3 gbps? Is that 375 MB/s? IDE/SATA doesn't support that! What's the point? SATA-II indeed supports that. So does the disk. From cache.. No way it reaches more than 50MiB/sec from the platters, which is what counts.
So true. I'm not really understanding the point of having such a large on-drive cache. I think the money is better spent on adding RAM to the main computer because the OS does a lot of caching too. A multi-tasking OS on hardware that has DMA capabilities seems to make large on-drive caching unnecessary. It seems like the testing I've seen of real-world programs on the drives with different size caches confirm this train of thought.
Oftentimes adding huge caches to CPUs nets almost no speed difference as well, and CPUs are far faster than hard drives.
Still, you get a lot more storage space for the money than the higher RPM drives. The higher RPM drives have limited added utility, a home hobbyist really doesn't benefit enough from a higher RPM data drive. I don't think 10k drives are available at higher than 300MB, and those will cost a lot more than the 7K500.
$175 for a 75 GB SATA Raptor $400 for a 7K500 $600 for a 300GB 10K Seagate SCSI
The 7200RPM drives are a much better balance for speed, capacity and cost. Part of the reason 10k drives are lower capacity is that the platters need to be smaller diameter, which is also part of the reason why the seek time rating is lower, because the average distance the head travels is smaller.
Those using the drives just to store and play downloaded files probably could get away with even slower RPMs to save on money, heat and maybe less noise.
Re:apple need to bump up the entry level spec
on
New Apples Next Week
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I have different complaints. The bluetooth upgrades aren't readily available, the easiest way to upgrade a bluetooth capable Mac after it has shipped is to buy a USB dongle. I think this is unfortunate, given that there is a socket in the computer. I know there is a wireless upgrade kit for mini, getting such a kit for iMac and PowerMac seems impossible.
I decided not to go the DVD writer route, I have other computers with a DVD writer and I don't use that feature very often.
I do agree that Apple should re-figure their pricing. A $1000 laptop in an age of $500 laptops is simply not competitive.
Some of the pricing is justifiable, the mini is basically a laptop, all their desktop computers short of eMac have a lot of custom aluminum extrusion, 1 lb of the mini's 3lbs is the aluminum shell, the iMac stand is a heavy chunk of aluminum, and Powermac has 1/8" / 3mm thick side plates.
I opted for a good 3rd party TFT display from elsewhere (19" TFT for £179), as Apple seem to think that plonking down £550 for their entry level display is fine for everyone.
I don't think they really think that. They probably felt that it isn't worth competing in the 15"-19" range with an aluminum-shelled desktop display. It would be nice if they did offer a differently-styled option. Apple was very clear that buyers can get third party displays, keyboards and mice, hence the BYODKM theme during its announcement.
I don't think anyone doubted that Democrats took special interest money, the point is that these people serve the interests of donors first, and constituents last.
no licensing fee to a company also means there isn't anyone thaey can blame when something goes wrong. This is why commerical applications are used.
That is a cute idea, but what does that blame net the company? So they can blame Microsoft or Sun or whatever, but they will never, ever, get their money back when the software proves to be defective.
Re:SCSI RAID Yes, IDE RAID No
on
Basics of RAID
·
· Score: 1
Better, maybe, but not better enough for personal/home server desktop. The same goes for RAID. It's nice, but expensive and doesn't benefit the individual enough to make it worth it.
My dad has converted numerous R12-based systems to R134a and there haven't been any complaints. The "book" recommends changing several expensive parts, but he's slowly given up on that because of the cost, now replacing any leaking parts is the most he does outside of the refrigerant and oil.
More secure against script kiddies, and pre-made attacks that send binaries for execution. If an attack can run an arbitrary shell script, then you are still in trouble.
I do like my SXGA+ Compaq business laptop, and love how it makes the text smoother and sharper.
One thing that's bugged me is that the Apple 'Books don't even have a high-res option.
As it is though, I haven't found a way to make the scroll bar wider, and buttons larger. I can clock my 21" CRT to quad XGA but that makes the buttons and scroll bars too tiny.
I think the difference being that the included game has all those bits already, just not enabled. If a mod needed to add textures to modify object geometry and physics, then it would probably be a different story.
However, I do think that this is a CYA move by the ESRB, though none of this is their fault.
The reason they are famous is that they've been right a lot more often than other Apple rumor sites. This is in part because they've been given insider information on a regular basis.
I don't understand. Did "push" allow for people to chose which part of a subscription to use or not use?
I think the problem with push was that it wasn't open, and seemed to be designed to force information and commercial interest to users, rather than giving letting users chose what to take. The RSS system seems to be a lot more open and truly designed to benefit the user from the user's perspective rather than from the perspective that is pro-commercial content producers. The basic idea may be the same but this one's implementation seems to be more palatable and useful.
