Slashdot Mirror

Not much.
Less than $10 on ebay

ebay could be your distribution model

Gold Bar 32.15oz $33,999.00 = $1057.51/oz

Sound cards for musicians,

A small point, but musicians don't use sound cards anymore... everyone uses interfaces that talk over USB or firewire. You still need PCIe for Pro Tools HD but that's $10k worth of hardware, minimum, and clearly then you're not going to be buying a midrange tower to put all that stuff in... You might be able to make a case for MADI bridges but nobody uses that stuff...

Note, if you really want a Mac Pro with slots and last years tech specs and no support you can spend between $800-$1000 today.

I've got a couple things. My grandfather was a radioman in WWII and he somehow came upon two German field radios. I think they're the same as the one in this auction.

I've got an old Pong console (ie, of the gaming variety) that my dad got for his 15th birthday - that'd have been in 1974. It wasn't an official Pong console, which didn't come out until the following year, but a knock-off.

I've got (at my parents' house) a massive TI calculator with a solar panel on it. Probably one of the originals, don't remember the brand. That's got to be at least 35 years old, and it's got all the functionality of those novelty "wallet calculators" that companies will sometimes use as business cards.

I've also got a fair collection of old IBM hardware. First on the list is an IBM Personal Portable Computer (IBM Portable PC 5155), circa 1984. It still works, to the exception of one of the two floppy drives, as far as I know (I've not had a 5.25" floppy for over a decade.) It's got an old (can't even remember the interface) 10Mb hard drive which also still works. I've thought of getting Linux to run on there several times, just for S&G, but never got around to it due to lacking a proper interface card or an easy way to get it on there.

And then there's the pile of a dozen or so IBM Model M keyboards, dating from 1980 through 1992. Yes, 1980. Maybe it wasn't technically a model M (according to wiki, the Model M came out in 1984), but the ones I've got from 1980 and 1981 are identical and part compatible, as near as I can tell, with the post-1984 "Model M" keyboards which are marked as such on the back.

I also have my original NES, which was mid-1980s. Hardly old, but there you have it.

"The real question to be asking is, are there any WiMAX SIP or Skype handsets?"

Actually the real question is why didn't the poster spend 1 minute on Google. Just search skype wimax phone. Fourth link down is a page about the N810 WiMax edition with instructions on how to install Skype. Searched ebay and found two n810 WiMax's for a bit over $200.

I imagine a n810 running Skype would work better than carrying around a netbook everywhere. It's also easier to hold to your ear than a netbook....

Stereoscope cards can be had for well under $500.

The reason we are asking for the system's warranty number is to confirm that you purchased it through our Ebay Outlet Store at http://stores.ebay.com/Alienware-Corporation. Otherwise, we will not be able to provide you with replacements, upgrades, or support for this system.

Where is he being accused of having stolen stuff? Ans more: most manufacturers will not sell you important replacement parts without analysing the machine first and installing the part themselves. Otherwise you can just plug their brand new CPU onto a defective motherboard and ask for your money back when the system fails to work or even worse: when the motherboard fries the CPU.

Sure, that kind of policy does suck, but it has nothing to do with accusing people of stealing shit.

http://cgi.ebay.com/APPLE-MAC-MINI-1-83ghz-INTEL-2gb-ram-80gb-Airport-BT_W0QQitemZ300312655183

This would SMOKE any $500 PC. And you can even install XP on it.

PC people will scour the web for a way to make a cheap computer work well, when they can find it in 2 minutes on eBay.

It's a lot less cost-effective to go tomb raiding than to make your own fakes, especially since selling fake artifacts isn't really illegal.

May not be illegal but certainly misrepresentation is a thorn in eBay's side.

The auction depicted in the article reads "100% Guaranteed Authentic" and:

Origin: North Coast Peru
Culture: Moche
Culture Date: 50 A.D. to 750 A.D. Approx.

Notice how they said "culture date" and not actual date of the mask. The phrase "Pre-Columbian" is as misleading as "100% Guaranteed Authentic" and I think I would have a problem if I purchased this as it is a pretty misleading posting.

"specialize in removing cameras from phones, such as the iPhone."

I was thinking the same thing. Would it be so hard to gently "dig" the camera out of there, then epoxy a small round plastic piece the same size of the hole and the same color of the iPhone? Then when he says "no camera" he can inspect it all he wants and look, no camera. If you wanna get really technical you can use the same techniques used for auto body repairs, with the buffing and sanding, etc. If done right you'd never be able to tell a hole was ever there. Here's a guide on how to take your iphone apart, one section even completely removes the camera.

