While on vacation in Ethiopia, I couldn't bring myself to haul along my behemoth "laptop" (a huge Dell with a 17" screen -- the perfect tool for reviewing and inserting proofreading corrections, not to mention a number of other tasks). The basic problem was (A.) the computer is really heavy, weighing in at a good four pounds, and (B.) my entire "life" is on that computer -- well, at least my writing life. I didn't want to risk anything happening to it.
We have an old, old Dell Laptop that lives in our kitchen. XP operating system old, if that gives you an idea. It wouldn't stay charged, and had basically been abandoned for any purpose other than occasionally calling up a recipe. But it was small -- as in 9" screen small. So I decided to take it, figuring if something happened I wouldn't suffer a major loss.
My writing projects went on a memory stick, and I ordered a new battery for the tiny computer (a $25 expense). When the time came, I packed up this little guy and away I went.
You know, it worked perfectly. Despite the repeated warnings I received from Microsoft that the operating system was no longer supported. Despite its age. Despite the tiny screen . I managed to nearly complete the editor's notes for Empowered while out of town. I think this will become my travel computer from this point onward!
