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We've got one of these at work. Totally cool. Great for using in games as well. They cost about ~ $150 or so. web site

For the needy Warning: PDF

I remembered something similar with the normal iPods, but this is what came out in a google search.

i have a fujitsu scanpartner fi-4120c desktop scanner. only offers a page feeder, though, no scan bed, so you will need everything to be loose pages.

very fast, and will do both sides in one pass, if you are working with double-sided pages. at 200x200 resolution (you might need higher, ymmv) and scanning double sided pages, i get something like 3 seconds per page (counting one double-sided page as two pages). for software i am just using the included scanner driver and twain software and adobe acrobat.

cdw has it here, i'm sure it can be had for cheaper. i got mine for $800 i think. a little more expensive, but the speed is well worth it in time savings.

sorry....CDW's url screwed me. Go to CDW's site and do a product search for "Interlink VersaPoint RF Wireless Keyboard". This keyboard utilizes radio frequencies. Trust me...you don't want infra-red, and you DON'T want blue-tooth.

is this: rf keyboard. (usb) I've been using it for about two years with my htpc...and have yet to have a problem (or replace the batteries!) Granted, I use the computer only on weekends for the most part, but the keyboard has yet to let me down. Advantages? Mouse is built-in, and buttons are located on both sides (index finger) of board, and keyboard is similar to laptop. Disadvantage: cursor does not move as fast as i would like...current resolution is 1280x720, so it takes a while to meander across the screen.

But how much does Outlook cost? How much do the Microsoft versions cost? Aren't those people paying for Outlook already? Doesn't Outlook cost about 90-100 bucks per copy? Isn't a $60 alternative cheaper?

If you have a licensed Exchange Server, you receive the same amount of Outlook licenses as you have Exchange CALs. Exchange CALs are going for around $65, add in another $25 or so for Software Assurance. So, assuming you're using the Ximian connector to connect to Exchange, no $60 isn't cheaper than included (you're still going to need the CAL).

This helps a ton for a lot less. It is not completely water proof, but it is water resistant (gaskets) and you can throw it at the ground almost indefinately.
I had to pick one up after having to get a THIRD mother board replacement in my h5555. It fell off my hip in the supplied case each time. For some reason, it ALWAYS landed on the bottom, just to the left of the docking connector, cracking the logic board. I got tired of the 250-300 dollar replacement cost. No my iPaq lives in it's red battle armor. Luckily the wireless sync keeps me from having to pull it out of the case. Just the same though, this thing is too damn fragile. I have had tons of PDAs(25 total), going all the way back to my Newtons 110/2000/2100. This is the first one to ever go in for service.

Look again. You can get 4Gb sticks for well under $200. Sounds pretty cheap to me.

You mean this? 400 Disk Sony DVD Changer.... Honig

onboard 1000Base-TX (back when it was still way too expensive for ordinary mortals; now, it's just expensive)

You haven't looked at prices lately, have you? Gigabit ethernet is cheap now.

Prices from CDW:
Netgear 5 port 10/100/1000 switch: $83
Netgear Gigabit PCI network adapter: $37

100Mb switches were more expensive than this just a couple years ago. And these prices are coming down fast. The switch above was $120 or so no more than six months ago.

The only reason I'm still using 100Mb networking at home is that my iBook doesn't have Gig-E. That'll change as soon as the G5 Powerbooks come out. My GF's TiBook and our G4 tower both have it built-in (but she doesn't care about it enough to go out and buy the switch herself).

onboard 1000Base-TX (back when it was still way too expensive for ordinary mortals; now, it's just expensive)

You haven't looked at prices lately, have you? Gigabit ethernet is cheap now.

Prices from CDW:
Netgear 5 port 10/100/1000 switch: $83
Netgear Gigabit PCI network adapter: $37

100Mb switches were more expensive than this just a couple years ago. And these prices are coming down fast. The switch above was $120 or so no more than six months ago.

The only reason I'm still using 100Mb networking at home is that my iBook doesn't have Gig-E. That'll change as soon as the G5 Powerbooks come out. My GF's TiBook and our G4 tower both have it built-in (but she doesn't care about it enough to go out and buy the switch herself).

