Finally, after at least two-three years struggling with a failing laptop, I have invested in something new. I did the research, I made a shortlist of what I wanted, I made a realistic budget, I did a clear strike-through on everything I couldn’t afford (which included the top five items, three of which are Apple products!), and then I went over it again.

The answer turned out to be very simple, and I believe all will go well if I stick to my plan. All I really need in a laptop computer is the following:

1. Word processing.
2. Image processing.
3. Internet access.
4. Reliable communication tools.

There are dozens of things expensive computers do that I simply don’t need. Purchasing a thousand dollar plus laptop would be the IT equivalent of spending $500 on a home gym then using it as a clothes-horse or to dry laundry.

The other promise I’m making to myself is to avoid cluttering this new tool with apps and software that sap its processing power. Same thing with photos. I will be putting them all on an external hard-drive so that my new computer can simply concentrate on the task at hand.

So what did I get? A new Lenovo IdeaPad S145.

I’m excited because (and Rebekah is also having to deal with this at church at the moment) I was wasting huge amounts of time – due to the technology I need to do my job working poorly, intermittently, or not at all. The amount of effort being channeled into just getting my computer up and running, or editing one or two images, or watching the little blue circle spin around endlessly, has cost me probably 25% of my creative time this past year.

Now, well at least I hope so, I can take an idea and run with it without being held up, frustrated, sidetracked, and quite literally sabotaged by the tech.

This is 2019, and high-functioning, convenient, easy to use tech is not a luxury it is a necessity!

So I’m talking to you, Lenovo: don’t let me down.

– DEREK  

PS – I will happily take your recommendations, friends, for good photo-processing software.