My computer situation (update, w/ recommended computer)

[Guest guest]

Hi guys,

Long time no see. I just thought I'd post an email (with a few

omissions/modifications) that I just got finished sending someone in the group.

I'm sorry that it's so long-winded - but maybe, just maybe, there is a morsel or

two in my autistic narrative that might be helpful to someone. As I say in the

email, I really regret not telling you guys about a laptop computer that I had

known about for months that seemed relatively benign (at least to me). What a

big " D'OH " on my part. I guess my " reasoning " , if you can call it that - for

not mentioning it is that I had sort-of dismissed it in my mind as an " el

cheapo " brand computer that wasn't a viable long-term option. But so far, this

laptop is working for me - well, as much as a computer can " work " for someone

with esens. It might work for other sufferers. The email follows:

I just wanted to update you on my computer situation. In February/March, I

finally started making some moves on buying a new computer. At first I bought

an ASUS A52F-XA1 (15.6 " ) laptop, but I returned it to amazon.com without even

opening the box because when I later went to " test " the computer at Best Buy, it

seemed like it would be pretty bothersome (I felt " forced " to make a quick

purchase on amazon.com because it was showing one of those " Only 2 Left in

Stock " type of messages). Then, a few weeks later, I took the plunge again; I

was intrigued with ULV processors - so I bought an ASUS UL50-XA1 - this

computer:

http://www.amazon.com/UL50AT-X1-Processor-Notebook-Windows-Premium/dp/B003DZCPL6\

/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 & s=electronics & qid=1306059154 & sr=1-1

Well, it was pretty bad! I started feeling quite " fried " about as soon as I

turned on the computer. In many ways, it was considerably worse than the laptop

that I was trying to get away from. The low-power, " battery " settings made it

somewhat better - but not " better " enough. Within hours, I pretty much knew

that it wasn't something I should keep - there just had to be something better.

The ultra-low-voltage 1.3 GHz SU7300 Core 2 Duo processor just didn't " do the

trick " as far as making that thing a tolerable machine. Oh, I still have faith

that ULV processors can contribute greatly to a relatively pain-free computing

experience - but in that particular computer, it wasn't nearly enough to make it

-friendly (at least based on my experience). I guess this just reinforces

the " theory " (or fact) that there must be a lot more involved in computer

emissions than just the processor/graphics card.

(I was focusing on ASUS computers because I had read that they have one of the

best track records as far as durability/reliability - Dell's poor reputation for

longevity steered me away from Dells. I need for my investment to last a long

time.)

So after this experience, I just said " f - it " . I was tired of the

" buying-and-returning " merry-go-round. I was tired of the " research " and the

self-conscious store expeditions. Luckily for me, I knew of a computer that was

relatively benign on my -- the eMachines e725-4520. For several months,

I eschewed buying an eMachines in favor of searching for my notion of a " better

option " . (The eMachines brand just didn't have a positive image in my mind for

quality/durability – and I thought that I might find an even more -friendly

computer. Besides, I wasn't sure whether I wanted a desktop or a laptop.)

Sometime early last year, without doing any " research " - my brother bought this

computer at Walmart. (My brother does not have electrosensitivity.) His

decision-making " process " was basically, " My laptop died - I need a new computer

fast - oh, this eMachines is very inexpensive. " During a couple of occasions

last year, I spent hours " trying out " his computer - and it seemed relatively

gentle on my esens. I even felt comfortable with using his computer on my lap –

and it had been a long time since I could do that with the Dell. I was worried

about the quality/durability - but when I checked the reviews of the laptop, it

seemed to get as good (or better) reviews than a lot of the more " reputed

brands " out there. And my brother's laptop was still going strong after a year,

it seemed. So I searched around and bought one. Here it is:

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Emachines-E725-4520-250GBDVD%C2%B1RW-Wireless/dp/B003\

AG7N4C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 & s=electronics & qid=1270241710 & sr=8-1

I'm not saying things are " perfect " with this computer (there is rarely a such

thing as " perfect " ). But my symptoms are a LOT less " active " with this

eMachines than they were with the ASUS ULV monstrosity, and this computer just

seems considerably more " gentle " than a lot of laptops out there. There are a

lot of times when I hardly notice any symptoms at all. Funny - this " journey " I

went on to find a good computer - all of the so-called " research " I did -

leads me back to my brother's eMachines, a " Walmart " computer that I had known

about for many months. I wish I had " the good sense " to buy this computer last

year - when I could have bought it more easily and for at least $100 cheaper.

I also really regret that I didn't tell the group about this computer as

soon as I determined that it was a " tolerable " computer (at least for me) -

especially in light of the lack of recommended brands/models of computers on

. It might have provided some helpful " lead " to someone. Now - since this

computer is " last year's model " , it is harder to find - and people may more

likely have to go through less " mainstream " vendors .

I'm just knocking on wood that this computer lasts.

