• scissors
    June 29th, 2012HARTHmmmm Things, Home Office

    Dell Desktop #1

    In October 2002 I purchased online a “Dimension 8200” Computer from Dell Canada. It was a super computer, because, if memory serves me correctly, I took the online price of about $1,700.00 and aggressively upgraded it into a super duper $4,500.00 computer! I took the 4 year option and my final payment was in October 2006.

    Dell Laptop #2

    In June 2007 I purchased online a “Latitude D820” Laptop Computer from Dell Canada. It wasn’t a super laptop-computer, but I did take the cost from about $999.00 to about $2,400.00 before taxes mostly getting more memory and storage space plus, a few accessories. I also took the 4 year option to lease instead of buy.

    In both cases, I was happy with my purchase because I needed the computer or laptop desperately for my busines, which I couldn’t afford to outright buy at the time, and both have served me well! In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have extended it to 48 month terms, because DELL CANADA FINANCE charges you 28.99% annual rate of interest in their amortization and you almost end up paying about 70% more for the cost of the product in the long term. However, I write off my lease payments for income taxes and if I didn’t pay Dell .. who else would I pay? Capital One? Revenue Canada?

    Best Buy Desktop #3

    Somewhere in between these two purchases, late 2003 or early 2004 … I purchased a second computer for the house. We called it the “SIMS 2” computer, and I would also store backups of my work on it. It was:

    HP Compaq Presario Computer
    AMD Anthlon(tm) 64 Processor +3500
    2.19 GHz, 960 MB of RAM

    >> nothing special It was configured for a multi-media enviroment and had 180 GB hard drive.

    Well … On February 27, 2007 My first Dell Dimension 8200 Crashed and that being the day before deadline of T4 Season (February 28th) I switched computers and started to use the Compaq Presario as my main computer. In June 2007 .. I actually went online to the Dell site to purchase a suitable (read: “Better”) desktop computer for my home office, but instead was starting up with the blogging since mid 2005 and trying a new business plan to me more … ‘roving’ so I thought a laptop would serve me better than upgrading to a new desktop, and so I did.

    Well … this Compaq Presario works – but, is a nightmare for me. The 960MB Ram is just not enough with the Facebooks, Pinterest, Empire Avenue, and MS DOS and other G/L Accounting programs I use, not to mention when I use Open Office or Excel or Word Processing programs. However, the absolute worse is my Zone Alarm anti-virus/spyware control program I use (which is free from my ISP) and it is constantly checking and updating for new virus definitions and such. Basically, a full scan of this computer with this 1GB RAM and 2.19GHz processor takes about 13 hours to complete, so in the meantime .. every single file viewed uploaded downloaded clicked on is checked by the anti-virus program and causes memory up to almost half my RAM. It’s just crazy if I accidentally try to click a new tab or try loading another program in the middle – and didn’t notice – and keep on clicking and clicking and making things worse! I always get the white screen of death and time out. It’s Nuts!

    I can’t tell you how unproductive it is … but, even my wife knows it is horrible, and most of the time she is just loading her GPS Watch results onto the Garmin site!

    Well .. It’s About Time I Bought Another Desktop Computer #4!

    I just purchased a new computer from Dell Canada online .. leased over 3 years. Here are the specs!

    225-2645 XPS 8500
    313-6138 NO SPEAKER REQUESTED,DIMENSION
    317-9193 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3770
    317-9212 16GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
    318-1677 16X DVD+/-RW
    318-1872 XPS 8500/ black Chassis
    318-2249 Integrated 7.1 with WAVE MAXXAudio 4
    320-3038 AMD Radeon HD 7570 1GB GDDR5
    320-3151 Dell ST2420L 24″ Full HD LED Monitor,CDT
    330-1158 DELL USB 6-BUTTON LASER MOUSE,I/S/XDT
    331-5795 US Power Cord
    331-5886 Localization parts-English/French
    331-6145 XPS localiztaoin parts
    331-6146 Dell KB213 Wired Multimedia Keyboard
    331-6149 SHIP,XPS,L10,FXCN,8500,DAO
    331-6176 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP,XPS8500
    342-4107 2TB SATA Hard Drive 7200 RPM
    410-0547 ADOBE ACROBAT X READER MLANG,CDT
    410-0571 MCAFEE 11, 36 MONTH, CDT
    421-5693 Win 7 Home Prem 64 SP1, Eng, No Med,CDT
    421-7190 Dell SRV Software 1703
    421-7997 No PDVD
    421-8242 Software Cycle 23
    430-3628 Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
    430-4735 DW1703 802.11b/g/n, BT4.0
    410-0450 MICROSOFT OFFICE STARTER 2010,CDT
    954-1820 PPS TECH SPT,XPS DT,BAND 1,INIT YR
    992-7983 HW WRTY+SVC,XPSDT1NBDM1,UNY,INIT,REL
    992-8003 NBD OS,XPSDT1NBDM1,UNY,INIT YR,REL
    009-6800 SHIPPING FEE
    950-9797 NO WARRANTY,YRS 2/3(DIM,INSP,NBD)
    Subtotal: $1,364.99
    Shipping and Handling: $0.00
    GST/HST: $68.25
    PST: $95.55
    Total Price w/Discounts: $1,528.79

