In the last few weeks I've had some major computer problems. The site was running on a backup server for a few days after my main server crashed, but everything should be working right now. I apologize if anyone has had any problems accessing extension purchases.

My laptop decided to crash at the same time, unfortunately. My laptop is a Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100, and it is basically an etch-a-sketch with a microprocessor, despite the $2300 price tag. In the 1 1/2 years since I've had it, I've had two hard drive failures. 2 weeks ago I got tired of the laptop shorting out when I breathed on it the wrong way, so I had the motherboard and video board replaced. Last week something went out again (loose connection from the previous repair) and it was in the shop once more. I would never again buy a toshiba. I bought the 3 year service plan, so luckily the repairs were free.

In brighter news, my old Compaq laptop that I gave to my wife developed a very loose display that needed a new part. Luckily, I had purchased a 3 year extended warranty from Best Buy. They could not replace the part because it was a 35 month old computer, so they gave us $3K to spend on a new laptop. We had to configure an HP with every option known to man (extra battery, bigger processor, more memory, Office 2003, etc) to get it up to $3K. Naturally, we also purchased another 3 year warranty. ;-)

Moral of the story is never buy a laptop without an extended warranty.