I'm not sure if there is a current-model eMachines being sold - I think there

may be. Hopefully - whatever eMachines did (or didn't do) to make this computer

relatively-benign - they have replicated in subsequent models. I'd like to know

what it is that makes this computer better than a lot of the others - is it

something about the screen-technology, or what? It could be that some of the

same factors that make this computer less expensive than others (last year, it

was selling for two-hundred-something dollars at Walmart), makes it more

tolerable. This experience leads me to conclude that it may be fruitful for

folks to search for cheap, " low-end " computers being sold at Walmart or

Target or somewhere.

Also – it is worth mentioning that Acer bought eMachines a few years back - so

this computer was actually manufactured by Acer, I think. So maybe there are

some Acer models that share certain characteristics with this eMachines. An

" extreme " example of this is the possibility that this particular Acer computer

is the *exact same* computer as my eMachines - it just has an " Acer " label

instead of an " eMachines " label:

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AS5732Z-4867-15-6-Inch-Display-Laptop/dp/B00358XT5W/r\

ef=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 & s=electronics & qid=1270242214 & sr=8-1

I've also realized more than ever that software issues - at least for me - play

an important role in computer tolerability. If the " wrong " software, spyware,

or " bloatware " gets installed on this computer - it can become bothersome. For

ex., when I installed the version of Malwarebytes that has real-time protection,

I thought I noticed this computer immediately becoming bothersome - thankfully,

I could disable the real-time protection. I also notice that using Mozilla

Firefox is significantly less bothersome than using Internet Explorer: I guess

it's a less " bloated " , resource-hogging browser. One reason seems to be that

Mozilla gives you the option of deleting individual cookies (I swear I sometimes

notice an immediate difference when I delete cookies). I was nervous about the

latest version of Firefox having " hardware acceleration " (the latest IE has this

as well) - it just sounds like something that would increase emf. So I avoided

upgrading - until circumstances sort-of " forced " me to upgrade. Fortunately,

there is an option in the new Firefox where you can turn hardware-acceleration

off.

Looking back, I wonder if the worsening/progression of my electrosensitivity -

when my symptoms really started " screaming " - was due to an accumulation of

cookies/malware/crapware dumped on my computer harddrive. I really do believe

this played a definite role. Maybe there was some " poorly scripted " crapware

that put a particular strain on my resources/harddrive. More and more unwanted

" stuff " kept getting dumped on my harddrive. I admit that I was lazy/naiive

about installing an anti-virus/anti-spyware program - not that it would have

made *too* much of a difference in the long run . I'm very skeptical about

these anti-malware programs truly keeping rogue junk from eventually

accumulating on people's computers.

Another thing I did with this eMachines (I also did it on the Dell) that made a

positive difference is change the monitor display settings from the default

32-bit color to 16-bit color...it seems to either decrease emf, and/or lead to

eye-strain relief. There may be things I can do to further " tweak " the graphics

to decrease computer stress, but I currently don't feel any urgent need to do

them.

Of course, the computer offers a variety of power-management settings - I think

most late-model, Windows 7 laptops do. One thing that's good is that you can

configure the computer to run on low, " battery " -type power settings - even when

the computer is plugged in. But so far, I choose not to do this. I'm running

the computer on the default " balanced " settings when it is plugged in.

I just think it helps to keep the harddrive as " clean " and as " empty " as

possible. In addition to trying to keep cookies/spyware/adware etc. off the

harddrive, I think I'm going to try to minimize the amount of files I put on it.

Another thing that I finally started doing was dialing down the power output of

our satanic AT & T WiFry router. I remember you telling me that I could do this,

but I was too lethargic/green-thumbed to pursue the matter. In the back of my

mind, I thought there would be a lot involved...that it wasn't for the novice.

But one day in desperation (after a confrontation with my father in which he

ordered me to stop turning off the WiFi router, since it also turns off our

landline phone service) - I stumbled upon the way to do this. I logged into our

router settings. The power output is adjustable from Level 1 to Level 10 - of

course, our WiFi was operating at the maximum level of 10 (which is the

default). Each time I adjusted the power downward, I noticed relief - i.e.,

from 10 to 5, from 5 to 3, etc.. Eventually, I decided to keep it at 1 - our

computers seem to be dealing with the weaker signal fine. I also noticed a

positive difference when I changed the setting to stop the router from cranking

out both " b " and " g " signals. Now it only outputs " g " signals.

Sorry for the loong novella. I just thought I'd update you on the status of

things - just in case you thought I had died or something, lol. No, the

radiation hasn't claimed me quite yet. Thanks to an improved computer and WiFi

situation, things are better than they were a year ago. Oh, make no mistake -

I'm still very much . I still fear that I've suffered considerable mental

and physical damage. I fear that this computer may become more and more

bothersome as the " surreptitious files " start to accumulate. I can still " feel "

the WiFi in the air sometimes - though not nearly as much as I could. Even with

the WiFi power at one, laying on my innerspring mattress bed was still very

bothersome. I recently replaced my " wire-antenna " bed with a " wireless " latex

one - although this situation is still in flux because I may have to return the

latex bed (the offgassing/fumes have been a big problem for me).

~Svetaswan