I intend to buy a laptop for the first time in my life. I have had my doubts about buying one, because I did not feel I needed it, since I was always content with my stationary computers. But now I think it would probably be a good idea:

• because I could focus more on my writing (and be more productive)
• spend less time inside my office room and spent more time in the living room with the wife and our daughter
• my wife would not have to use her own laptop from the job for private purposes

Now, let me tell you my procedure of buying new (technical) equipment. I tend to make a thorough research, visit countless websites, check out tons of reviews and customers’ opinions, read IT articles etc.

I know I use probably too much time on deciding what to buy, and I admit it; I pain myself, I pain everyone around me. It can sometimes take months before I buy something. Last time I bought a digital video camera, I used around 6 months to find the right one!

My wife Amra has a theory: I have developed some sort of Freudian, psychological guilt of buying stuff. She thinks that I use so much time on finding the right product at the right price, because I feel some kind of quilt, fear that my family and I will be disappointed in a product, and thus not be satisfied with the purchase. That is why, she believes, I use so much time and torture myself until the decision is made.

I don’t know, there’s maybe some truth in it, but what Amra fails to realize, is the fact the world of technology is so chaotic, there are virtually millions of products, and it is not very easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. I am probably one of those people who want to buy a reasonable product, i.e. good quality and fair price. God knows, how disappointed I can get when I make a wrong buy knowing it is not going to serve my needs well. And I know, I should probably work on it, because it is not very productive, it is just not worth using all that time on research. Instead of thinking and find the “ultimate truth” about certain product, I should just make a fair research and listen to my inner voice.

The reason I am so careful is not guilt, but rather fear of making the wrong decision. I hate to buy something I don’t like, because then I have to call a customer service, that somehow still manage to operate in an extremely Kafkaesque manner… Although I do not agree completely with Amra’s theory, I am glad that she pointed out my problem, so that I can work on being a faster decision maker.

I know now that I am going to buy me a nice Dell Inspiron 6400 or something like that. 🙂