Chapter 1: A Bizarre Laptop Experience

Recently, I visited Best Buy to check out the latest laptops, and I was taken aback by what I saw. Where did all the ports go? There's no CD drive, no parallel or serial ports, not even a VGA or HDMI outlet—just a single USB port. And all of this comes at a staggering price of $799.99 plus taxes!

Curious, I inquired with a store clerk about this apparent decline in functionality.

“Oh, it’s the new trend—fewer ports! Isn’t it great? Everything's wireless now, or you can simply purchase a USB hub,” he explained enthusiastically. “If you need more, just grab a couple of hubs; it's easy!”

“But how much will these hubs cost me?” I pressed.

“You can get a decent one for about thirty-five or forty dollars,” he replied.

I was perplexed. “And how do I play my CDs?”

“Oh, you need to buy an external CD-DVD player for that,” he chuckled, as if I had just asked a ridiculous question.

“And what’s the price for that?”

“About twenty-five to thirty bucks.”

At that moment, I realized I was being squeezed for every penny. Purchase our minimalist laptop with no ports, then shell out more cash for all the necessary accessories to make it functional.

The realization hit me hard.

“So, if I have to connect all these extra devices to use my laptop, won’t that make it less portable? Isn’t that counterproductive?” I asked, feeling a bit foolish.

He stared at me as if I had just landed from Mars, then chuckled again, “Yeah, I suppose that’s true. Most folks just listen to MP3s now anyway.”

Wanting to be thorough, I pulled out my pen and notebook—much to the clerk's confusion—and started doing the math. It felt like I had stepped into a strange time warp, as if I had just awakened from a decades-long slumber.

The numbers added up: $800 for the laptop, plus about $50 for taxes…

“Don’t forget the warranty!” the clerk chimed in. “If you want full coverage for replacements, parts, and labor, that’s an additional $130.”

He seemed to relish my predicament.

So, the total came to $850 for the laptop and taxes, plus $80 for two USB hubs, another $30 for the external CD drive, and $130 for the warranty. This brought my grand total to—

Drum roll…

Yes—$1,090.00.

I stood there in disbelief, shaking my head.

Just then, my friend John called on my flip-phone. He had a refurbished Lenovo ThinkPad for sale, equipped with a Core i7 processor, 16 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive, a built-in CD/DVD burner, four USB ports, a memory card reader, and more. All for just $250.

SOLD! I couldn't exit that store fast enough. Back to my DeLorean time machine I went…

And let me tell you, that old Power Windows CD by Rush sounds fantastic on my “new”—well, old—laptop!

For a DIY guide on creating a laptop plug on a budget, check out this video.

If your laptop only works when plugged in, this video offers two quick fixes!

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed my writing, please clap, follow, or leave a note. I truly appreciate your time. If you reach out, I’ll gladly explore your writing in return. If it inspires me, I might just become your next follower. Make the most of your day!