    Basically … it is an “out of the box” Canada Day Special where they gave me 25% off the price (originally worked to $1,819.97 less 25% = 1,364.99) plus taxes. Shipping is free! The “Basic” model was about $800.00 but, I took the best “out of the box” option of the bunch:

    Intel Core i5 >> upgrade to Intel Core i7
    8GB RAM >> upgraded to 16GB RAM
    1 TB hard drive >> upgraded to 2 TB hard drive!

    E.T.A. for shipment … July 17, 2012!

    I’ll post pictures once it arrives and I unpack the box!

    I happened to mention that my birthday was July 11th and, it would be a great Birthday Present to myself if arrived by then, but Dell said “highly unlikely” … oh well 😀

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  • scissors
    July 19th, 2009HARTHome Office

    Every year I spend between $150-$200 CDN on a new office chair for my home office. Being self-employed and working out of my house, an accountant and income tax preparer, a blogger and just a general person who loves to be on the internet for 12-16 hours per day .. I go through a lot of chairs. Some years, I’m buying a new chair every 8 months and other years it’s one chair every 18 months. Time sure flies though, because everytime I need a new chair I can remember rushing out to my local Staples or Office Depot and search for a cheap replacement chair.

    Last year, I thought I found a good chair … at Office Depot. It was a little more than $200 CDN ($229.99 I believe) and was the first chair I ever bought that actually had an “ergonomic rating“. It was rated for a maximum of between 3-5 hours a day. When I purchased this chair, I told the salesmen that this was the most stupid rating system that I’ve ever hear of, having office chairs not being able to at least average a regular 8hr business day sitting on the damn chair – not to mention me, who is on the chair for about 12 hours a day or longer! The salesman (who earned his commission that day) assured me that the chair does last a good working day .. and that it’s just common sense guidelines that this new “ergonomic rating” system is really meant that you shouldn’t be sitting in front of your computer for more than 3-5 hours anyway – and should go for a walk, stretch your legs, keep your eyeballs away from the computer screen, etc etc etc

    Anyway, This is what happened AFTER 9 Months

    old-chair-broken

    On June 5th, the above happened to my office chair. I was just sitting on the chair, and was swivelling left to grab some report out of my printer and *SNAP!* the back just broke in half, like corkboard. The chair wasn’t that bad actually, although the padding was a bit squished from sitting down all the time – but, I couldn’t work without a back.

    I tried to fix that chair!

    old-chair-quick-fix

    I needed a chair! So, I tried to fix it. I found some 2×4 pieces in my basement and wedged it in along the front of the back mechanism of the chair back, and tied it together with some electrical wire that I also had lying around! That wire started to hurt my back sitting against it, so I found a few old belts and a small pillow and this chair basically was ‘almost’ good as new!

    In Search Of A New Office Chair

    It was my birthday July 11th and my wife wanted to buy me a new office chair as a present. When she asked me where I wanted to go to buy a new office chair, I thought about this very hard. I thought I could “double up” on her present, and instead of buying some cheap office chair from a cheap office store chain like Staples or Office Depot .. I thought I would look around and find something that would last a lot longer than 8 months or a year! This is what we found.

    Believe it or not – we bought a USED office chair, from a hi-end furniture company. These office chairs just came off lease (2 year lease that is) and was still in great condition! Hard to believe! Brand new, these chairs were priced to sell for about $1,600 CDN RETAIL. Because they were used, the were discounted to about $800.00 range (50%). Well, that was more than just a double up on the birthday present and was more like 4x’s what we were initially planning to spend. We asked whether there was something that they can do, and he did say he could lower the price a little, and had to run a few figures. We weren’t dealing with a salesman, by the way .. we were dealing with the owner of the company! My wife’s place of work, as it turned out … is a big customer of this company, and altogether, all things considered … I could have the chair for $600 CDN!

    So ..we bought it! Meet HART’s New Office Chair

    img_0408

    Not bad for a 2 year old used chair, eh? And, it’s been a week IN USE that I have been testing this chair, and I can tell you 100% that I will never buy a cheap office chair from cheap factory outlets again! It pays to upgrade and I really think that this chair will last a while for me!

