Purchasing a new main computer was not on my list of priorities for 2010. I was going to start considering it in 2011 and buy late in that year, or early in 2012. After all, I bought a brand new 24″ iMac in 2007, a computer I expected to serve me well for at least four years, which I then supplemented with a good notebook.

Without going into all the details, my iMac is slowing down; the fan went on the notebook needs replacing; having a notebook and a desktop computer and an iPod Touch is redundant; I finally conceded that a desktop computer does not fit in with my vision of the ideal RVing life; and my dream computer fell into my lap, albeit under sad circumstances.

So, here’s Angus, which should arrive within the week:

Going from a 24″ to a 17″ screen is probably going to be a shock, and the trackpad is going be an adjustment, but otherwise the change is a major upgrade and is especially sweet since I would never have been able to justify the purchase of 17″ model under any other circumstances.

This week, I’ve cleared the Powerbook and put it up on eBay and I’m now working at tidying up the iMac to make the transfer easier. I don’t want to use Migration Assistant since the iMac is experiencing some conflicts, so I’m making lists to aid in the manual transfer of files, apps, and preferences. I can’t believe how messy and cluttered the iMac is! I have gotten sloppy in my digital filing since moving to Macs since they have such a good search function.

Once everything is moved over to the Macbook Pro, I’ll clear out the iMac and put it up for sale. If I manage to sell both the iMac and the Powerbook, I should recoup at least two thirds of the cost of purchasing the Macbook Pro, which would definitely reduce the hit on my budget.

It’s going to be awesome to RV my way south this fall with my primary computer accessible at all times and internet access wherever there is cell service!