It. Has. ARRIVED!

I haven't had much time to play with it yet because of my work schedule (up at 5:00 and home after 7:00) this week, but it's pretty amazing.

I'm still learning the keyboard which is a little different as far as page navigation, but the best part (and the thing that didn't photograph) is the backlit keyboard.

I look at the keyboard too much because I use what I call an accelerated Columbus typing method. I've learned to type pretty quickly, and can type without looking if I don't think about it. But with the backlit keyboard I can type without having to have the desktop spotlight of my desk on.

I've installed most of the programs I need onto it, and right now I'm restoring the files that are stored on my backup storage.

And because I got on John's case for announcing a new monitor without specs, here's the laptop's specs:

HP ENVY 17 customizable Notebook PC

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-740QM Quad Core
processor (1.73GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz
1GB ATI
Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5850 Graphics [HDMI]
8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
1TB 7200RPM Dual Hard Drive (500GB x 2) with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive
Protection
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 2.25 hours of
battery life +++
17.3" diagonal HD+ HP BrightView Infinity LED Display (1600
x 900)
Blu-ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
(Slot Load)
HP TrueVision HD Webcam
Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
Backlit Keyboard
Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) Elements 8 & Adobe
Premiere(R) Elements 8

I'm very excited about it all. The most I can say is: Insurance is a wonderful thing, and so are new release specials.

Quickly

Drilling for the next three days in Sacramento. Then drilling in Fremont next week. And drilling in Santa Clara the week after that, and possibly into the week of Christmas.

The good news is that my new laptop is finally in transit from the factory in China. It should arrive Thursday.

Then the final hopes will be that the sergeant has made his case successfully enough that we'll get our jewelry back very soon.

Difficulties

So my replacement computer is delayed.

It was supposed to ship the Friday after Veteran's Day, and I found out last Monday that it's delayed. HP won't say exactly why it's delayed, but from some of the things they've said over my many calls, some of the parts are mot making people happy, and they're having to wait for replacements.

So hopefully, it will ship next Monday, and I'll get it by the end of that week. At least they'll be refunding my expedited shipping cost, and an additional $50 once it ships.

I also got a 15% off coupon for a further purchase from HP. I'm leaning towards a new printer. Something that will network, which is the only problem with our little HP 4 LaserJet.