If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, iResQ does it for $99, or this guy says he'll do it for $40

I recently put on Ubuntu 9.0.4 on my wife's computer and it's hands down the best release yet.

I'd like to install Ubuntu on my Mac however one of the reasons for doing so is so I can use CinePaint to edit photos but it was removed from Ubuntu. So now unless I can find a way to install CinePaint in Ubuntu I don't think I'll install it.

However, i'm still in no mans land as My scanner, art pad, and games rely on windows xp

Watcom tablets work on Ubuntu. As do scanners. I have an Epson Perfection V500 scanner others have gotten to work on Ubuntu.

I truly wish Adobe would port over photoshop to Linux.

So do I but people have gotten CS2 to run in CrossOver and CS3 in WINE. Others have gotten CS4 to run in Ubuntu, though not perfectly.

If I can't get CinePaint to install I may end up getting Photoshop myself. I want to try CinePaint first though to see if it will do what I want. If I do get PH I'll probably buy it off eBay where older versions can be bought cheap then upgraded.

Falcon

You see, Ballmer was supposed to get up at 3am and bid $7,400,000,001.00 for Sun on CorporateBay.com. Instead he just threw a chair at his alarm clock and went back to sleep.

Same thing happened to me with a $1.5 thousand Rickenbacker 4003 bass two weeks ago. And now I regret not having that sweet sweet axe in my hands right now just as much as Ballmer regrets not being able to fire whole divisions when their managers don't know the entire lyrics to American Pie by Don McLean. We're both only human, buddy.

You can get these on eBay, but they cost a pretty penny.

Also, I really hope that guy didn't actually use this 100W LED streetlight as a headlight for his bicycle as the pictures imply. Not only would that be extremely rude, but extremely dangerous/deadly as well.

One day, I'll have a one-digit user ID. You all just wait.

-

There is always an ample supply of mid-range macs (Intel/PCIe and everything) here and here. The second place will even give you a warranty.

I know that's not the answer everyone wants to hear, but it's not like it's physically impossible to get a mid-range Mac for a very low price. All you have to do is buy it from the sucker who paid full price for it when it was cutting edge two years ago.

Ok, so looking at Apples own refurbished laptops...

They want $1099 for a 2ghz Core 2 Duo w/ 2GB of ram. It has a 13.3" display. I paid $400 (on sale from $500) for my Acer laptop.

Sure, the Apple comes with DDR3 1066 and OSX... where mine is DDR2 something another and Vista. It just doesn't justify in the slightest, having a $600-700 price difference... especially since the Apple is refurb.

There is always an ample supply of mid-range macs (Intel/PCIe and everything) here and here. The second place will even give you a warranty.

I know that's not the answer everyone wants to hear, but it's not like it's physically impossible to get a mid-range Mac for a very low price. All you have to do is buy it from the sucker who paid full price for it when it was cutting edge two years ago.

"Personal printers are horribly unreliable and very expensive to maintain."

According to who? If these are kids living on campus then why not have a personal laser printer in their dorm room? Amazon has several laser printers under $100 each. Toner refills are about $5 to $10 each. I own two of these under $100 laser printers, a samsung and a lexmark, and they've worked great for the past several years. Sure if you're printing 100,000+ pages a robust $1,000 office laser printer might be cheaper in the long run, but for the average student printing off a couple hundred pages a month a $100 laser printer is plenty.

I haven't been on campus in awhile, is everyone dragging laptops everywhere now? Seems to me it might have been easier ten years ago since every 100 feet there was another computer lab you could run in and check your mail within a minute. If they close the labs you'll have to whip out your laptop, wait a few minutes for it to boot, find a connection, and finally get your mail.

I can understand campuses closing labs if they saw a large drop in usage in recent years, but I can't imagine college without a computer lab. Most of the time I was in college was spent in the 24/7 computer labs. Many times I'd be working on a project the last minute and a classmate would walk-in and we could compare notes. Very useful indeed. I guess now they can keep the library open 24/7 and have one floor just for laptop users to go to when they need to get away from the dorms to study.

"Personal printers are horribly unreliable and very expensive to maintain."

According to who? If these are kids living on campus then why not have a personal laser printer in their dorm room? Amazon has several laser printers under $100 each. Toner refills are about $5 to $10 each. I own two of these under $100 laser printers, a samsung and a lexmark, and they've worked great for the past several years. Sure if you're printing 100,000+ pages a robust $1,000 office laser printer might be cheaper in the long run, but for the average student printing off a couple hundred pages a month a $100 laser printer is plenty.

I haven't been on campus in awhile, is everyone dragging laptops everywhere now? Seems to me it might have been easier ten years ago since every 100 feet there was another computer lab you could run in and check your mail within a minute. If they close the labs you'll have to whip out your laptop, wait a few minutes for it to boot, find a connection, and finally get your mail.

