World-schooling and Computers
Have you ever gotten something new, loved it for a month, then absolutely despised even just looking at it?
Believe me, I sure have.
It was Christmas morning 2008, and Delaney and I were opening our last present.
“It’s for y’all to share, okay?” Mom said, like it was a pot of gold.
We ripped open the box, and saw a small, blue laptop. I was so excited. I turned the computer on, and ten minutes later we finally pulled up the browser. Now this computer was an Acer, so I didn’t exactly expect lightning speed. In my opinion, ten minutes is a ridiculous amount of time to wait for a computer to load, even for an Acer.
A month or so later, it was even worse. I had a routine now: as the computer was loading, I would run the perimeter of all three floors of our house. You may think that sounds funny, but in 2nd grade, I was just trying to pass the time.
After years of begging for an Apple computer, we received a MacBook Air on Christmas Day, 2011. Finally, we had a computer that was actually useable! I was psyched, and hoped to NEVER see the Acer again.
I wasn’t so lucky.
Guess what? We brought the Acer on the trip!
Why? Well, trust me, I didn’t want to. It was obvious to bring the Air. However, we had to bring two computers with us on the trip, and the Acer was the only other choice that was light and small enough. Delaney and I are doing online curriculums that only work on computers because our iPads (or any tablet) aren’t able to run the required software.
I had been hoping we wouldn’t find it, and we could even get a nice, new Apple computer. Lucky me, my mom found it deep in the attic, where she stores stuff to give away. After weeks of resetting and fixing the small laptop, it was supposedly “good as new.”
New was never good.
The Acer is worse than ever, and it now takes around 28 minutes to turn the computer on and pull up the curriculum (yes, we timed it). If you are considering giving your child a new computer for Christmas, PLEASE make it an Apple! I can do almost a day’s worth of math on our Mac in the time it takes to get to a website on the Acer.
The Acer is so bad, it is the one electronic that we don’t put in the safe when we leave our hotel room. I just don’t think anyone will even steal it.
Even thieves have standards.
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[…] are firm believers in experiential learning, which is why I spent five months during 8th grade world-schooling on a cheap laptop wherever I could find WIFI. This was not a five-month vacation in fancy, all-inclusive resorts. It […]
[…] The biggest issue we have in the electronics arena is that one of the computers is fabulous (Macbook Air) and one is a piece of garbage (Acer). […]
This was AWESOME, Riley!!! Natalie and I laughed so hard. You are the best!
Thanks for reading! I hope your tour goes well!
Hey Riley, Linda here. One of Mom’s old friends. I agree with you about the Acer. However, Lenovo is another great choice in addition to MacBook Air. I sell computers and you won’t go wrong with either, depending on how you plan to use them. If you plan to use them to build a bonfire, I can recommend some for that, too. Hope you are getting equal Mac time with Delaney!
Thanks for reading! In my opinion Delaney gets more Mac time!
Riley, you are so funny. The Acer is about our speed so give it to a Senior.
Love you. Nanaw
We were actually planning to smash the Acer with a hammer when we get home, then burn the remains. 😀