding his hands out to take Rachel up in his arms. Nemeela shook her head in quick yes and Uldar gently picked up the delicate girl and carried her near to Vinnek.

"Greetings, Rachel. My name is Lord Vinnek of House Kaznarra. I am pleased to meet you." His voice was deep and rumbled through their bodies with the gentle feel of warm honey on a sore throat, soothing and welcomed.

"Would you like me to take you closer? He won't hurt you, I promise." Uldar didn't wait for an answer as Rachel's eyes shown in enthusiastic agreement. He brought her right up close to Vinnek's immense head.

"You are a handsome dragon. May I touch you?" asked Rachel.

"You have such good manners. You do your mother proud. Of course you may touch me. In fact, if the king would be so kind as to hold you near my head, he can show you where I like to be scratched." Vinnek lowered his head to the ground so Rachel could reach his ears as the king steadied her.

"I never thought I'd ever get to see a dragon up close. And I never thought I'd ever get to scratch one behind the ears." Rachel looked up at her mother. "Look, Momma! I'm actually scratching a dragon."

"Yes, baby. You are." Nemeela's voice shook as she held back tears. She looked toward King Uldar and whispered, "Thank you, my lord. You don't know how much this means to her. To both of us."

"Lord Vinnek," said Uldar, interrupting the tranquility of the scratching. "Can you tell me what ails the child?"

Vinnek spun his eyes to stare at Uldar and narrowed the openings to mere slits. "You know my feelings on such matters. You press your position, King Uldar."

"I know, old friend. I cannot command you and would never try. I ask as a friend. Can you tell me what ails the child?" Uldar pleaded to Vinnek with his eyes.

Vinnek relented. "Very well, but that will be the extent of it. I will not do what steeps in your mind." Vinnek sighed a dragon sized sigh. "Rachel, I would like you to do something for me. It's perfectly safe, but may seem a little odd for a dragon to ask it." Showing just how dexterous a dragon can be, he pulled his head away and turned to look Rachel directly in the eye in a short fluid motion.

"What do I do?" the child asked.

"I am going to stick out my tongue at you. It may seem a bit silly, especially when you see a dragon's tongue, but I want you to place your hand on my tongue, just for a few seconds. Would you do that for me?"

"You're tongue? I guess so, why? Do you want to taste me?" Rachel asked in a giggle.

"Something like that," said Vinnek. "Just put your hand palm down on my tongue and count to five and that's it."

The dragon flicked out his tongue and closed his eyes. Placing her hand on the thin tongue, Rachel giggled. "It is kind of silly. I've never had a dragon stick his tongue out at me." She counted to five and then looked at her palm. "I thought it would be wet and yucky. But it was like a cat's tongue."

Uldar laughed. "If cats could grow wings and be much larger, they would be dragons."

Vinnek looked at Uldar and gave just a slightest look of sadness.

"You know I'm going to die, don't you?" asked Rachel. "I've known it for a long time now. It's okay. I'm not afraid. Momma says I'm brave like daddy. But, I don't think I'm that brave." Rachel looked up at the huge bulk of Vinnek towering over her. "I'm really glad I got to finally meet a dragon before I die."

"You have more courage and more heart than a hundred warriors, Rachel," said Vinnek. "If your father were alive today, I know he would be exceptionally proud of you."

"I hope so. I miss my daddy. But I'll get to see him soon. When I die that is. It won't be long now I figure. I'd like to see the mid-winter celebration in the village. But if die before that, then I'll just be with my daddy and that's even better."

Turning to Vinnek, Uldar asked, "What ails her, old friend?"

Vinnek sighed. "She has a blood disease. Death is certain."

Uldar hesitated, considering what he was about to ask his ancient friend. "Can you change her?" asked Uldar cautiously.

Vinnek reared his head back and shot the king a hard glare. "Why do you do this to me and yourself? Why would you do this to this poor woman and her daughter? You know our ways and our rules. I cannot do what you ask, and more importantly, I will not consider it."

Uldar took a few steps away from Vinnek and Rachel and stared toward the palace in the distance. No one spoke for several moments.

