Monday 11 January 2010

I think it's called 'Progress'

Up until Saturday I’ve been writing on a computer that dates back to the late Victorian period with a hulking great beige-coloured monitor that took up half my desk. We acquired it about 7 or 8 years ago (roughly about the same time we acquired daughter #3, though not by the same means) from a friend in exchange for a bottle of wine and an Indian takeaway. Over those years I wrote my very first, tentative and badly flawed attempts at opening chapters and far-fetched synopses on it, and from the days when it did have internet connection (via a long cable that used to snake across the floor at our old house and regularly trip up daughter #3 as she took her first tottering steps) it still has stored somewhere in its dusty recesses my first emails with Penny Jordan and the editor at Richmond who read my initial submission. Sadly, it couldn’t quite keep up with the advent of wireless and broadband, and although it sounded like concorde taking off and sometimes refused to switch on, it still functioned as a decent enough word processor. Decent enough for me to have written 8.3 books on anyway, but in the last week I've been getting increasingly worried about it making it to the full 9.

All of which is an elaborate way of trying to justify the fact that I found myself in the apple shop on Saturday handing over my credit card completely on a whim and walking out with a big box containing this...



It's the depth of a slim box of matches, utterly silent, very beautiful and slightly terrifying. Every time I come into my office I get the impression that it's waiting in superior disbelief for me to write something worthy of such sleek perfection on its tiny, brushed steel keyboard. It's very clever. I actually wouldn't be surprised if it summarily deleted entire pages and just sent a terse message saying 'Do better.'

Wish me luck...


14 comments:

Kate Hardy said...

It's lovely.

But your desk is scaring me. A lot. It's so TIDY! (Or was that specially tidied for your lovely new machine and it won't stay that way for long?)

(amusingly, my wordver is "sokilla" - yup, you have a so killer machine there *g*)

Unknown said...

You have so sussed me!

The desk was hastily tidied (as in, stuff shoved out of sight in drawers) as sort of gentle easing-back-into-work exercise last weekend, but the moment the new machine was installed I felt compelled to tidy up properly. I have a feeling it would refuse to function in anything less than magazine perfection. (Oh dear. It'll probably demand that I re-decorate too.)

And I've just discovered it has a built-in camera, so you can actually watch yourself working. It's terrifying the pants off me. Am going to have to go and apply make up and google local botox practitioners before I can write another word.

Trenda said...

What a gorgeous computer! You lucky duck!

Let it know who's the boss at once, however! ;-)

Have fun!

xxTrenda

Michelle Styles said...

I am impressed with your work space.

Just remember it comes from your head, and not from the computer. COmputers only know on and off (despite having a built in camera)

Joanne Coles said...

*sigh*--it's beautiful, I am very jealous!

Sally Clements said...

Its lovely. And its your friend. Smile at it, love it, and write a great book on it. You know how to do happy endings!

Tracey said...

It's such a lovely machine, India. I went looking for a small computer to tuck in my handbag yesterday - for those moments when a pen and paper just won't do. It was all so daunting that I think the pen and paper will be sufficient for now lol.
Love your tidy desk and work space, I can see you pouring out a couple of new books in no time at all. You may even be able to leave the machine on and it will do a few pages for you while you are catching up on other things :-)

Kate Hewitt said...

Beautiful! I must admit, I'm partial to Apple though... and I just bought a Mac Mini right before Christmas. I love having a big, wide screen. My wordver is getogn which sounds like a command for me to get going! All right, already! :)

Jane said...

Congrats on the new computer. Your workspace looks lovely.

Sharon Kendrick said...

I have one of these beautiful creaures, too. In fact, I was so enraptured by it's speed, silence and general all-round excellence that I went out and purchased a Mac laptop soon after....now that is ANOTHER revelation - a laptop which doesn't weigh the equivalent of a rucksack filled with bricks.

Abby Green said...

Ah...welcome to the world of Mac!
x Abby

Unknown said...

Trenda, the problem is I think it already knows who's boss. And it's not me. Michelle, you don't even switch it off, you put it to sleep. I swear it keeps one eye open though, watching.

Joanne and Sally, thank you for your positive, encouraging comments. It *is* beautiful, and maybe it will become my friend... if it doesn't turn out to be possessed by the spirit of some sadistic creativity fascist who's going to make me feel like an inky schoolgirl with badly done homework. (Or do you think I'm reading too much into this???)

Tracey, I bought a netbook a couple of years ago and it's been utterly fantastic. I love it, and the fact that it means I can get on with some work while daughter #3 does her swimming lesson, when we go away etc. Mine was one of the really early ones - an Advent - but He bought a Samsung one recently, which is very similar but with better battery life. Go for it, is my advice! (because I'm the kind of person who NEVER has a pen that works.)

Kate, I don't feel so guilty now that I know you succumbed recently too. (But you've probably already impressed yours by writing lots of fabulous words on it, whereas mine...)

Thanks Jane! Workspace doesn't usually look remotely like that, but I'm going to try to keep it tidy for as long as possible. Hyacinths were a Christmas present from daughter #3, and they smell absolutely glorious at the moment.

Sharon, I know you got one last summer, and that played a huge part in my decision to get one as I remember that you were thrilled with it. I must admit, the more I discover about it the more I realise that we'll never buy another PC again. You should have seen daughter #1's face when she registered the Movie creating function...

Unknown said...

Ooh, hello Abby - So busy rambling on that I missed you there! xxx

Marc Byram Photography said...

Wow an iMac ..... :-) Now that is professional ...!
Marc;-)