What are you talking about? You can buy the parts of office separately. I just looked at CDW.com and was able to find separate listings for Excel and Word (I didn't look for any others). Am I missing something?

What are you talking about? You can buy the parts of office separately. I just looked at CDW.com and was able to find separate listings for Excel and Word (I didn't look for any others). Am I missing something?

What are you talking about? You can buy the parts of office separately. I just looked at CDW.com and was able to find separate listings for Excel and Word (I didn't look for any others). Am I missing something?

• I went here and ordered.
• I followed the instructions provided here.
• Installed a bunch of stuff from Windows Update. You know, stuff like this, but for Windows.
• Rebooted
• I downloaded this.
• Rebooted one more time.

Some things in life are needlessly fucking complicated and obscure. For everything else (fun, productivity, selection, support, choice) there's Windows.

This message is brought to you by the Common Sense League Of Wisconsin. "Vacating Parent's Basements And Saving Minds One Copy Of Windows At A Time (TM)".

My GOD you people are insane.

Mod away, like I give a flying fuck.

• Monitors temperature,humidity, and status of two contacts/sensors
• Works with any Powerware UPS with any ConnectUPS (TM) Web/SNMP card
• Can be located up to 20 meters (65.6 feet)from the UPS
• Measures ambient temperatures between 0 and 80 C
• Measures relatively humidity between 10 and 90 percent
• Displays status on Web page,IP phone or PDA,or network man- agement system
• Supports user-defined thresholds for temperature, humidity, and contact closure status
• Supports graceful shutdown of affected equipment
• Auto-sends alarms via email,PCS phone,or pager
• Sends SNMP alarms to network management systems
• Two-year limited warranty, option for enhanced warranty (US and Canada)

For our small corporate network, I have determined that it would cost us nearly $40,000 USD (Just for the Software!) to maintain a Primary and Back-up Domain Controller using Microsoft Windows 2000. This includes both the Main Server License costs and the multiple packs of CALs required to allow each user access to the servers.

Since Windows 2000 Server with 25 CALs is about $1600, and additional 20 CAL packs are $670, it would seem to me that your "small corporate network" is somewhere around 1150 nodes. Even if you use per-server licensing mode, you'd still be able to purchase about 600 CALs for EACH server for $40,000. I think your small network ain't so small, or you miscalculated your prices. Oh, and note that one of MSFT's licensing programs would get you a cheaper license price as well, but I didn't take that into effect.

For our small corporate network, I have determined that it would cost us nearly $40,000 USD (Just for the Software!) to maintain a Primary and Back-up Domain Controller using Microsoft Windows 2000. This includes both the Main Server License costs and the multiple packs of CALs required to allow each user access to the servers.

Since Windows 2000 Server with 25 CALs is about $1600, and additional 20 CAL packs are $670, it would seem to me that your "small corporate network" is somewhere around 1150 nodes. Even if you use per-server licensing mode, you'd still be able to purchase about 600 CALs for EACH server for $40,000. I think your small network ain't so small, or you miscalculated your prices. Oh, and note that one of MSFT's licensing programs would get you a cheaper license price as well, but I didn't take that into effect.

For our small corporate network, I have determined that it would cost us nearly $40,000 USD (Just for the Software!) to maintain a Primary and Back-up Domain Controller using Microsoft Windows 2000. This includes both the Main Server License costs and the multiple packs of CALs required to allow each user access to the servers.

Since Windows 2000 Server with 25 CALs is about $1600, and additional 20 CAL packs are $670, it would seem to me that your "small corporate network" is somewhere around 1150 nodes. Even if you use per-server licensing mode, you'd still be able to purchase about 600 CALs for EACH server for $40,000. I think your small network ain't so small, or you miscalculated your prices. Oh, and note that one of MSFT's licensing programs would get you a cheaper license price as well, but I didn't take that into effect.

So about $10-$15 seems "fair" for Windows and Office in Vietnam, if pricing follows the strict PCI ratio (which isn't really fair, or make any sense). That's also probably why the price is what it is in the US and why the market in Vietnam has settled on $10 - apparently Windows+Office is valued at about a week's pay for people.

