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Well, of all places, an auto upholstery shop is going to do the work, and it's supposedly going to cost me under a hundred (although this depends in part on how many weakened brackets need serious work in addition to the broken one). So I could probably justify spending the money on my laptop.
But...I just found out that there might not be much point in fixing the laptop. The main reason I was tempted to do it was so that I'd have online access of some sort at night while at an American Association of Physics Teachers conference in Sacramento in August (the campus computer labs are password protected, students/staff only). I'm still waiting to hear if they have a wireless network I'd be able to get into (although there's a good chance it's secured, like the one in the building where I work, and I won't be allowed access there either), but my backup plan of slapping in an AOL disk has been scuttled. No phone access in the dorms where I'm staying, so no dial-up. I'll still be okay for actual PHONE use, since I have a cell, but I don't really want to experiment with trying to use a cellphone to run an internet connection.
So I probably won't bother getting my laptop fixed up after all, and certainly won't be getting a wireless card for it. I really haven't been noticing places where I'd like to have brought along a non-internet laptop, and it's not something that would be helpful at work as an internet machine. I've pulled it out and powered it up maybe twice since I was sure the new iLamp at home was working, and those both just to make sure it would turn on, not to actually use it. I'd probably be better served to just wait a little longer and replace my PDA with something I can use in most of the roles of a laptop (i.e. thumbboard, wireless card, color, etc).
But...I just found out that there might not be much point in fixing the laptop. The main reason I was tempted to do it was so that I'd have online access of some sort at night while at an American Association of Physics Teachers conference in Sacramento in August (the campus computer labs are password protected, students/staff only). I'm still waiting to hear if they have a wireless network I'd be able to get into (although there's a good chance it's secured, like the one in the building where I work, and I won't be allowed access there either), but my backup plan of slapping in an AOL disk has been scuttled. No phone access in the dorms where I'm staying, so no dial-up. I'll still be okay for actual PHONE use, since I have a cell, but I don't really want to experiment with trying to use a cellphone to run an internet connection.
So I probably won't bother getting my laptop fixed up after all, and certainly won't be getting a wireless card for it. I really haven't been noticing places where I'd like to have brought along a non-internet laptop, and it's not something that would be helpful at work as an internet machine. I've pulled it out and powered it up maybe twice since I was sure the new iLamp at home was working, and those both just to make sure it would turn on, not to actually use it. I'd probably be better served to just wait a little longer and replace my PDA with something I can use in most of the roles of a laptop (i.e. thumbboard, wireless card, color, etc).
