My new Kindle HDX is here! It’s tiny and it’s purple!

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Life is good!

On Saturday I received my new Kindle Fire HDX. It is very cool. It came in a tiny box that wouldn’t fit much else. Maybe a necklace. Or some nice pearls.

It made me reminisce.

My very first computer was a Gateway. Remember those? Maybe you old timers do. They were popular in the early 1990s. It was so exciting. Before that there was only the work computer for well…work stuff. Very boring work stuff. It was mostly a typing machine.

There was no real email. We had an internal system that let you type out 3 lines and send it to other employees. If your friends didn’t work for the same company you were out of luck. You had to use a telephone to talk to them — one of those phones that was tethered to the wall.

No Google. (Good lord what did we do before Google?) DOS based stuff. I’m not sure what that means but today when people talk about COBOL or main frames or DOS, the proper thing to do is bow your head quietly as if they passed away.

Then there was Gateway — for the home. You bought the complete set so you didn’t have to make too many decisions about stuff you didn’t know or remotely understand. Apple was out there too but Gateway was “da bomb.”

My delivery consisted of cow boxes. Lots of them!

Courtesy of

All the boxes were printed like Holstein cows. I kept them for a long time because they were cute. The cats liked them too. Maybe they are a collectors’ item now. I never seem to keep the right stuff.

There was the CPU, the printer, (very large) speakers, cables, instructions guides and a monitor with a really big ass. All big stuff. It took up a lot of room!

I took the better part of a day to put it all together. I did it all by myself! Remember I had no experience whatsoever and no techie friends.

Everything was corded and cabled. The wires alone were intimidating. I am still amazed that I got it to work.

I know it's a phone and not a computer but you get the idea!

I know it’s a phone and not a computer but you get the idea!

The good thing about Gateway was that the instructions were understandable (unlike anything technical you buy today which is written in Swahili) and when you called customer service, they spoke very good English. Ok, the truth is they spoke with a South Dakota accent but it was mostly easy to understand. They had just a bit of a twang.

Now I had this really cool computer but no internet service. In fact, you bought discs to load stuff into your computer. I know, I know, this is starting to sound like it was pre-electricity.

I don’t remember how long I had that computer. They age out fast so there have been quite a few since then.

I look at this amazing thing. There is no tail on it. It knows who I am. It’s has called itself Kate’s Kindle 2. I would have gone for something more contemporary but if it’s happy so am I.

Oh yes, the best part – I bought a purple cover for it! You couldn’t do that with the Gateway.

Disclaimer: This is not a product review as I haven’t used it yet. I have spent some time admiring it but the weekend was too busy to sit down and play.

49 thoughts on “My new Kindle HDX is here! It’s tiny and it’s purple!”

  1. I’ve always owned MACs and have used Windows only at work. Our first computer compared to now is like a rudimentary wheel to a a souped-up sports car. My main source of knowledge at home before Google was a set of World Book. 🙂

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  3. It was all about the cow box back then. We had a Gateway computer, too, that we bought at a Gateway retail store. I remember the purchase because I knew more about the surfing the internet than our sales guy– who was in awe of how I could find things online. He actually had some of his fellow sales guys come over to watch me. Probably the highlight of my “techie” career.

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  4. I was a proud owner of a Gateway box also… and if I remember right it came with a hefty price tag. I’ve since worked my way in size down to a iPhone. I love them all.

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    • I can’t remember the cost but it was a lot. I’m pretty sure it was over $2K. What I remember most was how BIG everything was and how much ROOM it all took.

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  5. Must be a Kindle sweep…last Friday I bought a Kindle Paperwhite for my sweet hub and he loves it. Our home has poor light for reading so I began researching and decided the Paperwhite was what he needed. Awesome little thing…manly black…light as a feather and does the job in an awesome manner…yay! I wasn’t about to let him use my ipad air…not. Both of us have library cards and now we download many of our books from the library website…great, late books at no cost. Can’t beat it w/a stick. Michael bought me a computer in 1997…didn’t touch it for almost two years; that was the beginning of a great love affair. I think we’re on our 7th one…mostly HP’s and Dell’s…a Sony when we lived in China. I can’t imagine life w/o a computer.
    Hoping you have success w/the Kindle…sweet talk it.

