Top Gear just did a show which compared the gas mileage between some top end super cars. They had BMW's, Lambo's, Ferrari's, etc. and only gave them 1 gallon of fuel and then raced them around the track. I think a couple cars lasted less than 2 laps.
The host of the show, who owned a Ford GT, complained that he had to fill up twice on the way to work. The Tesla would be a godsend for him but, on the other hand, car enthusiasts also love loud cars.
I remember those AVG check marks showing up on my google searches as well. However, when I upgraded to Firefox 3 the plugin was not compatible and I didn't bother updating it.
I'm sure the original Strad's will retain value. If nothing else because they are held with such respect among musicians and because they are rare.
However, along the same lines of wood settling, it is believed by some that brass instruments go through a similar process. Not only do great musicians play on good instruments, but their playing it well makes the instrument even better. Something having to do with the "good vibrations" changing the metal slightly.
In fact, some top end brass instrument makers give you the option of having your horn work hardened by hand with a hammer to achieve a similar effect.
Yes, one of the things I remember reading about early wooden string instruments is that the maker would use ground up locust shells to make a kind of lacquer for the instruments. They figured since they could hear locust swarms coming from miles away, their wings and bodies had properties which allowed them to project sound well.
This just makes it more expensive, more time consuming, and I don't think computer repairmen and shops should have to suffer because of this law. If anything, a computer repairman should have a license that says he is competent and ethical. Part of what I do when I repair computers is not snooping into any data, so chances are I'm not going to incriminate anyone anyways.
Sure, it's possible that a repairman could run across something illegal in a customer's computer. So what's the real difference between that and a house cleaner running across drugs or a child porn stash? Should they be forced to get PI licenses as well?
Just because the legal system is screwed up enough that some evidence may be compromised because it was "improperly seized" doesn't mean the government should start forcing everyone to get CJ degrees or PI licenses.
It sounds more like a case of the legal system passing on the buck.
I've had the same thing happen several times. This last quarter I bought a book for an easy class which I anticipated not even having to open. I made sure to keep the plastic wrap on the book so I could get a refund at the end of the term.
It turns out I really never did have to open up that book, any relevant information was contained in the professor's power point slides which were posted online. However, I didn't read the 14-day return policy on the books.
Several times I purchased textbooks online which turned out to be an edition or two older than the current text required for my class. Maybe I was just lucky, but every time I did not notice substantial differences besides different pictures on the covers. Even the page numbers were the same except for one book, where after chapter seven I had to add three pages to whatever page the rest of the class was on. Was this trouble worth the average ~$90 I saved per book?
Definitely.
This next quarter I am actually looking for an older edition of a physics book because I can't find the current edition anywhere for less than $210:(
I think it's less linear, most of Farcry was the same way. You could take very different routes through each level and not just different approaches to scenarios.
I originally thought the same thing about Farcry, where you have an entire island you can explore. You can explore to a certain extent but there are definite boundaries that guide you in a certain direction.
I've heard that Crytek will release the "Ultra High" graphics settings in a patch later on when they think machines can handle it. I guess they did the same thing with Farcry before, but I don't know.
Total for the computer comes to $582, and this is BEFORE rebates. All items from newegg.com
You can go even cheaper and not get as nice of a computer, or you can also go cheaper and get crappy quality parts. But around $600 for a fairly high end computer is not bad.
The process I've used to play games offline is to log into Steam and actually run the games I want to play offline. Then I can quit and start Steam in offline mode and play them.
You can even play on LAN while in offline mode, using your one account on multiple computers without running into authentication issues.
I've used this a couple times at LAN parties to get a game of Counter-Strike going even if there was only one account between the lot of us.
I'll concede that Vista isn't a crappy OS, but I still can't say it's not a resource hog. I do own Vista Ultimate and it sits largely unused because XP still beats it out for gaming. I don't mind using it, it feels snappy and as of February I have all of the drivers I need and don't get many BSODs but just look at your CPU and memory utilization and see how much resources Vista is eating up. This is even after disabling all the unnecessary features I could disable, making it look just a little better than Windows 2k, and that did cut down on resource use.
As far as gaming is concerned, it's going to be a while before Vista will reach the level of acceptance that XP has achieved. Stability issues in games and poor performance with (for the most part) very little appreciable increase in eye-candy are major detractors.
I consider myself an enthusiast but I'm not adopting Vista until I have absolutely no alternative. I've already moved to Linux for a lot of my computing needs, but I'll probably never be able to move over completely because of the lack of game support.
