LittleWyvern.com

Since the last time we spoke I have taken my casual idea and run with it. My first step was to order a half dozen technical books (into the first of which I am already two chapters deep). This sort of project will require more than theoretical know-how, however; I will need the physical hardware too. When I left NetStudy I gave them back the laptop they had bought me, but up until now I haven’t felt the loss. As the project progresses – and once the football season begins – I definitely will.

I am if nothing else a creature of impulse. Whether by luck or skill I managed to win a decent amount of money playing cards over the past few days, and so, while the win is still fresh and the money still considered “found,” I pulled the trigger and ordered myself a new laptop tonight. I only did about an hour of research (hardly exhaustive), but in the end I settled on a Dell XPS M1530. It has been the #1 most popular laptop on NotebookReview.com for the past several months and nearly all of its critiques contained little but praise.

Dell is running a summer special that has the laptop at a discounted price. Sure that was nice enough, but then as I was digging through the bowels of the net I randomly came across a link to some obscure deal that ended up slashing another few hundred dollars off of the already low price. I had no choice but to buy the thing.

I would have waited and done a bit more research, but in addition to the extra price cut I was also being offered a few free upgrades that are worth several hundred additional dollars. The offer on the upgrades expired at midnight.

Here is what I will be working with
Dell XPS M1530
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800MHzFSB, 3M L2 Cache)
4GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
15.4 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ TrueLife LCD with 2.0 MP Camera
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition
8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Tuxedo Black Casing
etc…

The machine also comes with a number of flashy extras that I’m not sure I will ever really use. It has an optical thumbprint scanner that can be used to secure the computer from anyone but me. It has a high-def screen and an HDMI port. It has a built-in webcam and a wireless remote controller.

I was given free upgrades to my hard drive, memory, and battery as well as free shipping (always nice). The system retails for more than $2000, but after the various voodoo I ended up paying $1150 before tax. I am sure that better deals exist, but overall I am pretty satisfied with where I ended up.

No doubt this is all very premature for a business idea still in its infancy. Since that lightning bolt of an idea (that some of you probably consider stupid) I have spent quite a lot of time and money. I don’t know how I am going to make it work or where the necessary money will come from (perhaps the $3-$5 tables), but I have never been one to let a little thing like money stand in my way. It wasn’t too long ago that I moved out to Las Vegas while several thousand dollars in debt and without any serious long-term prospects. I managed to make things work then, however, and I am convinced that I can make them work again now. And if poker has taught me nothing else it is that most of the time you have to spend money to make money.

You have to be willing to lose in order to win.