Nah, not at all... Plenty of choice and they are now coming more and more on Sandy/Ivy bridge Celeron models. (Dropping the Atom. I was a huge Atom fan, but they do have a lot of downsides for the applications I wanted to use them) At my local supermarket netbooks tend to be Acer Aspire One. Those sold there are Celeron 847 based machines, which are relly quite good chips.
Me? I went Ultra book, but only because I could get the Acer Aspire S3 for dirt cheap.
The dumpster is your friend. Core2Duo class machines with 4GB RAM are starting to show up. My computer at work is a Core2Duo and is 5 years old. My boss sees no need in spending money for something that works. (And it does, so I'm not complaining)
I remember and have seen DOS bootsector viruses, which were still occasionally seen in the 9x days, but I was ignoring those because they wouldn't be able to infect a Windows NT based system if they tried to.
Interesting. Given I always booted to Linux for data recovery, before a nuke/reinstall, I've never seen anything like this. Happens often in the wild? I remaining of the opinion they are exceedingly rare. The cure is most likely worse than the disease.
While I do realize I'm just one data point. In the 15 years, I've been doing IT professionally and helped many people with their computer woes in my free time, I have never seen a MBR or Boot Sector malware. I'm not saying SecureBoot is a cure for something that doesn't exists, but I haven't ever personally encountered one.
Look into the syntax of pf, then look into the syntax of iptables. Then look back again. If I can, I damn well avoid having Linux firewalls, and I'm a Linux system administrator.
I'm not full of crap. The 50% was exceptional, I admit... but then, when was the last time you saw an Apple Computer on sale, like anywhere? On Dells 20% is routine. A few things: you have to actively follow their offers, and be willing to take what you get. You eyed that Latitude, but a Vostro is on sale? Too bad, take what you can get.
Got myself a nice little rackmount for 1000€ (incl VAT, since it's business stuff you never get the prices with VAT). Trick was, again, a coupon, base machine was already reduced, another free shipping code and finally the fact that the 2TB HDDs were at the price of 1TB disks (another "action"). I had trouble making the order, so I contacted them by phone. None of the sales would give me those reductions. Second time online, it worked.
I do not know why they do this. It doesn't make sense, but damn, they do it and if you just happen to need anything, you get your stuff with such reductions. If you fancy new gear, you just wait until reductions come around the corner.
I'm pretty brand-agnostic. Typing this on a an Acer Ultrabook (also on sale, obviously!). I've got a mix of Apple, Dell, Acer, Zotac (barebones), Foxconn (barebones) and diverse self-builds around the house. I've had Toshiba, HP, Fujitsu-Siemens and Asus laptops, as wel as IBM, HP, Fujitsu-Siemense desktops and I'm surely missing some.
A final word on Dell. I've found their XPS line have a very nice build quality. (When I got the 50% sale, I bought three identical machines, for me, my sister and my brother) The other consumer lines are fine, but it's mostly plastic. At work, we use Latitudes, and those really are damn well built machines. They're definitely not sexy like whatever Apple has, but they're well built, reliable and the support is excellent.
I really don't mind Apple. They have nice gear. I even recommend Apple to all my acquaintances that refuse to learn about computers. That way I have them out of the shooting line, and they usually don't ever need me again. The problem are those who would need an Apple, but can't afford it. Take the Acer Aspire S3 I'm typing this on. It is made from metal. The type says it's a MS2346. I got it on sale for 649€ at a local supermarket. You can get it cheaper elsewhere, but due to keyboard layout reasons, I prefer to buy locally unless the sale really is too good to be true. I will not say it is as good as a MacBook Air, it most likely is not. It is however, a fancy little machine, that runs Ubuntu just fine and is 380euro; cheaper than the cheapset MacBook Air I can get. That's the kind of machines, many people need because of the price constraints.
Basically, yes, I'm a computer bargain hunter. Sadly, there never are bargains with Apple. We have a 27" iMac for my wife, and we didn't spare any expenses for that one. No sales, no coupons. Why? Because it's for my wife and now she doesn't need me to hold her hands while she uses her computer. It works, but damn, it better works until until at least 2021.
You don't get it. These kind of discounts are routine with Dells. Sure, perhaps not the 50% one. I repeat: you're insane if you pay full price for a Dell.
Funny... I have a Dell XPS 15 (L502x). Core i7-2630QM, 4GB RAM - upgraded now to 16GB for cheap, 500GB disk, NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M, FullHD screen and even a 3G/HSDPA. Bought it in june 2011. Why? I got a 50% discount coupon. I'm always on the lookout for sales.
With Dell, you better not pay full price ever. Keep an eye on discounts, coupons, etc. If you don't get at least a 20% discount, you're getting ripped off. You only pay full price, if you absolutely have to have what you want right now, and let's be honest: most of us can keep running on our older gear for just a bit longer.
At home. I'm using a Ricoh Aficio CL2000 with network module and duplex unit. It wasn't cheap back in the day, but back in the day cheap lasers didn't exist. I'm still happy with it. Doesn't do scanning, etc... I'm sure they have models that can. The rule of thumb for Linux compatibility is PostScript. If it has PostScript it will work.
