Nerd Central II: 66% Complete
March 11, 2007
The creation of Nerd Central II is almost complete. For those of you who don’t know what Nerd Central is, let me explain:
Waaay back in the day we had three computers in my house. I do mean “way” back in the day. The three computers in question where a Commodore 64, a Vic 20, and Commodore +4 (which was basically a Commodore 68). Needless to say… computers have been a part of my life for a long time. The Commodores eventually gave way to a multitude of more modern computers over a span of 20 years.
This was Nerd Central I: my networked, linked, and fully integrated room in my parent’s house comprised of an IBM Aptiva, Gateway, and a Compaq laptop. The Aptiva was running Windows 95, the Gateway had Windows 98, and the Compaq had Windows NT. Eventually they all got upgraded: 98SE, XP, and Windows 2000 respectively. Late in the life cycle of Nerd Central I I even added a Compaq desktop running Red Hat Linux (pre-modern GUI version with a lovely DOS-like interface of clickable menus and square “buttons”). For several years the Gateway was dual-booting between Windows and BeOS (which, to this day, is hands-down my favorite OS of all time… RIP BeOS).
Eventually… Nerd Central I began to come apart. The IBM died. The laptop died. The Compaq desktop got formatted and given to a cousin. And the Gateway began to show its age in a big way. Eventually… it, too, died.
Enter the Macintosh.
For the past four years I’ve been a Mac user. Exclusively. So when I recently decided to begin creation of Nerd Central II - and buy a laptop - I obviously went straight to the MacBook. But as I started shopping around, I also got nostalgic for the days of multiple OSes with which to play. So after much soul searching and more than a few near panic attacks, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a Windows-based laptop.
The resulting purchase, an HP Pavillion “Entertainment Notebook”, has actually been awesome. Imagine my shock. Especially with all of the negative press Windows Vista has been getting. I can only assume those headaches are primarily coming from people upgrading to Vista from XP. But this thing came pre-installed with it and I have to admit… it’s a nice OS and has been rock-solid performance-wise. I had originally planned to give it a run and then downgrade to XP. But, for now, I’ve decided to keep Vista. It’s nice to have the option to switch over to Windows when my Mac runs into things that are PC-only. And I’ve been spending a little more time with the laptop than the Mac lately (probably because of the newness factor).
I also have a Dell desktop that, for lack of a better word, has been rotting in the corner of my bedroom. In part due to one guy’s frequent postings about the experience of switching to Linux from Windows, and in part because I think it’ll just be the sweetest setup ever, I’ve decided to gut the Dell and start it over as a Linux box. That will give me access to a Mac with OS 10.4… a laptop with Windows Vista… and a desktop with some Linux variation on it (I haven’t decided which one, yet).
Nerd Central II is coming together nicely.
As is, the Mac is sitting in the left corner of the desk, angled in toward the middle. The laptop, because of it’s portability, is sitting in the middle (so I can move it when I need desk space). I’ll soon add a side table to offload my printer, router, DVD burner, speakers, headphones, etc to to clear off the right side of my desk (yes… it’s a big desk). The Dell will sit on that side… angled in to the middle. So when I park my butt in front, I’ll have immediate access to a Mac… a PC… and Linux.
Am I kidding?
No. Not in the least.
I’ve been telling you for almost three years now that I was a closet nerd. Since deciding to open Reader Meet Author up a bit to posts on more diverse topics, I figured I’d start exposing more of that side of my personality. Coupled with the fact that I spend all week writing another blog on search engines, Internet marketing, website creation, and online technologies… it’s just better that you all know the truth.
My name is Derick Phillips. And I’m a semi-nerd (I don’t do much coding anymore… so I can’t claim full nerd status).
Note: If you’re remotely interested… I’ve even created a small, 6 picture tour of Nerd Central II (which you may know is rare… I don’t often put pictures of my personal life/space on the web… haha).
Posted in Nerd Central, Personal, Technology
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April 15th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Didn’t I mention that it was scary reading your blog because it was like reading my own thoughts. So you have a Snoopy too, huh?
I’ve been classified by my co-workers as a nerd, though I consider myself less than a semi-nerd. I don’t keep track of the latest technology and I certainly do not have as many computers as you do plus I’m no hardware expert.
So where are you other blogs. I’d like a have a peek.:)