Vinnek relaxed and prodded Uldar once more. "Uldar, my friend. You have never pressed upon me so great a request. Why now? Why this child?"

He looked up to the sky and sighed. "I don't know," replied Uldar. "My heart was broken for Rachel the first time I met her. And I feel this… this…" He turned to look at Rachel again, "this responsibility for her care. Her father gave his life to protect his king. To protect me. Had he been less a man, he would have been alive and I would have been dead. I owe him a great debt that I cannot pay."

Vinnek's eyes spun to take in Nemeela, Rachel, and their shambles of a house. "So you think you can repay your debt this way? Do you think this is the kind of thing her father would want?"

"I don't know. I am a king of a nation of tens of thousands. And I owe one man more than I can pay. I owe his widow more than I can pay." Uldar shook his head in frustration.

Vinnek huffed at Uldar. "I cannot take on a pupil as I am currently sworn to your house, King Uldar. And the Guardians are quite clear about the conditions of such a change. I cannot do it."

"I know," replied Uldar. "I was out of options. I had to ask." Uldar bent down to pluck a tiny wild flower near his feet. He stared at it several seconds before continuing. "I don't know what else to do. I thought... I hoped the change would be the answer."

"Change, my lord?" asked Nemeela.

"Nemeela, what would you do to save Rachel's life? What would you be willing to give up?" asked Uldar.

"Uldar..." growled Vinnek.

Nemeela's eyes grew wide. "Anything, my lord! She's all I have left. I would give anything to save her."

Vinnek looked away from the humans, trying to avoid the desperation in Nemeela's face.

Uldar held Nemeela's hand, "Would you be willing to give up Rachel if it would save her?"

"What do you mean, give her up?" asked Nemeela, her eyes questioning both Uldar and Vinnek..

Vinnek turned to Nemeela to answer the question. "King Uldar knows that Guardian Dragons, such as myself, have the power to change a human into a dragon. We have done this from time to time but always for specific reasons. Uldar is hoping I would consent to change Rachel so that it would save her life."

"Change me?" asked Rachel. "Into a dragon? I'm not sure I'd want that. What would happen to me?"

Vinnek answered, "If I changed you into a dragon, which I have no intention of doing, you would instantly become a small, young dragon, free of the disease that afflicts you now, and free of the mortality that awaits your kind. But, you would have to leave this realm and live among the Guardians and other dragon-kind."

"Oh," said Rachel. "Then I'd live for a long time, like all dragons, right? Would I still get to see daddy?"

"Not for a really, really long time," answer Uldar.

Rachel looked up at the king with innocent eyes. "What about momma? Would I still get to see momma or could she come with me?"

Uldar answered. "You would leave the land of humans entirely, Rachel. Without your mother. And you would not see her or your departed father for a very, very long time. If ever." The king swallowed hard at that last thought.

Vinnek softened his tone and leaned his head back down to Rachel's height. "That is right, little one. You could live for thousands of years. Long into the future where your mother and your father become just distant memories among the vast numbers of other memories. You could live long enough to forget what they even looked like."

"I don't think I want that. Would you, Momma?" asked Rachel.

Nemeela's emotions were wildly torn. Wanting to save her daughter at nearly any price, but knowing what such a salvation entailed.

"I don't know, Rachel. I don't know," sobbed Nemeela, bending down to hold her daughter in her arms.

Defeated, Uldar knelt down to Nemeela and Rachel, tears welling up in his own eyes. "I am sorry to have put you through this. I should not have done this to either of you. I had hoped that her condition was not so dire. And then I allowed my heart to outspeak my head and I put all of you through this. Please forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive, my lord. Your heart spoke honestly and who could ask for a better king?" Nemeela wiped tears from her eyes and forced a struggled smile at Uldar. "But you have made a little girl truly happy today. She got to scratch a dragon behind the ears. Not many children can boast of that."

Uldar smiled a bittersweet smile in return. Truly his heart was touched by the little dying girl who captivated him with her courage and strength. Yet he knew there was nothing he could do to save her. He stood and leaned against Vinnek, feeling the warmth of the dragon on his face. "And I am truly sorry I did this to you, old friend. It was wrong of me."

