What is the hardest work that you make your computer do?

Well, according to the way it acts, turning on is agonizing work.

Pushing the "on" button is like starting a car-  er...err...er...er.  (Push the button again).  Er…err…errrr…whirr... vroom!  The radiator fan springs to life.  This is followed by loud groans and clicks.  It’s as if its saying, did someone really turn me on or am I still dreaming.  Well, deciding this must be very arduous decision, as it has to think and think and think ... and then think some more, before the words, “welcome to Windows” appear on the screen.  Then, for some reason, it changes its mind and the words vanish, leaving the screen dark once again.  The thing must have hot flashes, as its radiator fan is constantly changing speeds – fast, then slow, then very fast, then medium fast, then slow, then fast….  Suddenly, a small blue circle that looks like it’s chasing itself appears in the middle of the screen.  After a flurry of clicks and groans, the fan just stops.  Di-did the computer just have a heart attack?  Is that even possible?  The entire computer is completely silent.  Even the small blue circle is gone.  As I start to bow my head in respect for the dead, the radiator fan suddenly roars back to life and the desktop background busts upon the screen.  Once again, the little blue circle takes its place in the center of the screen, happily chasing its tail.

As the computer begins to whir, the fan gets louder and louder and louder, until its road becomes nearly deafening.  Is this thing on steroids?  Did my coffee get spilled in it?  Just when I think it’s going to explode, the fan simply dies down to a loud hum, and the desktop icons slowly appear... one by one by one by....  Once the last icon finally appears, they all vanish again, only to reappear completely white.  (makes me wonder if my computer’s a racist.)  As the circle continues to chase its tail, the icons get back their color... one by one by one by....  Once the last icon finally turns "normal", the circle turns into an arrow.  Well, I guess the computer didn’t get something quite right, because at this point the icons quickly vanish and the entire process starts all over again; only this time, there’s no circle or arrow.

At last the fan dies down to a steady dull hum, with only a few occasional clicks being emitted by the computer.  The cursor is an arrow and all is well… at least until you touch the mouse.  Suddenly, a smaller circle appears haloing the arrow (still chasing its tail); as the radiator fan begins to roar… and the icons once again turn white.