The only reason I would have moved to Vista was to play Crysis in all its glory, but it turns out you can run all the DX10 features in Windows XP AND
get better frame rates.
As you said, as an enthusiast I want to get the most bang for my buck, but that seems to go against Vista. I don't want a machine that's having its resources hogged up by a crappy OS. That's like buying a Ferrari and loading it down with sandbags.
However I do definitely like the move to 64-bit, that's an improvement. Right now my computer shows 3.25Gb of my 4Gb of RAM (only cost $75 for 4 gigs too).
Several of the wireless routers I've set up have instructions to insert an included CD which installs some software and guides you through a wizard which walks users through basic wireless settings.
My friend's parents set up their own router by this method and they are far from what I consider tech savvy. Yet they managed to set up a WPA-PSK secured network by following the hand-holding wizard that came on their Linksys CD.
On the other hand, I've had to help people who were a "step-up" from computer newbies. You know, the real dangerous ones who know just enough to break things seriously.
They didn't think they needed the CD or wizard to help them set up their network, several of them have ended up with working yet completely open wireless networks.
SSID was left at default and you could access the router wirelessly and configure the router by using the default UN and PW (admin, blank, admin, 1234, etc.)
It seems like the wannabe power users are the problem more than the clueless ones.
I would point out how Windows automatically connects to the first open wireless network it finds, unless you specifically set it up for a certain one, but the article implies that these users are knowingly connecting to another person's wi-fi.
Personally I keep my wireless as secure as I can get it. My basic DSL service is too humble for the four computers already sharing its connection, I would prefer not to share it among any more if I can help it.
If you go with AMD, you can get a reliable Micro ATX board (which will fit into a full sized ATX case if that's what you already have) for $50. The MSI AM2 socket boards are solid and cheap. Plus you can get a dual core AMD 3800+ for $70 and 2 Gb of DDR2 800mhz memory for $50(DDR2 800 is cheap as dirt) or even less if you go with more generic memory brands. So far that adds up to $170, plus you can get an Nvidia 7xxx series graphics card for PCIe for as low as $45 for a low end 7300gt, which can still run a lot of games. But if you want to get a 7900gt or gs you're still only looking at $120-140. If need be, even throw in a nice 550watt power supply if your current one is not adequate: $70. So the total comes to $370 or just $300 if you don't need the power supply (keep in mind this would be a fairly energy efficient system).
$500 for an upgrade is pretty steep, I think the main reason is you went with Intel when AMD has a much better value for tight budget systems. Just recently I got what used to be the flagship AMD x2 processor, the 6400+ for $170. When I bought my last computer I got the bottom end x2 3800+ for $330 about a month after the AMD dual core processors first came out.
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That's what I'm wondering. I'd much prefer an fps, even if the graphics are akin to duke3d so it will run well on handhelds.
The host of the show, who owned a Ford GT, complained that he had to fill up twice on the way to work. The Tesla would be a godsend for him but, on the other hand, car enthusiasts also love loud cars.
Find small computer shops around your area. Most of the ones I've checked had at least one EEEpc on display to play with.
DVI sounds much more reasonable, and DVI to VGA adapters are easy to find if needed.
Because I wanted link scanning, that's why I installed it when I went to AVG 8.0.
I remember those AVG check marks showing up on my google searches as well. However, when I upgraded to Firefox 3 the plugin was not compatible and I didn't bother updating it.
However, along the same lines of wood settling, it is believed by some that brass instruments go through a similar process. Not only do great musicians play on good instruments, but their playing it well makes the instrument even better. Something having to do with the "good vibrations" changing the metal slightly.
In fact, some top end brass instrument makers give you the option of having your horn work hardened by hand with a hammer to achieve a similar effect.
Yes, one of the things I remember reading about early wooden string instruments is that the maker would use ground up locust shells to make a kind of lacquer for the instruments. They figured since they could hear locust swarms coming from miles away, their wings and bodies had properties which allowed them to project sound well.
Sure, it's possible that a repairman could run across something illegal in a customer's computer. So what's the real difference between that and a house cleaner running across drugs or a child porn stash? Should they be forced to get PI licenses as well?
Just because the legal system is screwed up enough that some evidence may be compromised because it was "improperly seized" doesn't mean the government should start forcing everyone to get CJ degrees or PI licenses.
It sounds more like a case of the legal system passing on the buck.
It turns out I really never did have to open up that book, any relevant information was contained in the professor's power point slides which were posted online. However, I didn't read the 14-day return policy on the books.
