Good, Bad, PC Ugly

My computer/TV will be online again shortly. Many thanks to Marty for letting me borrow an extra hard drive. This was a really difficult issue to overcome and I'll spare most of the details. Here's the overview:

Good: For a mere $20, The compy is now up and running.

Better: I've fallen in love...with Linux. Marty also gave me a copy of Linux Mint and I was blown away. I can't believe an OS that elegant ran from a CD! I'm seriously considering a third hard drive in my machine so I can run XP, Win7 release candidate, and Linux. Why didn't someone introduce me sooner? Why was I so scared of the learning curve on Linux? Apparently an old PC dog can learn new tricks.

Bad: Seagate felt it appropriate to replace my in-warranty, super quiet, brand new hard drive with a refurbished, super loud hard drive. One of the major reasons I bought that drive was the low volume! I'm a stickler about noise pollution from computer components - I even have noise-dampening material lined in my computer case. Grr! At least I still have the full 5-year warranty. Still, I will not buy from Seagate again. Ever.

Ugly: Marty, the drive you let me borrow no longer works. It was on it's last legs, and my usage brought it to a screeching halt. I'm sorry! I owe you one, buddy.

Not so Ugly: The drive crashed while I was 'watching' Bride Wars with Cynthia and brought the movie to an abrupt end. I believe that drive sacrificed itself for the sake of my sanity. Thank you for giving it your all, IBM hard drive...RIP.