Laptop Longing (Worth Sparkman Commentary)

Today, businesses and business people live and die by technology. Where would we be without the personal computer?

Recently my laptop quit. There was no warning. It simply stopped working. One day, it was my best friend. The next day, it was a cold dead screen.

That computer is filled with tons of personal and professional pictures, writings, the family checkbook register and my daughter’s third birthday invitation.

But I didn’t worry too much.

I was reminded of an article I’d read on MSNBC.com that said many computer users make problems worse by hitting the machine or even trying to reboot it over and over. One guy even tossed his into a deep fryer, the article said. Despite their awesome power, they’re still delicate electronics.

I stayed calm. I waited a couple of days before dropping it off at the repair shop.

The next day my phone rang.

“Your computer is really messed up,” the guy said.

The technician explained that repairs would cost about a third as much as buying a new laptop, and it would have to be sent back to the factory. The computer is a couple of years old so there’s a conundrum in return on investment and depreciated value.

That’s when I wanted to fling the thing.

Anyone who’s had this happen can understand what I felt. Modern life has lulled us into a false sense of security about our electronic belongings. I tend to believe that I own them and that they’re as good as their “hard” counterparts.

That’s not quite true.

I found myself thinking I couldn’t possibly live without a computer that I can take to bed. I’ve got things to do, after all.

When we spend 10 hours a day in front of a computer, life becomes “virtuality,” a cross between the virtual world and reality. I find myself eating dinner with my family and making mental lists about what I can accomplish later.

The laptop, and its pip-squeak cousin the BlackBerry, are modern miracles. But they’re also a modern-day ball and chain for workaholics. Some of us simply won’t stop working as long as we have access to our tools, or shackles.

After talking with my wife, we’ve decided to wait before we even make a decision. We’ll have the data recovered, but there’s no hurry to pay for repairs.

I plan to shoot more pictures with the film camera, and read a good book at night.

Maybe I’ll find what I suspect to be true: that I’m just as productive and a little less stressed.