'Forgiven," said Vinnek. "Though you can still help the child. Bring her to the palace grounds and assign Nemeela as one of my caregivers, if she has no objection. That way they can live in the servant's quarters and receive the care they will need for Rachel." He looked toward the little drafty house. "I fear she would not fare very long in that house when the snows come."

Uldar nodded in agreement. "Who am I to doubt the wisdom of a Guardian dragon? No king lasts long that does so." Uldar knelt down to Nemeela and Rachel again. "Would you like to live near the palace and help take care of a dragon?" he asked.

"My Lord," said Nemeela. "I don't know what to say."

"Say yes, Momma! That's an easy one. And I'll give you scratches every day!" said Rachel to Vinnek.

"Then yes, my Lord. Yes. I would be forever in your debt for such an honor." Nemeela's eyes welled up with tears again.

"No dear woman, you would not be in my debt for the debt I owe you is much larger." Uldar patted Vinnek affectionately. "Very well, it is settled then," said Uldar. "Nemeela if you would gather your possessions together for you and Rachel, I will send my men out to collect you today. But I would like to fly back to the palace now and take Rachel with me, if you don't mind. She will be well taken care of until you arrive."

"Fly on a dragon! Are you serious?" asked Rachel as all the frailty of her disease seemed to vanish with the elation of flying on a Guardian dragon. "She doesn't mind. Not at all! Do you, Momma?"

"I suppose not," answered Nemeela with a tear-laden smile.

Uldar leaned over Rachel. "Come Rachel, hold on tight to me. I will take you on a dragon flight. When we get to the palace, I will show you around personally."

Vinnek winced when Uldar grabbed his ear trying to mount with Rachel holding on. Once they were settled in, the old dragon sighed. "I will never truly understand humans. Of all the mortal creatures, you all are the most perplexing. Perhaps that's why we dragons agreed to watch over your kind. Morbid curiosity."

Stretching his huge wings, Vinnek gently launched himself into flight, carrying Rachel to the palace for her final days.


Copyright 2013, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Do You Really Need A PC?

The question came up the other day at work about buying a new computer. I told my colleague I would be looking for a replacement laptop. He indicated he will be looking for a replacement desktop. This question resurfaced today with another colleague who was talking about his old Pentium 4 desktop that he built years ago and he keeps it running still, though it has finally been maxed out for the architecture.

As we discussed the various reasons for what we were looking for when it comes to PC replacement, some well thought out justifications came forth regarding our respective opinions. I want a laptop because I want portability. Actually I want a smaller laptop because I want better portability.

Colleague #1 wants a desktop replacement because he wants a more powerful machine than he can get in a laptop. Colleague #2 doesn't want to upgrade just now because he has legacy hardware for audio and video recording that would be expensive to replace should he upgrade and not be able to use his older cards and interfaces.

All three of us are computing "old timers" now, having started our respective computing careers pre-Internet and colleague #2 started pre-PC. Each of us have spent innumerable hours scrounging for parts and cannibalizing old machines for everything from cards and drives, to cables and screws. We built our own machines from either scraps or now parts, but we knew everything that went into them.

"Back in the day", we each had our one copy of Windows 3,1 or 98 SE and we loaded it on every machine we made. It wasn't so much software piracy as it was recycling. We only ever had enough parts to make one or two working machines at any one time. So after we bought our first copy, we reused it on the hacked up boxes we put together.

But now, we tell of those stories and when it comes to PCs, we buy them pre-configured and pre-packaged. We paid our dues and no longer feel compelled to earn bragging rights by building our own rigs and spending countless hours searching for obscure drivers and fretting the impacts of every software update that came around.

So we don't build them anymore. We buy them. And once we build them, we run them until they die. Then we throw them out. No more scavenging for parts and hoarding old equipment.

This got me thinking. There are a lot of options out there now, the question is no longer "do I need a desktop or laptop PC?" But the question is really "what do I want to really do with a computer?"

