Monday, May 08, 2006

Kinda dim - stories of me and my monitor (updated)

Anyone got about $400* $300 they wanna give me? ... You? Ok, great!

Sigh.

I need a new computer monitor. Badly. This one is sooo old. I've already had to adjust some crazy setting so that it doesn't emit a high pitched squeal any time it's turned on. But that means that the screen kinda flickers. I don't notice it so much, but friends have asked me how on earth I deal with it. I just shrug my shoulders. I dunno. But the worse part is, as I recently found out, it makes all my pictures (and yours!) show up really dark. I just thought it was my camera (umm... and... all of your cameras, too... oh boy, I'm not too swift, am I?), and so over the last year or so I have spent HOURS (oh brother I don't even want to think about the hours I spent) "fixing" the colour on my photos. Lighten here, change contrast there, fill flash, brighten.... only to find out that... DUH! It was my monitor. Aaaaaand that all those pics I've posted on my Flickr account? Yeah, they're all heinously washed out. BLAH! I wanna cry! And kinda kick myself for being so dumb! :P

PLUS, a new monitor would fix the twizzled back issue I have with my knees going under the desk on one side, and my monitor being on the other. There's no room for the monitor and the keyboard to be in front of each other on my desk. And so I sit kinda sideways and twisted. And my chiropractor yells at me.

I went to Future Shop today and oogled the whole wall of LCD monitors. I might have drooled a little. Time to start saving some more pennies!


* Paul pointed out in the comments that my estimate was kinda high. He totally blew my cover! I was trying to take you for soem extra cash! Muah hahaaa! Well, ok, maybe not. I was just (badly) estimating on the taxes, warranties, etc. Heck, I'll take the $300, too!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

A flat screen monitor is on my wish list too!

Richard said...

You an get a regular CRT monitor for less than $400 (of course, it chews up more electricity too).

I have not moved to an LCD monitor yet because I am not rich enough to get one that supports my preferred resolution (1600x1200 or higher).

From your description, it sounds like the flyback transformer (the thing that generates all the high voltage). Fiften years ago, when I was repairing these things, the part would have been $100-$125 - now-a-days, I don't know, since I have been out of the biz for more than a decade.

Paul said...

$400? You're kidding. Future Shop have got loads of 17" monitors on their website for less than 250 bucks (and there must be a good few places cheaper than Future Shop too).

Methinks you're trying to extract an extra $150 out of someone to spend on...er...now let me think...african drums perhaps?

Hillary said...

haha! Paul! Ya caught me!

No, not really. The ones I saw started at about $250, so once you add taxes, that's... ok, so $300. Fine. But if someone wants to give me $400, hey, that's ok too! ;)

Davey Jones said...

i'll give you 300 kicks in the monitor...

Anonymous said...

i would check out the smaller places like atic computers or can computer or ncix. they have sales too.