I've found tab completion to be very annoying if there are several files of similar but different names, where there are differences halfway through a name and such.
The peel-away idea might work but I'm not completely sold.
BTW: I've tried dropping files onto items in the task bar but Windows rejected it every time, with a convenient notice that Windows doesn't work that way. If they thought to put that notice there, I wonder what held them back from properly implementing the ability to drop files onto the task bar button.
In some states, non-compete clauses are illegal and unenforcible.
I think it to be completely unethical to force a person to work outside of their industry for a set time in order to leave, especially if all of their specialization work is specific to the industry.
I don't see a problem with a person switching companies, so long as they don't transfer the insider knowledge.
When did the tech bubble pop? I thought it was around 2000 anyway, so comparing stats against the dot bomb era isn't going to make the present look good, even though the bust was a much needed correction.
Re:Idiots never learn from history.
on
Death Star Subwoofer
·
· Score: 2, Informative
These suckers have put in yet another thermal exhaust port that would be the prefect fit for a couple of proton torpedoes. Idiots never learn from history. The Bose alliance is going to have a field day with this.
Bose speakers use ports too. I'd love to shove a torpedo into one.
Being only slightly better than Monster cable, they achieve much of their better sound through marketing.
I'd say they are a lot better than nothing, but I think I've gotten far better sound, and better for the money, from Canadian brand speakers.
I think older than that, suggesting running it on 32MB of RAM.
But this doc suggests not installing any service packs, even for security and stability reasons, and only use one program at a time, remove sound, printer, etc. A lot of sacrifices need to be made for this.
I will go though the list though to see what reasonable things I can do.
I hope they switch to a high-dpi screen like those used in Palms and PocketPCs though. I think it might be possible to implement the scroll wheel within the screen.
Which I will be interested in buying, although price might be a factor, the cost was vague. I think my good mobile phone cost me $80 before subscription rebates. $80 might not be a bad price for a nifty keyboard like that.
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3 gbps? Is that 375 MB/s? IDE/SATA doesn't support that! What's the point?
SATA-II indeed supports that. So does the disk. From cache.. No way it reaches more than 50MiB/sec from the platters, which is what counts.
So true. I'm not really understanding the point of having such a large on-drive cache. I think the money is better spent on adding RAM to the main computer because the OS does a lot of caching too. A multi-tasking OS on hardware that has DMA capabilities seems to make large on-drive caching unnecessary. It seems like the testing I've seen of real-world programs on the drives with different size caches confirm this train of thought.
Oftentimes adding huge caches to CPUs nets almost no speed difference as well, and CPUs are far faster than hard drives.
Still, you get a lot more storage space for the money than the higher RPM drives. The higher RPM drives have limited added utility, a home hobbyist really doesn't benefit enough from a higher RPM data drive. I don't think 10k drives are available at higher than 300MB, and those will cost a lot more than the 7K500.
$175 for a 75 GB SATA Raptor
$400 for a 7K500
$600 for a 300GB 10K Seagate SCSI
The 7200RPM drives are a much better balance for speed, capacity and cost. Part of the reason 10k drives are lower capacity is that the platters need to be smaller diameter, which is also part of the reason why the seek time rating is lower, because the average distance the head travels is smaller.
Those using the drives just to store and play downloaded files probably could get away with even slower RPMs to save on money, heat and maybe less noise.
I have different complaints. The bluetooth upgrades aren't readily available, the easiest way to upgrade a bluetooth capable Mac after it has shipped is to buy a USB dongle. I think this is unfortunate, given that there is a socket in the computer. I know there is a wireless upgrade kit for mini, getting such a kit for iMac and PowerMac seems impossible.
I decided not to go the DVD writer route, I have other computers with a DVD writer and I don't use that feature very often.
I do agree that Apple should re-figure their pricing. A $1000 laptop in an age of $500 laptops is simply not competitive.
Some of the pricing is justifiable, the mini is basically a laptop, all their desktop computers short of eMac have a lot of custom aluminum extrusion, 1 lb of the mini's 3lbs is the aluminum shell, the iMac stand is a heavy chunk of aluminum, and Powermac has 1/8" / 3mm thick side plates.
I opted for a good 3rd party TFT display from elsewhere (19" TFT for £179), as Apple seem to think that plonking down £550 for their entry level display is fine for everyone.
I don't think they really think that. They probably felt that it isn't worth competing in the 15"-19" range with an aluminum-shelled desktop display. It would be nice if they did offer a differently-styled option. Apple was very clear that buyers can get third party displays, keyboards and mice, hence the BYODKM theme during its announcement.
