Exanding Data Consumption

There was a time when a 30 GB external HDD in my laptop satisfied my storage needs.
It didn't last long before I realized I needed 100 gigs of external storage, however.

This lasted for a time, except that the old HDD has a tendency to corrupt my data. By now its survived several moves and probably has many damaged sectors.

Now, I have twice that amount on the disk-mind of my laptop. And that's still hardly enough! Faced with video from my built-in cam; not yet prepared for Youtube, threatening to burst my storage capacity, I find myself needing to purchase a 1TB external storage drive. I just hope there doesn't come a time when 1 TB isn't enough for the majority of us!!!! This is the last upgrade I hope to make in a while.

At least I'll be able to wipe my current external and get rid of it. You know, that drive has been in operation since like Windows 2000, maybe even 98 was installed on my PC. So this new drive will be used only with Windows 7 or better. (Not that I wouldn't plug it into a Mac or Linux system. Always a possibility for a geek like me. Though- I'm not entirely sure it would work with them. Hmmm.)

It's not fun to realize you are old enough to be getting old. I remember all the money I spent at Microcenter and Bestbuy in my teens. I always paid by check and bought such things as an MIDI keyboard with crappy proprietary software, clearance foot pedals and yolk that didn't cooperate with Flight Sim 2000, my original JVC mini-DV Camcorder, connecting junk for the same, Acid Foundry Studio, Magix Movie Maker Pro, The Sims and some expansion packs, the Myst Games, countless ink cartridges, a flat bed scanner, etc...etc... etc.... What a geek I was. (Without being a wise geek who knows enough about computers to make money.) I should've found something better to spend my cash on. Lame.

Well, needless to say, I don't spend much on my technology anymore. I buy the same model of Acer computer with basic level integrated gadgets, and use it until it falls apart. My only regret is that these computers are produced cheaply in China without regard to fair practice toward labor or the environment. This pisses me off greatly, but I don't have $1,000 for a more expensive brand which would be made in similar conditions anyway, and don't see myself down grading to an old tower and CRT, even though it could be the higher road for the environment and humanity. I guess I'm a bit of an asshole consumer like everyone else in America. What can I do. I'm plugged in!

I won't always be.