Do you have the time to listen to me whine?

[sovay]

Bertie Owen is dead until further notice; cause unclear; I may be scarce for some time. This is disastrous on all possible fronts.

[edit] Modifications over the years notwithstanding, Bertie Owen is at heart a 2.53GHz 15-inch 2009 MacBook Pro. He has one fan and uses a 60-watt charger. I consider him irreplaceable, but Apple has long considered him obsolete. I consider his successors far inferior and likely to report me to the cloud for saying so. Is it even possible to buy a machine of his make and model these days that isn't in utterly trashed shape? Please hold off for the moment on the Linux evangelism if that is your bent; I am making this update from a Linux machine emergency-accessed for purposes of communication and my reactions are strongly in the camp of thanks, I hate it.

Comments

[skygiants]

OH NO. (The offer of the backup laptop stands, if a USB keyboard can be rustled up from anywhere!)

[selkie]

Words small please coffee not enough to subsume murderous rage at white men so comprehension difficult:

A wired USB keyboard with a pluggy doober on the end of it is what's required?

[gwynnega]

Aww no. I hope Bertie can be revived.

[sholio]

Oh no!! :((((

[vass]

Good luck.

[asakiyume]

*please Bertie, another life.*

[dramaticirony]

Ugh--definitely an extra hassle you don't need to deal with.

I have a few spare laptops that I didn't have a chance to get to the MIT swapmeet this fall--let me know if you'd like one and we could sort out which would be a good fit. A loan, a gift or whatever works for you.

(And if you'd be reluctant to accept a gift, barter for reprint of poetry/film noir review for my zine would work, too.)

[kore]

OH NO! Can we do anything like donate for maybe Bertie repairs somehow or a machine you could work on? Maybe Paypal?

[sholio]

I looked up refurbished 2009 Macbooks and found some here:

https://www.macofalltrades.com/search.php?search_query=2009%20macbook§ion=product

I don't know what their quality is like, but they aren't too expensive and claim to be in good shape.

Ebay is another possibility. I've bought obsolete hardware/parts there in the past.

[dewline]

And that site hangs my browser. :-(

[rachelmanija]

Oh noooooo.

[nineweaving]

Oh no! Breathe, Bertie. Breathe.

Nine

[thisbluespirit]

Oh, no, I'm so sorry! (Why do we all have to be a cloud? Why does all technology hate us these days? :-/) I hope you can find something that will do, but all my sympathies on your irreplaceable loss. ♥

[cyphomandra]

Oh no!!! Poor Bertie. I hope you find an acceptable solution (or resuscitations)

[cmcmck]

Would it be possible to find a s/h comparable beastie?

[shewhomust]

Sympathy; this had to come sooner or later, but can't it be later? Later is still too soon ...

[redbird]

I bought a refurbished iPhone SE from NewEgg last year, because I decided I'd rather pay $159 for another year or two of the model I like, than several hundred dollars for the new, larger current models. So far so good, but I don't remember whether that was before or after we move to this apartment, meaning I'm not sure how far "so far" is. But they might have what you're looking for, and it might be superior to the unknown sellers on eBay.

[moon_custafer]

No advice, just sympathies re Bertie.

[selkie]

On the bright side, you're missing an extremely patriarchal news cycle. (Really there is no bright side.) I have texted you, natürlich, but also if you are willing to accept a PC as a possibility let your friends know; you can get that kind of thing on Newegg for an amount I think could be scratched up for you.

[dewline]

And now that I have taken a moment to properly read and understand your plea...

I empathize. I have a 2008-issue MacBook Pro that is still giving me solid service despite the growing unwillingness of the software makers and website designers to continue to support my usage of this machine any longer. Eventually, this will cease to be true, I fear and expect, and as I am between day jobs for the foreseeable...

[umadoshi]

ACK. So much sympathy on this, but no advice. :/

[yhlee]

Oh no--sympathies.

[heavenscalyx]

I got a deal on a refurbed Mac Air from The Mary Sue. This model may not match Bertie Owen, but is at least a 2009 MacBook Pro: https://shop.themarysue.com/sales/macbook-pro-15-4-2-66-ghz-4gb-ram-320gb-mid-2009-refurb

[chanter1944]

Ack! :( Hopefully a suitable fix is forthcoming, say, yesterday.

You got the quoted song stuck in my head, by the way. Just in case you were wondering. :) Grasping to control... so I better hold on!

[imagine_that]

I hate having to buy a new model when I was perfectly happy with the old model of something. So, much sympathy here. Hope you find something you like!

[dramaticirony]

I have a good condition Macbook Air of that era you can have, if a reasonable keyboard is you main reason for hating newer Macbooks (other than cost).

If portability is a only a limited concern, a 2012 Mac Mini could be a very affordable main machine, which you might pair with a less than ideal (from your perspective) laptop.

[sovay]

if a reasonable keyboard is you main reason for hating newer Macbooks (other than cost).

Having not had reason to look into newer MacBooks since 2009, I did not know about the keyboard problem until last night, but once I found about it, since the major point of failure with Bertie Owen for the last five years has been his keyboard, I absolutely cannot afford to purchase a machine whose keyboard is from the get-go fragile. Thank you for the offer of the MacBook Air. I will let you know.

Portability is traditionally a major concern, but I may no longer be able to afford it.