At work, we nog have a Xerox WorkCentre 6605DN. Scanning (with feeder), duplex, network, PostScript and Fax. It was a mere 650€. which is damned fine. From what I hear the consumables aren't that expensive (but not dirt cheap)... at least, I didn't get any complaints from accounting.
Some people might then think you're talking about the first XBox, which is the old P-III based one. Personally, Microsoft didn't think the name through. I guess, names like these should be tested on a bunch of 13 year olds to figure out whether it could become misused. I know you think that "X-Bone" is what you should be reading, but I don't and I'm pretty sure many people don't read that either. I think that says more about you than anything else: As I said, it's in wide use with the MS/XBox fanbois.
Strange, I've seen XBox fans talk about it as the "XBone" too. Yeah, sure, it's a nickname, but it is a logical contraction. After all the product is called XBox One... XB One... or for quick typers XBone.
The first time I actually read it, I was wondering what they were writing about, until I realized what it was and I now constantly read it mentally as XB-one... Not as X-Bone.
Very good example AC! We now start to see the audio/mic jack on laptops too. I can buy any headset and pretty much use it on any device. For my older laptop, I got a 2€ convertor so I can use a "modern" headset on it.
I'm not saying that proprietary is preferable. I'm saying that from the design, the lightning connector is better. That's if parent encumbered an proprietary doesn't mean that it can't be technically superior, right? In other words: it would be preferable to have an open connector with the hardware design characteristics of the lightning connector.
Oh, I totally agree... With the slight difference that I actually think that the Lightning connector is actually better design. It's small and orientation less and rather robust. Micro-USB, while ubiquitous, is rather fragile and has orientation. It'd rather see all phone manufacturers switch to the Lightning connector instead. I know this won't happen, especially since the EU mandates Micro-USB.
Oh, and before you accuse me of being an Apple fanboy. I'm still on a non-Lightning iPhone and if it wasn't my employer who paid for my phone, I wouldn't even have a smartphone.
Really? Apart from the 1 and 2 cent coins (which are close to useless), I never heard anyone complaining about coins at all. As a matter of fact, I hate running out of coins. I always try to have around 5€ in coins in my wallet. Parking fees, the occasional tip, etc... Now, what I do hate is paying for parking with a 20€ bill and getting a fuckton of coins back (the machines don't give back bills as change), but luckily I try to avoid that situation.
Thanks for telling me about centralization. I always took the one that felt most wrong to me (I'm obviously not a native speaker). Good to know I can use the one that feels right.
"centimeter" is American English. In British English it is indeed "centimetre". If the original posted had bothered to install both dictionaries (which I do, just to avoid this stuff), he would have found out the reason. So, I'll keep writing "centimetre", just like I keep writing "colour", "honour", "programme" and "centralization".
Because Ctrl-Alt-Delete is non-interruptible. This way one could be sure it was truly the login screen and not something impersonating the login screen. At least, that's how I remember it. Could be urban legend.
Not going to say it's worth any thing, but when I needed to open DWG files my architect sent me, DraftSight was sufficient. Since I have no idea how to use a CAD program, I can't say much about the usability though.
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Me? I went Ultra book, but only because I could get the Acer Aspire S3 for dirt cheap.
The dumpster is your friend. Core2Duo class machines with 4GB RAM are starting to show up. My computer at work is a Core2Duo and is 5 years old. My boss sees no need in spending money for something that works. (And it does, so I'm not complaining)
I remember and have seen DOS bootsector viruses, which were still occasionally seen in the 9x days, but I was ignoring those because they wouldn't be able to infect a Windows NT based system if they tried to.
Interesting. Given I always booted to Linux for data recovery, before a nuke/reinstall, I've never seen anything like this. Happens often in the wild? I remaining of the opinion they are exceedingly rare. The cure is most likely worse than the disease.
While I do realize I'm just one data point. In the 15 years, I've been doing IT professionally and helped many people with their computer woes in my free time, I have never seen a MBR or Boot Sector malware. I'm not saying SecureBoot is a cure for something that doesn't exists, but I haven't ever personally encountered one.
Perhaps, version 3.11 is the one to wait for, then ;-) I heard it's good if you base your career on networking.
I'm waiting for the third version...
Look into the syntax of pf, then look into the syntax of iptables. Then look back again. If I can, I damn well avoid having Linux firewalls, and I'm a Linux system administrator.
I'm not full of crap. The 50% was exceptional, I admit... but then, when was the last time you saw an Apple Computer on sale, like anywhere? On Dells 20% is routine. A few things: you have to actively follow their offers, and be willing to take what you get. You eyed that Latitude, but a Vostro is on sale? Too bad, take what you can get.
Got myself a nice little rackmount for 1000€ (incl VAT, since it's business stuff you never get the prices with VAT). Trick was, again, a coupon, base machine was already reduced, another free shipping code and finally the fact that the 2TB HDDs were at the price of 1TB disks (another "action"). I had trouble making the order, so I contacted them by phone. None of the sales would give me those reductions. Second time online, it worked.