I don't think anyone doubted that Democrats took special interest money, the point is that these people serve the interests of donors first, and constituents last.
no licensing fee to a company also means there isn't anyone thaey can blame when something goes wrong. This is why commerical applications are used.
That is a cute idea, but what does that blame net the company? So they can blame Microsoft or Sun or whatever, but they will never, ever, get their money back when the software proves to be defective.
Better, maybe, but not better enough for personal/home server desktop. The same goes for RAID. It's nice, but expensive and doesn't benefit the individual enough to make it worth it.
Oh god, won't somebody help me off of this slippery slope?!
Just as well. Slippery slope is a logical fallacy anyway.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
It is a new socket, even if practical considerations dictate it.
I am curious, has DDR2 been shown to be worthwhile? I sure hope so.
My dad has converted numerous R12-based systems to R134a and there haven't been any complaints. The "book" recommends changing several expensive parts, but he's slowly given up on that because of the cost, now replacing any leaking parts is the most he does outside of the refrigerant and oil.
More secure against script kiddies, and pre-made attacks that send binaries for execution. If an attack can run an arbitrary shell script, then you are still in trouble.
I do like my SXGA+ Compaq business laptop, and love how it makes the text smoother and sharper.
One thing that's bugged me is that the Apple 'Books don't even have a high-res option.
As it is though, I haven't found a way to make the scroll bar wider, and buttons larger. I can clock my 21" CRT to quad XGA but that makes the buttons and scroll bars too tiny.
I think the difference being that the included game has all those bits already, just not enabled. If a mod needed to add textures to modify object geometry and physics, then it would probably be a different story.
However, I do think that this is a CYA move by the ESRB, though none of this is their fault.
The reason they are famous is that they've been right a lot more often than other Apple rumor sites. This is in part because they've been given insider information on a regular basis.
I don't understand. Did "push" allow for people to chose which part of a subscription to use or not use?
I think the problem with push was that it wasn't open, and seemed to be designed to force information and commercial interest to users, rather than giving letting users chose what to take. The RSS system seems to be a lot more open and truly designed to benefit the user from the user's perspective rather than from the perspective that is pro-commercial content producers. The basic idea may be the same but this one's implementation seems to be more palatable and useful.
It looks like just a spacial remapping (from cartesian to polar) of the standard table rather than a new layout.
I've found tab completion to be very annoying if there are several files of similar but different names, where there are differences halfway through a name and such.
The peel-away idea might work but I'm not completely sold.
BTW: I've tried dropping files onto items in the task bar but Windows rejected it every time, with a convenient notice that Windows doesn't work that way. If they thought to put that notice there, I wonder what held them back from properly implementing the ability to drop files onto the task bar button.
In some states, non-compete clauses are illegal and unenforcible.
I think it to be completely unethical to force a person to work outside of their industry for a set time in order to leave, especially if all of their specialization work is specific to the industry.
I don't see a problem with a person switching companies, so long as they don't transfer the insider knowledge.
That doesn't make sense as there's nothing on the horizon that will drop the price of solar cells.
PoE is much cheaper, like $40 a pop.
When did the tech bubble pop? I thought it was around 2000 anyway, so comparing stats against the dot bomb era isn't going to make the present look good, even though the bust was a much needed correction.
These suckers have put in yet another thermal exhaust port that would be the prefect fit for a couple of proton torpedoes. Idiots never learn from history. The Bose alliance is going to have a field day with this.
Bose speakers use ports too. I'd love to shove a torpedo into one.
Being only slightly better than Monster cable, they achieve much of their better sound through marketing.
I'd say they are a lot better than nothing, but I think I've gotten far better sound, and better for the money, from Canadian brand speakers.
Disclosure: I am not Canadian.
I think older than that, suggesting running it on 32MB of RAM.
But this doc suggests not installing any service packs, even for security and stability reasons, and only use one program at a time, remove sound, printer, etc. A lot of sacrifices need to be made for this.
I will go though the list though to see what reasonable things I can do.
I hope they switch to a high-dpi screen like those used in Palms and PocketPCs though. I think it might be possible to implement the scroll wheel within the screen.
The standard iPod plays unencrypted music ripped from CDs, I would hope that a video iPod should be able to play unencrypted video files too.
Just by association, I would expect that this thing would play MPEG, MPEG2, DiVX, H.264 and MOVs at the minimum.
"Some day it will be split ('ergonomic')"
Which I will be interested in buying, although price might be a factor, the cost was vague. I think my good mobile phone cost me $80 before subscription rebates. $80 might not be a bad price for a nifty keyboard like that.