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  6. I hate to be a wet blanket so will answer late. So glad you already love it and I do hope it works for you.
    We had to call Amazon yesterday to send our third, yes, third, Kindle fire as it won’t charge or hold a charge. We answered all the questions, “Have you used different chargers”? A resounding yes. It’s curious we can charge cameras, Droids, etc., but not this thing. A new one is in the mail…I hope you don’t think we are the ones driving up prices.

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    • There are lemons in every product line and I always pray I don’t get one. What surprised me was that it came charged. Usually things don’t or are just slightly charged. Here’s hoping I don’t have the same issue and thanks for the heads up. I will be vigilant. Believe it or not, it’s Tuesday and I still haven’t ad the time to sit with it.

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  7. Got my first computer, a Commodore 64, in 1984. Loved it.

    Hope you enjoy your Kindle. What size is it? Is it easy to read? Looking forward to hearing about it when you get a chance to examine it closely.

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    • I remember those. I didn’t get a computer until I changed jobs and didn’t have access to a work computer. I remember one of my friends getting an Apple at a good price through a special school deal but I still used my work computer. By the time I needed one, Gateway was big. I didn’t have AOL service for a couple of years after that. It is so hard to think of living without them. We use Mr. Google for info all the time. So much easier than an encyclopedia.

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    • I hear the Paperwhites are the best readers. My husband has an early Kindle and I think he may do better (from a glare perspective) with a Paperwhite.

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  10. Congratulations on your new addition, Kate! I never thought I would own and Kindle and now I wonder how I survived without it…instant books, anytime…anywhere! Enjoy!

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  11. Has everyone had a Gateway? My first computer was one too, then my fella at the time gave me a MAC that was like going from a Chevy to a Jag…I had no idea my little PC was so pokey, and I loved it so…paid for it myself…don’t remember if I hooked it up…probably not…and your iddy biddy Kindle sounds so cute…and I bet you can write on it? At least for some reason I think this…may have heard it from some techie on a job.

    It’s exciting….love the line about as if they passed away…so funny.

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  12. Kate, you are the third [so far] of the bloggers I follow who are talking about their new kindles. I think I am being told something……. though currently I remain happy climbing into bed with my large and heavy book, reading specs, puppy and cat, am I being shown there is another option? Will my higglety pile of books disappear in favour of one sleek, flat, maybe aqua covered, kindle?

    Will I still be able to read or will I need a magnifying glass -a box of pearls is, after all, not very big].

    I think a review will be in order once you have time to play. Please, thank you 🙂

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  14. When my younger brother (now works for HP) got his first computer (a TRS-80), data was stored on cassette tapes, not floppies.

    And printers printed in LONG sheets that had to be hand separated.

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  15. Pingback: Oh, The Changes We’ve Seen | Spirit Lights The Way

  16. Oh I definitely remember the joy and mystery of those first home computers. I still pat myself on the back for all that I learned entirely on my own, and the memory of going to software stores trying to ask questions and the young sales reps looking at me like I’d crawled out from beneath a prehistoric rock! I have Kindle HDX envy, Kate! I don’t need it, but that’s entirely beside the point. I have the first Kindle and it serves me well for a reader and I have an iPad, but I love the look of your new toy and would have no trouble finding a way to use it. Enjoy! Enjoy!

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    • Good lord, I need a reason? Hmmmm…..cause I could? Actually I wanted something simpler for vacation than my lap top. My lap top (which was the newest and greatest when I bought it a few years ago) is heavy to lug around. I still prefer my all-in-one but that is in my office and doesn’t move. This is also a (supposedly) better reader than my old small Kindle.

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        • Not that’s an easy question. Because my girlfriend has one and loves it. She uses a lot of techie stuff so I trust her judgment. I also checked with my techie and he said right now it’s the latest and greatest (at least for a week or so). By Christmas there will be new stuff out that’s way better.

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  18. Had lots of Gateway computers in my time – they all worked great. Let us know what you think of the Kindle!

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  20. I worked at Bell in the DOS years, too. I remember causing a bit of a scandal when I deigned to send someone a message via the internal three line message option. Scandalous because it was not work-related! Can you imagine? Today just about EVERYONE has Facebook or Twitter or whatnot running in the background of their “work”.

    I look forward to hearing what you have to say about Kindle. I use an android reader app. It does the trick, but I’m wondering if there is room for improvement.

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