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Whitby Free Press. Wednosday, September 27, 1M'5$ Page 7 Computer shopping This was the week the mouse died. Looking back, ail the signs were there: sloppy response; sticky lateral movement; definite reluctance to put red tens under black jacks. Okay, you're asking. What's solitaire got to do with a mouse ... mouse? .. . oh, that kind of mouse, right. Correct. Computer mouse. So what do you do with a dead mouse? Well,- if your computer has six> weeks left on its full-year-parts-and- labour-on-site warranty, take it back to the computer store. Computer stores display loads of goodies these days. Busy places, too; customer after customer wanting parts replaoed, systeme upgraded, motherboards replaced and hard disks ènflarged. This is also the place to see those neat programs you bought last year for $69.95 now on regular sale price of $19.99. Or less. So I hand in my dead mouse, come back next day te get a replacement, upgraded Microsoft Mouse. rm ready te leave, happy. Next te the counter steps this young couple, well, mid- tbirties, you decide yourself it that's young, with two kids I could count. TCan I help you?' asks the owner-operator. I think he's the owner-operator. He's helpful, knows bis stuif, patient with even fool questions like mine and the rest of the staff defer te him. If he's not the boss he deserves a raise. 'We'd like to buy a computer," says the woman. . Her husband-nods, yes, a computer. The hids jump up and down, a complur, a computer. 'What kind' 'Well, friends have told .s, um, Pentium, isn't that it, right, Pentium. Well, maybe with features, maybe CD- ROM."f 'We have several specials right now." The owner pulls out an ad, circles one or two, adds a couple of other model numbers, repeats the brand name. 'liese models have the Pentium chip. These dont, but can be upgraded te Pentiun." "Hmmm. Yes. Friends have teld us to get something that can be upgraded. We don't want te end up with something that would be completely out of date in two, three years." About this point I might have jumped into the conversation. In some stores, sales clerks lead the sales pitch. Strange thing about computer store: it's the customers who give the sales pitch, the sales staff nod knowingly.î What I would have said had I jumped ini was this: forget the upgrade. My unit right here, on which I type this colurnn, on which I wiil speed iLte the offices of the Whitby Free Press shortly after midnight, is now approaching its first birthday. Upgrade it? In the year since I spent somne $2,800, tax and upgrades included, the computer industiy has changed. For one thing, the Pentium chip te which everyone wanted to upgrade a year ago proved flawed and was withdr awn from the market, Secondly, for the price I pad a year ago you now get another 110 megabytes of hard disk space, Windows '95, quad speed mnstead of double speed CD-ROM, Encarta '95, more belîs and whistles. Upgrade? Ha.1 Someone once advised me: buy as big, and as fast a computer with as much memory and disk sace ias un nc -ain aford P'ARD< LISTON~ ALWA'Y y-TERDIIV. FIRST COUNCI MEETING IN NEW TOWN HALL, SEPTEIMER 26, 1960 Left to nightz Wan-en Mowat, Hariy Inkpen, Everel± Quantnill, Paul Coath, Robert Hasings, George Brooks, Mayor Stan Martin, Joyce Burns, William Davidson, Clerk-Treasurer John R. Frost. This building is now the Whitby Public iàbrary. Photo by BIH Stannett 10 YEARS AGO from the Wednesday, September 25, 1985 edition of the WMTBY FEEPRESS " A Toronto flrm bas reoeived a contract to construct the new Whitby GO-Transit station, te be ready by 1988. " The Regency cottage at 300 Byron Street South, bufit in 1862, has been designated under the Ontario Héritage Act. " Five Whitby citizens were honoured by Durham Regional Police for heroic and humanitarian services to the communityr. " An anti-vandalism progrm bas begun i Whitby, aimed at young people. 35 YEAlW AGO from the Thursday, September 21, 1960 edition of the WariTBYWgoEfKlY NEWS " Whitby Red Wings junior A lacrosse team reoeived a hero7s welcome even though they failed te win the Minte, Cup from the New Westminster Salmonhellies in Vancouver, B.C. " Whitby town officiaIs have moved te the new municipal building at Dundas and Kàing Streets. " The Whitby Safety Council is sponsoring its flrst Bicycle Safety Rodeo on Oct. 1. " Police Chief George RanIne ls warning the public about phoney solicitors saying they are raising funds for the Salvation Army. 80 YEAýRS AGO from the Thursday, September 23, 1915 edition of the WB1TBY GAZETTE AND CBROMICLE " The Town councils of Mimico and New Toronto inspected Whitby~s new sewage. disposaI plant " Rev. A.P. Menzies of St. Andew's Presbyterian Church bas been granted a leave of absence by bis congregations so he canjoin the armed forces. " Whitby Brick and Clay Products is the town's newest industry. W.D. Dykes is president. " Arthur Coakwelbas sold the Temperance House hotel in Brooklin te James Luke of Columbus. 14E IER 1