Form vs Function

I was driving in Utah this weekend and pulled up next to a beautiful black Ferrari. I have always wanted one and so it surprised my wife when I told her I would rather have my buddy's tricked-out Jeep (see the picture below). "Why?" was all she could ask once she recomposed herself. I explained that it all boils down to functionality. While I like the idea of owning a fast Italian sports car, it really isn't all that practical for the things I am doing in my life right now. I am happily married and so I don't need an expensive car to help beautiful young women see past my bald head and chubby belly. The speed limit is easily reached in even the most basic car. Yet a vehicle capable of operating in the worst travel conditions comes in handy when you spend as much time in the mountains as I do. Yep, right now I would take the Jeep.

What does this have to do with computers? Well I recently had a conversation with one of my coworkers who is in the process of upgrading one of his computers. He is really into music and so he purchased some expensive sound equipment. No, he didn't just get a high-end sound card, he picked up top-of-the-line studio speakers, mixing equipment and stuff that most normal people would never use, let alone be able to afford. While we were talking, I realized that it would be fun to do the same thing to my computer, but I don't need it. That made me think about how I really use my computer.

To be completely honest, I hardly ever really use my desktop computer. Instead, I use it to connect to other computers that are much more powerful and do the real processing on them. That means I need a fast network connection, which I already have. I also have a lot of windows open into these other servers and so it is nice to have a lot of screen real-estate. That means I need a graphics card capable of displaying to multiple large monitors. That graphics card requires a lot of memory to run well. So while my coworker built his computer for audio, I should concentrate on video.

A Ferrari is a beautiful car that most people would love to own. There are a lot of computers out there that are similar. They are really fast and look amazing. However it is important to look at your needs before buying one. If you are doing a lot of number crunching and need to be "seen" with the latest and greatest, I encourage you to get one. Otherwise if you are like me or my coworker, you might be better suited with a Jeep-like computer that is specialized for specific tasks.

Now that I think about it, I actually have both . . . computers that is. I am typing this blog tonight on my high-end Mac laptop (the Ferrari) while I also have the really fast computer with multiple large-screen monitors in my home office (the Jeep). Now I just wish I could afford both cars.