The author recounts buying a Compaq laptop in 2000 for graduate work at Missouri State University, praising its durability and dependable performance despite a dim display. The piece contrasts early-2000s limitations (dial-up, dim screens) with modern improvements (Wi-Fi, SSDs, brighter displays) and stresses that reliability and practical features remain the most important qualities when choosing a laptop. The author later passed the Compaq to his daughter when she started graduate school.
A reliable companion on campus
I bought a compact Compaq laptop in 2000 to use while doing graduate history work at Missouri State University. At the time, budget laptops weren't as well built as many are today, but this machine surprised me. I carried it across a crowded campus in a handled case, then a wheeled one, and it endured constant jostling - even a few curb bumps - without failing.
Performance that fit my needs
What mattered most was that the laptop simply worked when I needed it. It handled word processing, research notes, and the odd freelance writing job that helped offset school costs. On a student budget I mostly relied on dial-up for home access then; the laptop could also use the dataports and emerging campus network infrastructure to access faster Internet on site.
The machine wasn't the fastest by today's standards, but it was dependable. I counted on it for term papers and for freelance assignments. In practical terms, durability and consistent performance mattered more than bells and whistles.
One real drawback: the screen
My main complaint was the display. It was adequate in a normally lit room but lacked brightness for use in bright sunlight. That was a common limitation of lower-cost laptops of the time; panels and backlighting have improved considerably since.
How things have changed since 2000
The laptop market has shifted a lot in the past two decades. The Compaq brand was acquired by HP in 2002, and today even inexpensive laptops typically offer better build quality, brighter displays, longer battery life, and solid-state drives instead of slower hard drives. Campus networks are now dominated by Wi-Fi, and broadband is widely available in most cities that previously relied on dial-up.
Despite these improvements, the basics remain the same: a laptop should be durable, meet your performance needs, and be convenient to carry and use where you work.
Sentiment and passing the torch
After I upgraded to newer machines, I passed the Compaq to my daughter when she began graduate counseling studies at the same university. I'm sentimental about that unit - it was my first true laptop and it earned a permanent place in my memory for doing the everyday work I asked of it.
Takeaway
If you're shopping now, look beyond specs and marketing. Prioritize reliability, battery life, and a screen that fits how you'll use the machine. Those practical qualities mattered in 2000 and they still matter today.