    Characteristics Of A Good Office Chair

    #1. Good Materials

    chair-seatSitting on this chair is an absolute delight. I’m a big guy, and the fabric of the chair material is durable and permeable that is supposed to dissipate moisture and heat. This is very important for my office, because I’m on the second floor of our Condo and there is a heating issue. In the summer it is quite hot and in the winter it is quite cold and I have to have a heater in my office to keep it warm enough to type. The seat is wide enough so I’m not cramped in the chair and there is about a good “fistful” of space between the front of the chair and my inner knees. Apparently, this is a good thing to keep circulation for those working sitting down in a chair all day. Also, this is a chair with some feathers or spongy styrofoam inside. There is an extra durable MEMORY FITTING harder styrofoam in the cushion that not only supports my weight sitting down all day (and the back too) but when I get off of the chair the seat cushion resorts back to normal position! How cool is that?! Also, there is the standard ‘Seat Pan Tilt” control for this chair. Part of the whole “ergonomics” thingie is to help get the right posture while sitting while you work and help to alleviate
    pressure on the back of the thighs. If you ever pulled your hamstring muscles while sitting down working – this is probably why.

    #2. Good Armrests

    chair-armYou need armrests when working on the computer. Because my office is an “L” shaped office, I have to be careful on the left side. Almost every chair that I have .. the left armrest always gets broken or sliced up as I rotate a lot to the left, where my Laser printer is located. I’m always swiveling and it has to be able to be a little lower on that side. The armrests on this new chair is very sturdy and well built too. It’s not cheap rubber that, if too hot in my office, my elbows will stick to it. You can move the armrest inwards and outwards for greater comfort seating and you can raise and lower the armrest to place it at the right height you need. For this chair, there’s actually a button/knob that you turn to raise and lower. Most other chairs have a button that you just push in and slide up or down. I think this is a good thing, because it’s more sturdy and doesn’t wobble. My last chair I thought the arms would have fallen off before the back would have broken.

    #3. Good Backrest Adjustment

    chair-raise-back I’m quite happy with the backrest adjustment on my “new” chair. A good chair will have backrest adjustments to help make it easier for you when you sit in a chair for long periods of time. This chair’s backrest can adjust both up and down and tilt forward and backwards. I’m 6’1″ and a big guy, and I need good lumbar support while I sit. I can sit in this chair and lean back, and if the backrest is in the lowest position, I can actually find the right position and slide up a notch at a time to get the right position while I am sitting! At the top of this setting, I would have to release a button on the backrest to revert. There is a lever under the seat for the tilt position, which is supposed to help with the lower back support. My chair has three levers under the chair in total. One to raise the height of the chair, one for the tilting of the backrest and another for the seat tilt. All of this sort of sounds silly talking about it, but in my old chair I would always have to get up and do stretches that .. well, you push your shoulders out and stretch your back (what’s that called?) Since I got this new chair last week .. my back never needs to get a stretching while I work. I think that’s good!

    #4. A Really Comfortable Back

    chair-backThis chair has the best back that I have ever had – just look at the shape! My entire office is used while I work, and I often swivel left to get something out of my laser printer, or around to get a glass of water, or swivel right to my fax/inkjet/scanner printer or to my phone, and so on and so on. You don’t really think you notice it with the larger chairs, but the act of spinning around on a chair and reaching for something behind you – with a chair that’s not so thick around the shoulder blades – is very noticeable to me now! Imagine spreading your arms out to your sides, then backwards. It is a lot easier to move your arms back as your shoulders and shoulder blades move with them as well. I have the chair’s skinniest part to fall in between my shoulder blades and have been quite mobile reaching all around my office while remaining sitting at my office chair!

    #5. Stability

    chair-legsUnfortunately .. my chair FAILS in this part. I’ve never really noticed this before . but my previous office chair had 5 legs, and this new office chair only has 4 legs. When I was researching for new office chairs, I read somewhere that a good office chair should have 5 pronged base for support. You should also have soft casters for hard surface and hard casters for soft surfaces. Currently, this chair has the softer casters. My chair is sitting on a plastic sheet on top of carpet – so, the surface is also soft. At the moment, this week, it’s not an issue because where my old chair used to have 5 legs .. there are dents in the plastic floor cover! I’m sure over time, the 4 legs will create it’s own indentation in the plastic. I’ve also noted that with the 4 prong legs, if I turn suddenly to the right, it comes a little unstable. I have to watch this to be sure that I don’t tip over and give extra weight to one side of the chair.

    All In All ..

    Well .. 4 out of 5 ain’t that bad and I’m still sure that this chair will last me a few years at least. I’ve hope you enjoyed my adventure in RECORDING of my chair purchase here in this blog .. as it is a major part of my blogging process each day (being comfortable as I write). Also, I want to see how long it will last me and give me something to search for in the upcoming years, when I need a new chair!

    How’s Your Office Chair? How many Hours Do You Sit At Your Computer? How Much Did You Pay For Your Last Office Chair?

    Feel free to let us know in the comments!

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