Can I get help explaining this, please?

[sylvar]

I'm currently using a PC owned by TBLC. I need to give it back to them at my earliest convenience; this is almost certainly on our trip to Florida which starts next Friday.

I'm a computer contractor.

So can y'all help me figure out how to explain to Jodi that it's not sufficient that I be permitted to use her old MacBook whenever she's not using it to write term papers? That's her preferred plan; mine is to spend less than $1k on a midrange laptop, preferably 2GB/160GB. (Probably around $700-800 after rebate.)

I don't mean to hold her up for ridicule here; I think her perspective is just sufficiently far from mine that I'm having trouble articulating the reasons why I think my plan is better. It's too obvious to me.

Comments

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

Does your contracting gig have an "on call" requirement? If so, you need a computer available at all times, even when she may need it for papers, etc.

[sylvar.livejournal.com]

It doesn't, but if I'm going to manage my time well, I need to be able to make decisions about when I work.

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

There you go. In addition, it's a good idea to buy a more modern laptop just in case something happens to Jodi's. :)

[mariness.livejournal.com]

My new laptop, Ralph, is a 2 GB/160 GB available for $500 at BestBuy a couple of weeks back -- from Acer. It wasn't the laptop I wanted, but alas, I couldn't afford the laptop I wanted, so this was the compromise. The key is that this computer is usually $650; I watched for the sale.

So you might be able to find what you need for even less than you're thinking, if you keep an eye out at Best Buy and Circuit City. That might make this argument a bit easier for you. I'll warn you: you're not going to be overwhelmed with you by this computer, but it does do the basics.

[pappy74.livejournal.com]

if you're willing to wake up disgustingly early and wait on line for hours, Best Buy will likely have a killer deal on Black Friday for a laptop... you could probably get something quite decent in the 400-500 range.

[gardenwaltz.livejournal.com]

Jodi doesn't get paid to write term papers. That would mean that she can write term papers when you're not doing 'work'. Also, it may be that using a Mac, rather than a PC might cause just enough incovenience to justify using a PC. If not, I would bring out the magic bullet and offer to buy *her* a new laptop so that you could have the 'old' one for your exclusive use.

[tiger-stripes.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that. You're earning money. She needs to be more reasonable here.

[wedash.livejournal.com]

Um....I'm with you here.

[magnoliafly.livejournal.com]

Scour Slickdeals dude. I totally agree with you. The love affair with the internets is not a sometimes thing.

[segnbora.livejournal.com]

I'd also point out that it's possible that you might have deadlines at the same time (I'm assuming you'll be giving your employers progress reports or something to prove you're not procrastinating the whole year or whatever time period away) and both need the computer urgently at the same time.

[ximinez]

Or to imagine how your boss would react if s/he called you (during "normal" business hours):

"Ben, we need you to get online right now. We've got a real emergency. The frobnitz is mortilating the bognofrob!"

"Uh, gee, boss, I'm sorry. My wife is writing a really important term paper and she's really stressed because it's due in two days. Can it wait a few hours until her next break?"

Even if your job doesn't explicitly put you on call, this is not a conversation you want to risk having.

[fizzgig-bites.livejournal.com]

My off handed gut reaction: You guys fight enough without throwing a computing resource into the mix.

The well thought out response: Everyone needs their own space. Ed has his computer. He has a password on that computer. I don't even know the password to his computer. Ed isn't on my computer. I have stuff on my computer that is sensitive. I wouldn't want Ed anywhere near a delete button on my computer.

I can see you guys fighting for time at the computer. No offense to Jodi but she procrastinates and panics at the end. I can see her demanding the computer for an all day and night paper which screws you and the job. The job pays the bills and without it, you guys are in trouble. I can also see you guys fighting over disk space and deleting something critical. I can see the computer being too slow and making you look unproductive.

Sharing a computer is a disaster waiting to help. Computers are cheap and he money may be worth avoiding the conflict.

[ximinez]

One of these days, I remember to turn that screen saver password off... Probably just in time to need to turn it back on for the next party.

[discogravy.livejournal.com]

unless she's the one paying you, your work is not at her convenience, but at your employers' (usually). If you suggested she plan her writing schedule around your work schedule, she'd probably see the problem PDQ.

[penguinicity.livejournal.com]

Maybe a bit late to the party here, but one more angle: security. How would your employers feel about somebody else having access to the machine where you do work, read e-mail, etc. for them. I know you'd be good about keeping stuff separate, setting permissions, and so forth but still.

[ekelur.livejournal.com]

Another late response, but it comes directly from not having my own computer (so it's relevant). My computer has been in the shop for 2 weeks, and I have to share Jason's laptop (he's a third year law student, so it's almost always in use). Sharing a computer is a pain in the butt, and I don't even use mine for anything serious.

Think of it this way: say you take a job somewhere that requires you to wear a suit. You don't have one, but Jodi does, and says that you should wear it rather than spending the money on a new one for yourself, because she only needs it for formal occasions. Is my analogy making any sense? Just because she happens to have something similar doesn't mean it will fit your needs.

[sylvar.livejournal.com]

That's ABSURD! I mean, for one thing, I'm a 26W.