I can understand campuses closing labs if they saw a large drop in usage in recent years, but I can't imagine college without a computer lab. Most of the time I was in college was spent in the 24/7 computer labs. Many times I'd be working on a project the last minute and a classmate would walk-in and we could compare notes. Very useful indeed. I guess now they can keep the library open 24/7 and have one floor just for laptop users to go to when they need to get away from the dorms to study.

Is there any other part of a 20-year-old computer that you could still use for day-to-day tasks? A Model M lets you feel old-school without actually having to live in the bad old days of floppy disks and 300 baud modems.

I own a 5 1/4 inch floppy drive, you insensitive clod! (It's in my main computer, right under the DVD burner. I'm sure one day they'll make a comeback. Maybe when files are less than 720K again.)

In fact, somebody's selling one on eBay right now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Epson-SD-800-Dual-Floppy-5.25-Combo-Drive-SD-880-010_W0QQitemZ360139562743QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090317?IMSfp=TL090317209002r38176

Best by far. The key modules were almost 2 inches tall not counting the cap. Second only perhaps to the OS/6, the system with the inkjet that would tattoo you!

Sadly, running MS-DOS 2.11 on an 8-inch floppy wasn't very practical... And having the 5215 Selectric printer going off next you isn't pleasant either.

And there is actually one for sale...

wow.

Now run your comparisons based on 64 bit code instead of 32 bit.

What's so special about 64-bit code? I can buy a 64-bit gaming computer for under $25 shipped. And I'd bet that any of the Intel and AMD CPUs reviewed in this article can emulate it.

Fake trading cards. I've got a relative that pointed this out to me maybe a year ago -- for example, people will take a legit football card, buy a jersey in the store, and make a fake "unique" patch card.

Here's one article on the problem.

That's right. We should support those Hollywood writers by buying their stories, not just watching re-runs that make money only for the studios.

Here's one way to support Harlan: buy the book. Make sure he gets paid for his fabulous story.

Oh, wait. It's out of print, and that's a site that sells used copies. Sorry, Harlan!

Of course you can buy a 486 at comparable prices. But I don't think that was the point. He built the circuits, the laptop case, OS, interpreter and applications all from scratch. I think the point is to be a hardhack similar to ones from the Homebrew computer clubs of the past.

Plenty of people are talking about the Nokia Internet Tablet series, but I actually have one for sale right now. It's a great device, but not quite what I was looking for. I now own an Acer Aspire One.

The cardboard boxes were replaced by DVD size boxes here in Europe (at least where I am) some years ago. IIRC the difference occurred to me when a US friend sent me Red Alert 2 as a present, must have been about 2001.

I have no idea why there is a difference, however.

US vs. UK

The justification for it is at the demand level. People are still buying them at those prices.
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Apple-Mac-Mini-1-83Ghz-Core-2-Duo-1GB-RAM-80GB-HDD_W0QQitemZ280317872335QQcmdZViewItemQQptZApple_Desktops?hash=item280317872335&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A13|39%3A1|240%3A1308

New in box Mini (from before today's upgrade), only 1.83 GHz, 1GB ram, 80GB drive, and it went for a premium over apple prices...though the lack of tax probably makes up for it.

Damn you for getting my hopes up :( I went to ebay and searched... alas, nothing slashdot related at all there, much less accounts.

http://product.half.ebay.com/Beyond-Good-Evil_W0QQprZ11248QQtgZinfo
there are even cheaper ones for bid at regular ebay but obviously you don't know how much they'll go up to.

(Hmm, the PS2 version seems way cheaper at both sites.)

Did you even think about reading the article? The ultimate goal of this is to make sure that people can do it for little cost. I listen to researchers in the area complain that they can't get grad students to work on a project if there isn't an easy off the shelf kit you can buy to do the work.

A few $1000, eBay, and you can equip a basement lab. This time is to bioscience what the 1970's were to Steve Jobs and Woz. See this ebay search: http://shop.ebay.com/items/_W0QQ_nkwZsequencerQ20dnaQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZR40QQ_mdoZ

I would have let them use my fur handcuffs if they had only asked... is it just me, or would velcro handcuffs be ridiculously easy to slip out of? (As a child, I used to practice with my toy handcuffs slipping my hands from behind me to in front of me. As it turns out, when you do this as an adult, it really pisses off the cops.)

You mean there's exactly ONE incredibly obscure development platform for a GUI on Debian ARM that hasn't been made since 1999? There's exactly one of these devices selling on eBay.

I stand by my statement.

