We bought that iPad and then sighed heavily as someone walked by with the Asus Transformer Prime tablet. We looked at our iPad2, trying to love it as much as we would have loved eating cheeseburgers for the next year instead of ramen—or maybe that’s just me.

But with the new wave of technology coming soon, I will take it upon myself, completely unasked—and maybe unwanted—to regurgitate my opinion and force you to read it in the hopes that I can help someone, somewhere out there, to better understand the technological frontier we are currently perched on.

I know you join me in your excitement for Windows 8. Not for the software exactly, but for the flood of new hardware that is slated to arrive with it. And since you are like me, playing with all the touch screen computers and tablets, pretending to be flying a spaceship or hacking into a super secure bank vault or something, your dreams are about to come true.

Microsoft’s new Windows 8 and the metro-style option designed for touch screens is coming soon. It still has the standard look as an option similar to Windows 7, which if you actually use you just wasted a ton of money because you probably should have stuck with Windows 7.

Windows 8 will bring on a wave of fun technology based in touch screens that we can play with and pretend we are cool. I plan to sit in the cardboard spaceship I have with a new touch screen and explore the galaxy.

This is an exciting time, but only so long as you aren’t a freshmen. I’ll explain.

If you haven’t heard, the Windows 8 release date is Oct. 26. That is just long enough after school starts where the lack of a computer would hurt you, but not nearly long enough after you got that old laptop to get a new, cooler one. So get ready for buyers regret, freshmen.

True, there are some good computers out there now. There are good tablets too. But those tablets won’t come close to the Microsoft Surface, the first mainstream piece of tech with software and hardware under one roof.

Yes the first, which some apple fan boys will undoubtedly point out, is false. To whom I will say, you are false. So there.  Also, Apple computers are stupid. Because I said so, that’s why. And yes, I do have an iPad2, that’s why I can justly say how stupid Apple is.

There is the possibility of Windows 8 being another Windows Vista, meaning that it will be a bigger disappointment than finding out you are not actually adopted. I don’t think that will happen though.

After announcing the Surface, a major surprise to partner companies like HP and Dell, they need to provide a solid piece of software that will lend itself to selling HP, Dell, etc computers.
To compare it to something popular nowadays, it’s like a dance competition. Your friend Winny wrote this great song for you to dance to, like in those Step-Up movie competitions. Only once at the competition, you find out that Winny made his own dance to the same song and is competing against you, too.

The end result? Winny is a jerk-face unless that song he gave you is amazing.

With that explained, at least freshmen know that it isn’t just them that Microsoft hates. They are pretty rude to their friend companies too.

But being a judge at that dance off is still exciting. Unless you are a freshmen, I guess.
Asus Taichi, which is a tablet and ultrabook, due to the dual screens, is gorgeous. As is Asus Zenbook Prime, and if you couldn’t tell, Asus is awesome.

Acer, Lenovo, Samsung, HP, and every other company not wanting to go out of business, is pumping out ideas to match Windows 8. It’s just really unfortunate that freshmen won’t be able to fully take advantage of this new wave of technology.

And Mac-fan-boys. But they are a lost cause anyway.

Then again, most freshmen haven’t dealt with a computer blue screen the night before a big paper or project was due, or third degree burns on your legs from your laptop, whose fans broke a couple months back and now has to be packed with ice to prevent it from self-destructing. So maybe it is fair.

Sarah Romer is a senior electrical engineering major. Letters and feedback can be sent to letters@collegian.com.