Fuck.
Definitely.
This next quarter I am actually looking for an older edition of a physics book because I can't find the current edition anywhere for less than $210 :(
I originally thought the same thing about Farcry, where you have an entire island you can explore. You can explore to a certain extent but there are definite boundaries that guide you in a certain direction.
I've heard that Crytek will release the "Ultra High" graphics settings in a patch later on when they think machines can handle it. I guess they did the same thing with Farcry before, but I don't know.
ASUS M2N-E AM2 ATX motherboard -$85
2 x 1Gb G.Skill DDR2 800mhz RAM -$45
Seagate Barracuda 250Gb SATA HDD -$60
RAIDMAX SMILODON w/ 500watt PS -$95
ECS 8800GT 512mb -$150
Tons of DVD + CD burners under $30
Total for the computer comes to $582, and this is BEFORE rebates. All items from newegg.com
You can go even cheaper and not get as nice of a computer, or you can also go cheaper and get crappy quality parts. But around $600 for a fairly high end computer is not bad.
I wish he was an hero.
You can even play on LAN while in offline mode, using your one account on multiple computers without running into authentication issues.
I've used this a couple times at LAN parties to get a game of Counter-Strike going even if there was only one account between the lot of us.
As far as gaming is concerned, it's going to be a while before Vista will reach the level of acceptance that XP has achieved. Stability issues in games and poor performance with (for the most part) very little appreciable increase in eye-candy are major detractors.
I consider myself an enthusiast but I'm not adopting Vista until I have absolutely no alternative. I've already moved to Linux for a lot of my computing needs, but I'll probably never be able to move over completely because of the lack of game support. The only reason I would have moved to Vista was to play Crysis in all its glory, but it turns out you can run all the DX10 features in Windows XP AND get better frame rates. As you said, as an enthusiast I want to get the most bang for my buck, but that seems to go against Vista. I don't want a machine that's having its resources hogged up by a crappy OS. That's like buying a Ferrari and loading it down with sandbags. However I do definitely like the move to 64-bit, that's an improvement. Right now my computer shows 3.25Gb of my 4Gb of RAM (only cost $75 for 4 gigs too).
they do nothing!
Several of the wireless routers I've set up have instructions to insert an included CD which installs some software and guides you through a wizard which walks users through basic wireless settings. My friend's parents set up their own router by this method and they are far from what I consider tech savvy. Yet they managed to set up a WPA-PSK secured network by following the hand-holding wizard that came on their Linksys CD. On the other hand, I've had to help people who were a "step-up" from computer newbies. You know, the real dangerous ones who know just enough to break things seriously. They didn't think they needed the CD or wizard to help them set up their network, several of them have ended up with working yet completely open wireless networks. SSID was left at default and you could access the router wirelessly and configure the router by using the default UN and PW (admin, blank, admin, 1234, etc.) It seems like the wannabe power users are the problem more than the clueless ones. I would point out how Windows automatically connects to the first open wireless network it finds, unless you specifically set it up for a certain one, but the article implies that these users are knowingly connecting to another person's wi-fi. Personally I keep my wireless as secure as I can get it. My basic DSL service is too humble for the four computers already sharing its connection, I would prefer not to share it among any more if I can help it.
That's interesting, I remember electric shower heads to heat up a pitiful stream of water to lukewarm when I lived with my grandparents in Colombia.
If you go with AMD, you can get a reliable Micro ATX board (which will fit into a full sized ATX case if that's what you already have) for $50. The MSI AM2 socket boards are solid and cheap. Plus you can get a dual core AMD 3800+ for $70 and 2 Gb of DDR2 800mhz memory for $50(DDR2 800 is cheap as dirt) or even less if you go with more generic memory brands. So far that adds up to $170, plus you can get an Nvidia 7xxx series graphics card for PCIe for as low as $45 for a low end 7300gt, which can still run a lot of games. But if you want to get a 7900gt or gs you're still only looking at $120-140.
If need be, even throw in a nice 550watt power supply if your current one is not adequate: $70.
So the total comes to $370 or just $300 if you don't need the power supply (keep in mind this would be a fairly energy efficient system).
$500 for an upgrade is pretty steep, I think the main reason is you went with Intel when AMD has a much better value for tight budget systems. Just recently I got what used to be the flagship AMD x2 processor, the 6400+ for $170. When I bought my last computer I got the bottom end x2 3800+ for $330 about a month after the AMD dual core processors first came out.