Today is my Dad’s 76th birthday. After last years grand birthday celebrations, this year was a low key event. The big question facing us was his birthday present. What do you get someone who already has all that life has to offer?
The answer - Convenience. Although computers arrived long after his time, Dad has managed to catch up pretty quickly. He has a laptop and a desktop. And uses e-mail and messengers very effectively. Recently he’s been having some difficulty with them. The desktop had outlived its life after 4+ years. And the laptop with its small size did not make Dad comfortable. And so we concluded that getting him a nice desktop with a large screen would be a good idea.
In our family if any technology is involved, then there’s only 1 person whose views prevail. And that’s my cousin, Claudian. As is usual, Clauds was asked for his recommendation. And getting a recommendation out of Claudian is similar to pulling teeth out from a child. He requires to start with a 100 options and then start eliminating them on various parameters, such as performance, value-for-money, style, support, features, … It doesn’t end there. Once he has his short list, he then needs to check out all the various options. And like all good consultants needs to be pampered.
On the Friday preceding the birthday, My sister, Mabel and I drove Clauds to Phoenix Mills. The search started at McDonald’s. as Clauds puts it, “You can’t take decisions on an empty stomach”. After fuelling up, we started the search at Staples. Saw several computers, but Clauds was not impressed. We moved on to Croma. A HP All-in-One caught our eye. Yes, good option, opined Clauds. But we need to do more research. The 1 touch button did not work well. The Croma staff and specialists were questioned and cross questioned. At the end of it what emerged was that they had no idea. The next stop was the Tardeo e-Zone. Once again poor choice of PC’s and laptops. We were in and out in under 3 minutes. That’s how sad their collection was. Next stop Vijay Sales. Good collection of PC’s and desktops. Poor customer service. Poorer knowledge of products. And we have to leave before they lock us in.
At the end of this hectic recce trip, Claudian promises to research based on the new information now available. He writes and talks to Dell and several other PC / laptop manufacturers. And finally a winner emerges. The HP All-in-One. Hey, it wasn’t that the first one we saw. It was, but then without the journey, the fruits of labor would not be as tasty.
Finally, yesterday, we went to the Juhu Croma and purchased the All-in-One. It came with a free printer. And we purchased an additional 2 year warranty at Rs. 2900. Making the purchase a great deal, guaranteed to work for 3 years.
Dad loves his new toy. He can now add Skype to his e-skills. Dad does not leave his Colaba house very often. Unless its to visit his favorite child, Mabel. The new computer allows him to interact, see and talk to all his other grandkids, who live in far away places like San Francisco and Powai. And maybe even chat with his prodigal children.
Happy Birthday Dad. You may or may not know it, but we all love you. In 1992 a postcard said it. In 2011, a blog says it. Have a great year ahead.
The answer - Convenience. Although computers arrived long after his time, Dad has managed to catch up pretty quickly. He has a laptop and a desktop. And uses e-mail and messengers very effectively. Recently he’s been having some difficulty with them. The desktop had outlived its life after 4+ years. And the laptop with its small size did not make Dad comfortable. And so we concluded that getting him a nice desktop with a large screen would be a good idea.
In our family if any technology is involved, then there’s only 1 person whose views prevail. And that’s my cousin, Claudian. As is usual, Clauds was asked for his recommendation. And getting a recommendation out of Claudian is similar to pulling teeth out from a child. He requires to start with a 100 options and then start eliminating them on various parameters, such as performance, value-for-money, style, support, features, … It doesn’t end there. Once he has his short list, he then needs to check out all the various options. And like all good consultants needs to be pampered.
At the end of this hectic recce trip, Claudian promises to research based on the new information now available. He writes and talks to Dell and several other PC / laptop manufacturers. And finally a winner emerges. The HP All-in-One. Hey, it wasn’t that the first one we saw. It was, but then without the journey, the fruits of labor would not be as tasty.
Finally, yesterday, we went to the Juhu Croma and purchased the All-in-One. It came with a free printer. And we purchased an additional 2 year warranty at Rs. 2900. Making the purchase a great deal, guaranteed to work for 3 years.
Dad loves his new toy. He can now add Skype to his e-skills. Dad does not leave his Colaba house very often. Unless its to visit his favorite child, Mabel. The new computer allows him to interact, see and talk to all his other grandkids, who live in far away places like San Francisco and Powai. And maybe even chat with his prodigal children.
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