A couple of years ago, we bought a HP All-in-One desktop after my wife was laid off from her job. She needed something to apply for jobs with other than her decade old Mac and my laptop that Linux was barely keeping alive. We snagged a decent deal on the HP at Costco, and she got to work on finding a new job.
After finding a job, she was issued a work laptop and the HP has been sitting collecting dust. My wife mainly uses her phone for any internet activities, so when we moved into the new apartment, she didn’t even bother to hook up the HP.
It’s been on my mind for a few weeks now. I’ve wanted a desktop computer for years and I thought it could encourage better computing habits for me. I like the idea of having to physically move to a space to complete tasks. I like that it has my full attention and that it’s way more comfortable to use. So, to test my theory, I set up the HP on the kitchen table Saturday night while my wife was playing Hogwarts Legacy.
I took some time to set up a local account, install my VPN, and even dusted off an old Steam account that hasn’t been used in years. I got LibreOffice running and Firefox synced up and I was good to go. I immediately went to work on some blogging stuff, and I was very happy with my decision. Everything from copying and pasting to just having room to type was more comfortable.
Last year, my Xbox 360 power supply died on me. I ordered a replacement from Amazon, and it caught on fire, so I decided to hold off on trying to get it back up and running and just get an Xbox Series X in the future. I mainly kept the 360 for some old Xbox games and a handful of 360 games. Well, our finances haven’t been going so well with the increased rent, unexpected medical bills, and a blown tire last week, so I’ve been looking into ways to emulate and/or play the games I really like.
I wasn’t sure what the desktop could handle, but I got Batman Arkham Origins running, Flatout 2, Dolphin emulator, and Simpsons Hit and Run with no issues at all. In a matter of hours, I had pretty much all the games I like to dabble with working on the PC. This desktop idea just kept looking better and better.
On Sunday, a few emails and messages came in that I almost dreaded to respond to using my phone. So, I hopped up and went over to the PC and I was amazed at how much better I felt. I could take the time to say what I wanted to say without cutting corners because I was sick of typing on a touch screen.
So, now that I’ve fallen in love with the desktop, I’ve got to invest in a desk and find a place to put it. Our kitchen table is a small two person table, so it’s completely out of commission with the computer there.
I’m curious to see how else the desktop can help with creating new habits. I’m wondering if I can stop mindless browsing on my laptop and maybe even cut down on email responses until I get home to my computer. I’ll follow up later with my results.
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