I recently watched Hugo Ortega's video blog of him picking up his latest UMPC, the Raon Everun. Although I do not care for this particular device (more on that another day), one of his comments caused me to reflect over my past 8 years as a tech enthusiast. Not only will geeks stretch their financial resources to get their hands on the latest tech, we will also pull a Planes, Trains, and Automobiles to get it.

I have been reluctant to travel too far or go ridiculously out of my way to get my hands on certain devices. But that does not mean that I will not do it...it just means I loathe getting ready to do it. It is one of those activities like working out, where I hate the idea of doing it while I'm getting dressed or when the alarm goes off, but once I'm into the event, I have a pretty good time. In the case of going after rare devices, I typically have fond memories.

It is not unusual for even the casual enthusiast to hit several local stores on a Saturday in search of a TV or a particular video card. Yet there are those times when you have to go to higher extremes to get the gear you need (ok...want). It started while I was in grad school an hour and a half south of San Jose. Since I did not have the confidence to buy motherboards and processors online, a typical event was to mount an expedition up to Fry's in San Jose to peruse components first hand. It was also the day of CRT's, which cost a bundle to have shipped, so that required a road trip as well.

While in Washington State, I used to make trips 45 minutes down the road to get to the really high-tech stores to get new components. In the last couple of years, my efforts have not waned in the face of supply adversity.

We drove 2.5 hours over to Richmond to get my MacBook. I think I iterated in a recent post about my swindle to get my hands on my Samsung Q1b UMPC (which I am typing this post on)...having my bank change my billing address to the hotel I was going to be staying at, and then faxing forms to the online vendor I was purchasing from to authorize them to deliver the computer to the hotel.

A buddy of mine and I camped out for the Nintendo Wii on launch day, coordinating efforts and logistics via cell phone, and bringing PSPs to the launch to while our time away until the store opened.

I have also, on multiple occasions, coordinated delivery of packages during my (now brief) returns home so that the package arrives on a specific day that I can be at home to pick it up.

While each of these events has produced at a minimum a cool blog post or two, with each iteration, I hope that I do not have to do it for that particular device when it comes time to upgrade. I do not want to camp out for a console ever again. It was fun to do it one time and participate in the culture and witness the launch. I hope that I do not have to jump through hoops the next time I buy an UMPC. I really hope that the market has advanced enough by the time I upgrade that they are in sufficient supply that the extreme effort will not be necessary.

Of course, I will not put myself in the position of having to eat future crow by saying that if the above conditions are not the case that I won't be jumping in a car, searching store inventories in advance of a potential business trip in the location I am traveling to, or paying for a Saturday delivery so I get something in my hands before I have to travel again. Such is the life, I guess.