I'm sure there are interesting conclusions to be drawn here somewhere.

So about $10-$15 seems "fair" for Windows and Office in Vietnam, if pricing follows the strict PCI ratio (which isn't really fair, or make any sense). That's also probably why the price is what it is in the US and why the market in Vietnam has settled on $10 - apparently Windows+Office is valued at about a week's pay for people.

I'm sure there are interesting conclusions to be drawn here somewhere.

Seriously, think about it... 38 Mill / 600 = 63k per machine! Can anyone spell fraud?

We tested a few here at work and picked the Matrox G550 Dual DVI
It's a low profile AGP card that comes with both low profile and standard brackets so it'll mount in just about any case.
It's $148 from CDW but only comed with a Dual VGA cable.. The Dual DVI is an extra $54.
Our low buck DVI monitor pick is the NEC LCD 15460m It's a 15" LCD with a nice picture, decent speakers, DVI & VGA inputs and a USB 2.0 4 port hub in the base.
CDW wants $370 but you can get em from Dell for $350. Get the 1560X if you don't need the USB hub.

For you Winders users snag Ultramon" to gain extra control over your new dual monitor setup.

We tested a few here at work and picked the Matrox G550 Dual DVI
It's a low profile AGP card that comes with both low profile and standard brackets so it'll mount in just about any case.
It's $148 from CDW but only comed with a Dual VGA cable.. The Dual DVI is an extra $54.
Our low buck DVI monitor pick is the NEC LCD 15460m It's a 15" LCD with a nice picture, decent speakers, DVI & VGA inputs and a USB 2.0 4 port hub in the base.
CDW wants $370 but you can get em from Dell for $350. Get the 1560X if you don't need the USB hub.

For you Winders users snag Ultramon" to gain extra control over your new dual monitor setup.

We tested a few here at work and picked the Matrox G550 Dual DVI
It's a low profile AGP card that comes with both low profile and standard brackets so it'll mount in just about any case.
It's $148 from CDW but only comed with a Dual VGA cable.. The Dual DVI is an extra $54.
Our low buck DVI monitor pick is the NEC LCD 15460m It's a 15" LCD with a nice picture, decent speakers, DVI & VGA inputs and a USB 2.0 4 port hub in the base.
CDW wants $370 but you can get em from Dell for $350. Get the 1560X if you don't need the USB hub.

For you Winders users snag Ultramon" to gain extra control over your new dual monitor setup.

Don't even get me started on this!

At these prices, the damn things better make me breakfast, you follow?

What I meant was it seems to sell pretty well being called Wi-Fi.

Very true, but I bet you the "Wi-Fi" name is causing more confusion than sales. I mean, to me, it sounds like something that I plug into my stereo. Usually, they just revert to the tried-and-true "Ethernet" name for clarity:

http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.asp?EDC=2 82320

Considering pricewatch sets a GB of ram at $86.00 for PC 133 and $307.00 for DDR4000 ... are you really paying $900 for a mounting kit that makes the ram look like a harddrive?

Prices are in USD, please multiply by 20 for Canadian prices, thank you.

I'm not sure, but how big a jukebox do you need? Here are a couple random links... But I guess u gotta shop around :)

CD Server Controller box for an audio CD changer

There is no such thing as a "cheap" color laser printer. They are very messy and very expensive to maintain, as the printer engines tend to be insanely complicated.

Personally, I went the monochrome laser printer route. I was tired of being bent over on ink cartridges. Toner cartridges, although they can get expensive, last a longer time and give way more consistent results than inkjet. Laser printers are also way, way faster. If you are put off by the price of toner and if you are brave, you can buy toner refill kits online. Yeah it can get messy, but toner can be vacuumed up, whereas ink just stains forever :)

If you are looking for a cheap laser printer, there are a few on the market for under $500. A good one that comes to mind is an Okidata LED printer. I installed a few about three years ago for some customers and they worked pretty reliably. At the time the toner was cheap because it was in a separate package from the drum. It's possible that's been changed in the last few years, and now has the drum and toner are integrated into one package as so many other manufacturers love to do, so as always you are advised to do your homework on consumables.

