Someone Sent Me A Computer!
June 26th, 2009 by ComputerBob
Last night was another one of those nights when I took care of some children while their mothers attended a support group for survivors of domestic violence.
When I got home about 9:00 PM, there was a large cardboard box waiting for me.
UPS had delivered it, but its return address identified it as being from Overstock.com.
Closer examination of the box revealed a sticker, indicating that it contained a refurbished IBM PC.
I opened the plastic envelope on the side of the box and read the packing slip. It only described Overstock.com’s return policies, and didn’t give any indication of exactly what was in the box or who had sent it to me.
Overflowing with anticipation, I cut the shipping tape and opened the box.
Inside was laptop computer — specifically a refurbished IBM Thinkpad with a battery and a power supply.
My brain sprang into action as I quickly tried to compile a mental list of all of the people I know who might have sent me a $300 refurbished IBM Thinkpad.
A second later, I realized that nobody I know would have done that.
And yet, there it was.
So I unpacked the it. Plugged it in. Turned it on. Figured out how to turn off the annoying music that played thoughout its “welcome” message and the entire time that I entered its 25-character Product ID to activate its copy of Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 3 — all the while promising my wife that I would soon be blowing Windows XP Professional away and installing Linux on it.
On my third try — by using a large magnifying glass to help me read the tiny sticker on the bottom of the laptop — I finally managed to type the 25-character Windows Product ID correctly.
After that, I created a new “Bob” username. Enabled the Windows firewall. Disabled automatic Windows updates. Configured its networking so that it would see my router and my DSL Internet connection. Downloaded and installed the free and open-source Firefox browser. Set this web site’s home page to be the browser’s home page.
Then the phone rang.
It was one of my wife’s brothers.
Calling to apologize for accidently having Overstock.com ship his refurbished IBM Thinkpad to my wife and me.
He explained that he had ordered something to be shipped to us from Overstock.com last Christmas, and when he ordered his Thinkpad the other day, he hadn’t noticed that our address was still listed as the shipping address of his Overstock.com account.
So I shut down the Thinkpad. And unplugged it. And packed it with its battery and power supply back into their cardboard box. Used duct tape to seal it up securely.
I’ll be shipping it to my brother-in-law later this morning.
But for about 20 glorious, exciting minutes last night, it was mine.
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May 12th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
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