Not if he can find someone willing to buy it for more than $3.00 or if he melts that 1982 penny down to sell the copper.

Any ideas on how to buy an old Xbox console without buying one that has version 1.6 firmware?

Ebay?

What search terms should I use to narrow this query to only consoles with the soft-moddable firmware? Or should I "Ask seller a question" on every single listing?

Good luck finding an upgrade for that daughter board from anyone other than HP.

Here and here

All Macs have a DVI output port, that can be used as an S video/composite/15 pin D-sub VGS, HDMI port with the correct adapter (some have full size DVI ports, some have smaller ports, newer models have the mini port).

Only if you like having loads of adapters and cables hanging everywhere. DVI also doesn't carry audio like HDMI does, so you will need even more cables for your audio.

I bought an Acer Aspire 8930 laptop a couple months ago. 18.4" widescreen @ 1920x1080, 4GB DDR2 RAM, Geforce 9600GT 512MB GDDR3 MXM module, 320GB 7200RPM internal hard drive, DVD burner, 5.1 Dolby surround (5 speakers and subwoofer are integrated into the laptop and they sound fantastic), gigabit ethernet, WLAN, ExpressCard slot, 6 in 1 card reader, 3 USB ports, 1 eSATA/USB combo port, HDMI port, VGA port, integrated webcam, full size keyboard with an actual keypad, touch sensitive "cine dash" media controller and a fingerprint reader. Cost, $1149 USD. Obviously it's a little harder to carry around due to the size, but it is surprisingly thin, light and sturdy considering how large the screen is and how much the system has built in. The closest thing Apple has is the 17" Macbook Pro for $2799 and it lacks many of the features I have on my Aspire.

did your friend also say that the yearly salary
should be a minimum of one million dollars.

with 100k you won't even get a proper house in
places where IT companies exist.

You don't get out much, do you? 100k would buy you a really nice house in my country, about 500 square meters built (about 5000 square feet) with a half-acre to an acre of yard (and we're not talking about one of those plaster and cardboard things you call houses in the US)

And FYI it is quite safe to live here (Montevideo, Uruguay), much safer than the "bad" areas in urban US cities (and yes, I've been there, while I guess you haven't been here). Tech industry here: 5% of GDP was exports of software products and services.

A quick check shows that 100k would buy you a decent house in the US even: http://realestate.shop.ebay.com/

However, I am impressed at the number of rooms an average American house is supposed to have:

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/United-States-HOUSING.html

A coworker bought a house (ok, a ruin mostly) for 11k USD last week, and housing prices are expected to fall with the recent crisis. The apartment I rent costs about 20k USD (and rent is 150 USD, that includes running water but not other utilites).

Where are you going to get a laptop with the external SATA ports to use this device?

Hmm... Here you go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Lenovo-Thinkpad-X200-Laptop-64GB-SSD-BT-12-1-P8400_W0QQitemZ300287618088QQcmdZViewItem ;)

On another thread that I can't find someone linked this: http://cgi.ebay.com/Gigabyte-M912-Notebook-UMPC-8-9-Touch-screen-Rotatable_W0QQitemZ190277185241QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLaptops_Nov05?hash=item190277185241&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1234|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

"So its going to look great on paper..."

It does? Doesn't look that great to me. First they brag about using "very low end hardware" then throw out a $299 price tag: "(we were aiming for $200, it looks like $299 is more realistic)."

3 years ago $299 for a internet only tablet would be great, but this is 2009. For $299 I can buy a brand new Acer Aspire One netbook. Not a tablet, but it has all the conveniences of modern laptops and it supports all browsers and plug-ins and future updates.

If you must have a tablet, I can easily pick up a Fujitsu T4010 for $300. 1.6+ ghz, up to 2gb ram, any standard IDE 2.5" hard drive, runs any OS you want. With a fresh XP install it'll boot in less than 30 seconds.

If you absolutely must have a Linux tablet PC get a Nokia N800. Fits in your pocket, runs Maemo, lots of online community support and they can be had for under $200.

"So its going to look great on paper..."

It does? Doesn't look that great to me. First they brag about using "very low end hardware" then throw out a $299 price tag: "(we were aiming for $200, it looks like $299 is more realistic)."

3 years ago $299 for a internet only tablet would be great, but this is 2009. For $299 I can buy a brand new Acer Aspire One netbook. Not a tablet, but it has all the conveniences of modern laptops and it supports all browsers and plug-ins and future updates.

If you must have a tablet, I can easily pick up a Fujitsu T4010 for $300. 1.6+ ghz, up to 2gb ram, any standard IDE 2.5" hard drive, runs any OS you want. With a fresh XP install it'll boot in less than 30 seconds.