If you are really a scrooge then you can look at the Samsung ML-1710...This is a laser that costs $200. However, I can't vouch for its reliability, as I have never worked with one.

When I require color, I just drop the job on the color laser at work. If you don't have that option, buying one of those el cheapo inkjets for the occasional color job is a possibility, albiet you'll have that much less desk space.

There is no such thing as a "cheap" color laser printer. They are very messy and very expensive to maintain, as the printer engines tend to be insanely complicated.

Personally, I went the monochrome laser printer route. I was tired of being bent over on ink cartridges. Toner cartridges, although they can get expensive, last a longer time and give way more consistent results than inkjet. Laser printers are also way, way faster. If you are put off by the price of toner and if you are brave, you can buy toner refill kits online. Yeah it can get messy, but toner can be vacuumed up, whereas ink just stains forever :)

If you are looking for a cheap laser printer, there are a few on the market for under $500. A good one that comes to mind is an Okidata LED printer. I installed a few about three years ago for some customers and they worked pretty reliably. At the time the toner was cheap because it was in a separate package from the drum. It's possible that's been changed in the last few years, and now has the drum and toner are integrated into one package as so many other manufacturers love to do, so as always you are advised to do your homework on consumables.

If you are really a scrooge then you can look at the Samsung ML-1710...This is a laser that costs $200. However, I can't vouch for its reliability, as I have never worked with one.

When I require color, I just drop the job on the color laser at work. If you don't have that option, buying one of those el cheapo inkjets for the occasional color job is a possibility, albiet you'll have that much less desk space.

You don't say what your backup plans are, but a 20/40GB DDS4 tape drive is going to set you back a pretty penny. And don't forget the tapes. You can go with a Travan drive for about half the price, but the tapes are more expensive...and IMO they're crap.

You also don't say how large the websites will be, or what type of email you'll be doing (POP? IMAP? Web?) but you may want to think about how much diskspace you'll need. I'd think 36GB is plenty (5MBx250 for email (~1.25GB )+ 100MBx100 for websites (~10GB) + 30% = ~15GB.)

If you're really expecting to upgrade, you could get a dual CPU capable motherboard, but just get 1 CPU for now. Or, just plan on adding a second database server for the web sites later.

I'd estimate a 2.0+GHz P4 server, with 1GB RAM, DDS4 TBU, with 2x36GB SCSI drives in HW RAID-1 would run about $2,000 from Dell. Skimp on the CPU (down to a Celeron 1.5+GHz) and you can probably get around $1500 or so. You'd probably get a discount for non profit status. Oh, and don't forget a UPS.

You don't say what your backup plans are, but a 20/40GB DDS4 tape drive is going to set you back a pretty penny. And don't forget the tapes. You can go with a Travan drive for about half the price, but the tapes are more expensive...and IMO they're crap.

You also don't say how large the websites will be, or what type of email you'll be doing (POP? IMAP? Web?) but you may want to think about how much diskspace you'll need. I'd think 36GB is plenty (5MBx250 for email (~1.25GB )+ 100MBx100 for websites (~10GB) + 30% = ~15GB.)

If you're really expecting to upgrade, you could get a dual CPU capable motherboard, but just get 1 CPU for now. Or, just plan on adding a second database server for the web sites later.

I'd estimate a 2.0+GHz P4 server, with 1GB RAM, DDS4 TBU, with 2x36GB SCSI drives in HW RAID-1 would run about $2,000 from Dell. Skimp on the CPU (down to a Celeron 1.5+GHz) and you can probably get around $1500 or so. You'd probably get a discount for non profit status. Oh, and don't forget a UPS.

You don't say what your backup plans are, but a 20/40GB DDS4 tape drive is going to set you back a pretty penny. And don't forget the tapes. You can go with a Travan drive for about half the price, but the tapes are more expensive...and IMO they're crap.

You also don't say how large the websites will be, or what type of email you'll be doing (POP? IMAP? Web?) but you may want to think about how much diskspace you'll need. I'd think 36GB is plenty (5MBx250 for email (~1.25GB )+ 100MBx100 for websites (~10GB) + 30% = ~15GB.)

