At the start of my HY2254 lecture yesterday, I pulled out my Fujitsu Lifebook T4010D to take notes, as has been my daily routine for pretty much any class since I started university in 2005.

An acquaintance from my hall next to me noticed and after a brief pause, the conversation went something like this:

Friend: "Whoa, how old is your computer?"

Me: "About four or five years old."

Friend: "Wow! Pentium M!" (points at the slightly worn Pentium M sticker on the palm rest)

In all the four years of my owning this computer, that's probably the first time someone noticed it was powered by a Pentium M. It's also the first time anyone had commented on how old it was, and I myself actually hadn't realized until yesterday that it has been a good four years of me using this machine. This summer will mark its fourth birthday, and this year will mark its fifth year since being released to market back in 2004.

The notebook is definitely showing some signs of wear - the keyboard is fairly polished, the cover has a weathered look, and the screen protector has its fair share of scuffs and scratches. Thankfully, the palm-rest is actually still in relatively pristine condition with no signs of colour fade (I guess Fujitsu picked some super resilient paint for this model).

I think this notebook has truly been one of my best gadget purchases to date. No serious hardware or software issues have befallen the machine, and it has physically stood up to a lot of mileage (it follows me almost everywhere in either backpack or messenger bag, and has been crushed beneath heavy textbooks and the like). It has sustained a few hits while inside my messenger bag either due to me tripping or sitting down too quickly.

And after all that, I still runs like clockwork.

And for me to not seriously consider replacing an electronic device after one or two years of use, that speaks a lot to my satisfaction with the machine.

I don't know when I will replace this machine, but if/when that day comes, I will be strongly biased towards Fujitsu.