Think about it. You could opt for a desktop with powerful CPU, excellent expansion, and the ability to load it down with lots of peripherals of nearly any variety. But it's sitting on a desk somewhere and pretty much doesn't move around very often. At least not without a lot of cabling changes.

Or you could opt for a laptop with a powerful CPU, but less powerful than a desktop, excellent mobility, and the ability to take it nearly anywhere and plug in a lot of peripherals through USB, eSATA, or some other expansion port. But it won't have that uber-awesome graphics card like the desktop so if you are needing 90 FPS while playing some MMO, you won't get it on a laptop, typically. And if you don't understand that comment, you don't need it anyway.

But now there are other options. For example, you could get a tablet device, or a netbook, or even a really awesome smartphone. Any of those would satisfy your mobility requirements and many of them are now sporting interfaces to allow peripheral connection like their larger laptop cousins.

And what if you don't need a laptop with all its cost and hardware, but you just need a little desktop to use as a headless server? Why buy an entire desktop? With the onset of very small computing devices like Raspberry Pi and Beaglebones, you can have a PC the nearly as small as the size of a deck of cards.

Once upon a time these choices were not available. For the most part you had to choose between a Windows desktop PC based on the x86 architecture or a Windows laptop PC based on the x86 architecture. Sure there were a number of PPC based Macintoshes out there and a smattering of Sun users on SPARC. But the vast majority of people bought Windows desktops and laptops. And no one cared.

But something happened on the way to the forum, so to speak. With the onslaught of mobile computing, those niche CPUs based on ARM architecture became more mainstream. Linux grew up right in front of everyone's noses and spawned a child called Android. And Apple of all companies, switched it's hardware base from PPC to x86 and built a little smartphone that changed the world.

So it begs the question. Do you really need a PC?

When that old desktop or laptop gives up its electronic ghost, do you just reach for another one? Is this a case of the poor downtrodden computer orphan going back to Microsoft saying "Please, sir, may I have more?" Why would it have to be that way?

It doesn't.

Think about it. There is no reason to get yet another helping of the same old hash on the same old plate. Or to use a more apt metaphor, are you just going to go back to the trough for more of the same slop?

When you come to the point where you need to replace your "PC", think more about your requirements for this new device. Use those requirements to help you decide what kind of device you really need. It may still be a Windows laptop or desktop. But don't let the mass of Windows PCs out there be your deciding factor. Another few metaphors come to mind.

That's the tail wagging the dog.

Don't put the cart before the horse.

Don't let the rut steer the chariot.

Now that Android and iOS are the second and third most prevalent operating systems on the planet, and there is no end of applications available for these platforms, these mobile devices are serious contenders for the computing space. When you also consider the form factor, power usage, and heat dissipation of smaller, mobile devices, they have a considerable advantage over their desktop PC cousins.

When I speak with "average Joe User", they usually talk of a set of requirements they have for a computing platform that absolutely does not demand a desktop or laptop Windows PC. Most average users look for 1) email/Facebook/Twitter, 2) Internet searches and browsing, 3) writing an occasional document with something like MS Word, and 4) casual games of the Facebook variety. These findings have been backed up by a few organizations conducting polls and surveys.

So if those are your own main requirements, consider that you don't need a PC in the traditional sense. Look at other things like portability, screen size, keyboard input, and do you need any interfaces for devices to plug in. You may find that a device based on Android running on an ARM CPU does everything you need at a lower cost, higher mobility, and moves your chariot out of the rut.

Many users have found that those Apple iPads are more than enough for their needs. And with the million or so apps available, they have a robust software ecosystem to do everything you need doing.

And when it comes to laptops and desktops, there are 4 viable options now: Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, and Android. All 4 of these operating systems are available on x86 and ARM devices. And where ARM was once only in the mobile realm, it has moved to the laptop space and is making inroads in the desktop space as well.

So do you need a PC? Or do you need Internet browsing, email access, Facebook, and some basic applications? If those are the things you need to do, you don't need a PC, you need a computing device. And there are a lot of alternatives to choose from.

Copyright 2013, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)