If you're really expecting to upgrade, you could get a dual CPU capable motherboard, but just get 1 CPU for now. Or, just plan on adding a second database server for the web sites later.

I'd estimate a 2.0+GHz P4 server, with 1GB RAM, DDS4 TBU, with 2x36GB SCSI drives in HW RAID-1 would run about $2,000 from Dell. Skimp on the CPU (down to a Celeron 1.5+GHz) and you can probably get around $1500 or so. You'd probably get a discount for non profit status. Oh, and don't forget a UPS.

You don't say what your backup plans are, but a 20/40GB DDS4 tape drive is going to set you back a pretty penny. And don't forget the tapes. You can go with a Travan drive for about half the price, but the tapes are more expensive...and IMO they're crap.

You also don't say how large the websites will be, or what type of email you'll be doing (POP? IMAP? Web?) but you may want to think about how much diskspace you'll need. I'd think 36GB is plenty (5MBx250 for email (~1.25GB )+ 100MBx100 for websites (~10GB) + 30% = ~15GB.)

If you're really expecting to upgrade, you could get a dual CPU capable motherboard, but just get 1 CPU for now. Or, just plan on adding a second database server for the web sites later.

I'd estimate a 2.0+GHz P4 server, with 1GB RAM, DDS4 TBU, with 2x36GB SCSI drives in HW RAID-1 would run about $2,000 from Dell. Skimp on the CPU (down to a Celeron 1.5+GHz) and you can probably get around $1500 or so. You'd probably get a discount for non profit status. Oh, and don't forget a UPS.

Wow! $25,000 for 16 GB of RAM disk seems a tad high or widespread adoption.

It's also interesting to note that Microsoft was going to release what they called In Memory Database(IMDB) support in Windows 2000. However, this feature was removed after Windows 2000 RC2 due to technical issues.

Let's start by building a barebones system for our server. Motherboard, CPU, RAM, video card and NIC in a decent case. None of this needs to be top of the line just to run as a SAN solution, so we can opt for a slower celeron CPU, low-end video card, etc. Rather than picking specific components, let's estimate this to be around $300-400 with a decent size power supply in the case. Next we'll add a 3Ware Escalade 7500-8 ATA RAID Controller for $470, and 6 Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 200GB 7200rpm hard drives at $279 each. This gives us an even terrabyte of ide raid5 storage for $2144 plus the price of the original barebones machine, so about $2500 total.

Let's start by building a barebones system for our server. Motherboard, CPU, RAM, video card and NIC in a decent case. None of this needs to be top of the line just to run as a SAN solution, so we can opt for a slower celeron CPU, low-end video card, etc. Rather than picking specific components, let's estimate this to be around $300-400 with a decent size power supply in the case. Next we'll add a 3Ware Escalade 7500-8 ATA RAID Controller for $470, and 6 Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 200GB 7200rpm hard drives at $279 each. This gives us an even terrabyte of ide raid5 storage for $2144 plus the price of the original barebones machine, so about $2500 total.

Actually, the more boxes you put into the equasion, the cheaper Windows gets, because the big cost is the CALs.

150 Users, 6 Servers:

Windows 2003: $9600 covers all 6 servers and all the users for the entire six year support cycle.

RedHat ES: $600 per year per server x 6 years -> $21,600

In otherwords, Linux can be a shaft.

But according to the article, "The minor reason why you don't want an SSD is that you can't get them with an ATA (IDE) interface." Of course you can. I didn't finish the article, because clearly this person didn't do much research.

I'll believe it when I see it on the peg at Wal*Mart.

Wonder which we'll see on the shelves first: this thing or Serial ATA? Which, by the way, has been on backorder for the last 6 months or so.

If anything deserves an award in the "Promises, promises" category (excepting Duke Nukem Whenever; that's earned several), it's Serial ATA.

Has anyone out there actually got their hands on a Serial ATA drive, PURCHASED from a retail source? I mean, several online shops LIST them, but nobody seems to actually HAVE them.

I take that back. In researching for this post, I actually DID find a place that lists them in stock. Let's hope they are telling the truth! Also, let's hope their order system can survive a slashdotting, since they seem to be the only place in the world that has them. I'm sure they'll be backordered by tomorrow.