If you absolutely must have a Linux tablet PC get a Nokia N800. Fits in your pocket, runs Maemo, lots of online community support and they can be had for under $200.

If you can find me a 2004 model car for less than $4500, I'll give you a big kiss.
 
  Pucker up, sweetie

I have one which I got from eBay. Looks like they're still on there, something like this should work.

Well, you know it's so hard to get.

I mean you can't just get Aluminum Powder on eBay...Of course you can't get any high grade iron oxide there either. And as for buying thermite itself, that's bound to cost a fortune!

Thermite isn't controlled, and frankly, it couldn't be because the parts are easy to obtain. 3 parts aluminum powder, to 8 parts iron oxide (by weight), and you're good to go. You'll need to throw in a little magnesium to get it started.

Make some, set fire to something on your lawn, have fun. People are too scared of chemicals these days.

Well, you know it's so hard to get.

I mean you can't just get Aluminum Powder on eBay...Of course you can't get any high grade iron oxide there either. And as for buying thermite itself, that's bound to cost a fortune!

Thermite isn't controlled, and frankly, it couldn't be because the parts are easy to obtain. 3 parts aluminum powder, to 8 parts iron oxide (by weight), and you're good to go. You'll need to throw in a little magnesium to get it started.

Make some, set fire to something on your lawn, have fun. People are too scared of chemicals these days.

Don't forget that with DSL the quality of *your* wiring is important. In the UK, British Telecom are responsible for all cabling up to the "master socket" inside your house. You're responsible for the rest of it, which is fair enough.

Good call! The concept is the same here in the US; there's usually a gray plastic box installed by the phone company called the NID (Network Interface Device), MPOE or DMARC (see demarcation point). Anything on your side, you're responsible for; anything on their side, they're responsible for.

I highly recommend installing a DSL splitter at the NID, and running a dedicated cat5 line from the DSL side of the splitter to the DSL modem. Then connect the rest of your house wiring to the telephone side of the splitter, and you can get rid of all those annoying little filters.

Well, you could shell between $300 and $400 for one of the hit-and-miss eReaders currently available. Or you could shell out between around $600 for a slightly less elegant eBook reading solution that with can also act as your car stereo, navigation (with some work/extra parts), and more-useful-than-most general purpose netbook. I know which route I'm taking (although I'll probably wait to see what netbook-tablet offerings there are at CES).

Flick the little switch on the back of your phone and try it,

Do they still make phones with a pulse/tone switch? Seems strange, since the last pulse-only POTS service disappeared a long time ago. So the only purpose the switch serves is to create frustrating delays for people who don't know what it's for.

But you're right, POTS still supports pulse dialing. And a lot of people are using it, judging from the number of rotary dial phones for sale.

I did a little reserach today, and here's what I think is THE right way to do it.

You might as well buy a generator powerful enough to run your entire house. That means you don't have to compromise : you can have AC, heat, your electronics, the works.

Second, since power outages are rare, you want a generator that is on wheels. That way, you can buy a new generator, don't even put oil into it, and leave it in a dry garage until it is needed. That way you do no maintainence, and the unit is basically brand new. Or, you could test it, but be sure to put preservatives in the lubrication oil, and to leave the gas tank dry.

Outdoor generators tend to rust.

While natural gas and propane generators have the advantage of not depending on fuel, if you own a truck then gas is fine. Just keep a siphon kit so that you can safely transfer fuel to the generator. Or, get a tri fuel generator, so that you can run on natural gas if it is still available, and go get gasoline if it is not.

Don't pay an electrician to install the circuitry. Do it yourself, and have an electrician check the job afterwards for $100-$200 instead of $500-$1000.

Cost? Here's everything you need on ebay for $3230, shipping included. Not that I am not affiliate with the seller, I just noticed that this is a pretty good price considering you can run your entire house and you don't have to buy anything else.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Generac-Guardian-Generator-26-250-Watt-Trans-Sw_W0QQitemZ380088266146QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item380088266146&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A16%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_Keyboard - About the keyboards. http://shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=model+m+keyboard&_sacat=0&_fromfsb=&_trksid=m270.l1313&_odkw=model+m&_osacat=0 - Ebay availability http://www.clickykeyboard.com/ - Used Model M Retailer http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/keyboards.html - Unicomp Model M Keyboards (using the same machinery that made the originals)

One of Wired's Tools 2K3 list entries was for a DNA Explorer Kit that was sold by the Discovery Channel. It included the equipment and materials for several DNA sequencing experiments. Equipment included a centrifuge and a gel electrophoresis chamber. You can still find these kits for sale on ebay.