I do not know why they do this. It doesn't make sense, but damn, they do it and if you just happen to need anything, you get your stuff with such reductions. If you fancy new gear, you just wait until reductions come around the corner.
I'm pretty brand-agnostic. Typing this on a an Acer Ultrabook (also on sale, obviously!). I've got a mix of Apple, Dell, Acer, Zotac (barebones), Foxconn (barebones) and diverse self-builds around the house. I've had Toshiba, HP, Fujitsu-Siemens and Asus laptops, as wel as IBM, HP, Fujitsu-Siemense desktops and I'm surely missing some.
A final word on Dell. I've found their XPS line have a very nice build quality. (When I got the 50% sale, I bought three identical machines, for me, my sister and my brother) The other consumer lines are fine, but it's mostly plastic. At work, we use Latitudes, and those really are damn well built machines. They're definitely not sexy like whatever Apple has, but they're well built, reliable and the support is excellent.
I really don't mind Apple. They have nice gear. I even recommend Apple to all my acquaintances that refuse to learn about computers. That way I have them out of the shooting line, and they usually don't ever need me again. The problem are those who would need an Apple, but can't afford it. Take the Acer Aspire S3 I'm typing this on. It is made from metal. The type says it's a MS2346. I got it on sale for 649€ at a local supermarket. You can get it cheaper elsewhere, but due to keyboard layout reasons, I prefer to buy locally unless the sale really is too good to be true. I will not say it is as good as a MacBook Air, it most likely is not. It is however, a fancy little machine, that runs Ubuntu just fine and is 380euro; cheaper than the cheapset MacBook Air I can get. That's the kind of machines, many people need because of the price constraints.
Basically, yes, I'm a computer bargain hunter. Sadly, there never are bargains with Apple. We have a 27" iMac for my wife, and we didn't spare any expenses for that one. No sales, no coupons. Why? Because it's for my wife and now she doesn't need me to hold her hands while she uses her computer. It works, but damn, it better works until until at least 2021.
You don't get it. These kind of discounts are routine with Dells. Sure, perhaps not the 50% one. I repeat: you're insane if you pay full price for a Dell.
With Dell, you better not pay full price ever. Keep an eye on discounts, coupons, etc. If you don't get at least a 20% discount, you're getting ripped off. You only pay full price, if you absolutely have to have what you want right now, and let's be honest: most of us can keep running on our older gear for just a bit longer.
At work, we nog have a Xerox WorkCentre 6605DN. Scanning (with feeder), duplex, network, PostScript and Fax. It was a mere 650€. which is damned fine. From what I hear the consumables aren't that expensive (but not dirt cheap)... at least, I didn't get any complaints from accounting.
Yeah, probably... I work in the porn industry and am a notorious pervert. Probably just a professional deformation.
Some people might then think you're talking about the first XBox, which is the old P-III based one. Personally, Microsoft didn't think the name through. I guess, names like these should be tested on a bunch of 13 year olds to figure out whether it could become misused. I know you think that "X-Bone" is what you should be reading, but I don't and I'm pretty sure many people don't read that either. I think that says more about you than anything else: As I said, it's in wide use with the MS/XBox fanbois.
The first time I actually read it, I was wondering what they were writing about, until I realized what it was and I now constantly read it mentally as XB-one... Not as X-Bone.
Very good example AC! We now start to see the audio/mic jack on laptops too. I can buy any headset and pretty much use it on any device. For my older laptop, I got a 2€ convertor so I can use a "modern" headset on it.
Absolutely. An open connector is preferable. Doesn't mean the Lightning connector isn't technically superior.
I'm not saying that proprietary is preferable. I'm saying that from the design, the lightning connector is better. That's if parent encumbered an proprietary doesn't mean that it can't be technically superior, right? In other words: it would be preferable to have an open connector with the hardware design characteristics of the lightning connector.
Oh, and before you accuse me of being an Apple fanboy. I'm still on a non-Lightning iPhone and if it wasn't my employer who paid for my phone, I wouldn't even have a smartphone.
Really? Apart from the 1 and 2 cent coins (which are close to useless), I never heard anyone complaining about coins at all. As a matter of fact, I hate running out of coins. I always try to have around 5€ in coins in my wallet. Parking fees, the occasional tip, etc... Now, what I do hate is paying for parking with a 20€ bill and getting a fuckton of coins back (the machines don't give back bills as change), but luckily I try to avoid that situation.
Thanks for telling me about centralization. I always took the one that felt most wrong to me (I'm obviously not a native speaker). Good to know I can use the one that feels right.
"centimeter" is American English. In British English it is indeed "centimetre". If the original posted had bothered to install both dictionaries (which I do, just to avoid this stuff), he would have found out the reason. So, I'll keep writing "centimetre", just like I keep writing "colour", "honour", "programme" and "centralization".
Because Ctrl-Alt-Delete is non-interruptible. This way one could be sure it was truly the login screen and not something impersonating the login screen. At least, that's how I remember it. Could be urban legend.
Not going to say it's worth any thing, but when I needed to open DWG files my architect sent me, DraftSight was sufficient. Since I have no idea how to use a CAD program, I can't say much about the usability though.
I'm just a happy customer....