You might think 9 megapixel is overkill, but I find the visual quality more than adequate.

:P

... an inside joke for those who have seen the CDW commercial. See Fred's website.

I just started a new job recently. The title "Senior Engineer" seems to be generic enough. My boss, "Directory of Technology", works with all sorts of technology: systems, networking, database, phones, stereo, air conditioning, etc.

You are comparing server attached storage with centralized storage. We're talking totally different markets with substantially different features. And where do you get $280 for a Fibre Channel HBA? Take a real look at how much they really cost: CDW's FC Interface list. While those prices haven't factored in discounts, good luck finding something comparable (2gb, dual channel, with HSSDC2 cable) for under $850 new in single unit quantity. The cable alone is over $75.

What happens when the motherboard on your machine dies? You have to pull all those drives and hope that the RAID comes up okay on a different machine. If not, have fun restoring 1.6 tb from tape after you rebuild the operating system. With centralized storage, you can easily remap the storage to another server. Fibre to ATA RAID solutions usually start at $10k+, and are over $20k for 2 terabytes.

The Apple solution is comparable to other major vendors in the x86 space, and is much cheaper than the non-x86 UNIX solutions from other big name vendors. Besides... Linux 8.0? What exactly are you talking about? Are you factoring the cost of RedHat Advanced Server for $799/year, or $1499/year including Standard Support? Or are you talking about SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 for x86 at $749/year? Or are you completely discounting your time? Slapping something together and hoping it will work is spending your time. Unless your time is worth $0, you have to factor that in too.

With the plethora of dirt cheap crappy products out there, you can take any set of specs and come out with something that looks okay on paper and is marginal or totally worthless in the server room. Like putting in a workstation motherboard instead of a server class motherboard. Besides, you're not fitting 8 drives in a 1U case. Going to an established Linux hardware vendor like Einux, and under your specs, before we're talking real server packages from the Linux distro vendors, we're talking $6,800 already (only 6 drives). Take a look at building a SVE276DXE2000 2U box with 6 drives and an Intel motherboard. A Penguin Computing Relion 230 Server with 6 drives is already $5207.

Further, Apple's AppleCare for the Xserve costs $999, including 4 hour response (where available, next day otherwise) and 24/7 phone and email support for 3 years. Penguin Computing wants $2000 for 24/7 support for 1 year, and $230 for next day onsite service.

So... there are people who value Apple's solution - you might not, and you probably discount your time and effort. That's up to you.

Why bother with expensive, complicated solutions involving encoders/decoders when you can have an Axis Network Camera for $300.

The Video Server route is a lot more expensive ($800 per camera) but works with existing video cameras. I doubt that would save you any money, since plain NTSC video cameras are not very expensive.

Why bother with expensive, complicated solutions involving encoders/decoders when you can have an Axis Network Camera for $300.

The Video Server route is a lot more expensive ($800 per camera) but works with existing video cameras. I doubt that would save you any money, since plain NTSC video cameras are not very expensive.

A company called Platypus Technology has an 8 slot (allowing up to 8gb) version of this product available. Larger capacity seems the main reason anyone would accept accessing SDRAM through PCI rather than the normal method so it seemed worth posting. Some prices can be seen at CDW.

I don't know where you're shopping, but in my neighborhood (Northeastern Ohio), a decent projector is going to start at $15,000 and go upwards of $40,000. The school I used to work at payed $35,000 (two years ago) for a projector that could only do 800x600 native and looked crappy at any other resolution. The colors were always tinged with blue because of the light source, so you never got true color at all. Not even close. The school's logo was supposed to be a royal blue, but came off more purple. So... you're pricing is flawed. You might be able to get an LCD display for $3200, that that sits atop a transparency projector, but you're never going to get a decent projector for that kind of money. Admittedly, they've come down in price, but with a decent feature set you can still expect to spend $16,000 . Wake up you fucking idiot. Jeezus, the level of stupidity here never seases to amaze mw. This project was cool, worthwhile and inspirational. We should all be doing stuff like this.

This is a viewsonic based on that tech I believe -
VP2290b

Although its 'only' about 200 pixels per inch.

But I do like the ecofriendly aspect.