Last week I decided that, since I was having so much trouble writing new holiday stories, I would instead work on the first collection, which I’m planning to publish in January 2024. As I opened Word, I realized that the computer refused to do… well… almost anything. It’s a nine-year-old MacBook Pro that’s had a good life, and after the past two years of trying to extend it even further, I decided that it was time to say goodbye.

Fortunately, I have an older Dell laptop available to me. I mostly use it to play PC games, but it has twice as much RAM and twice as much hard drive space as the MacBook. I transferred everything over to it in about two hours, and I’m working on that computer now.

So far, so good, with three exceptions:

1. The keyboard is taking a little getting used to — the travel on the keys is different, so typing is harder.
2. The screen resolution is only 1920×1080; MacBooks have a screen resolution in the 2500 horizontal range.
3. The touchpad isn’t nearly as good as a Mac’s.

Otherwise, though, I’m pretty happy that I don’t have to spend a ton of money on a new laptop. This one should suffice until I can get my hands on a new Mac… or, maybe, I’ll get a nicer, newer PC. I loved my Mac, but realistically speaking a PC is probably better and more economical for me.

Anyway, that’s the end of an era. This is the first post being written on my Dell. Let the new era begin.