Any perceived "speed" improvement in 7 is misguided. You will hear many people say that their PC has better performance after removing the included Vista installation, and installing XP/7/linux. This is actually because of the amount of additional software installed by the hardware vendor.
This software can be divided into two categories: applications from the vendor that manage updates, backups, connectivity, media handling, recovery, you name it (even though Vista has all of these things already), and applications from third-parties that are trials/demos/upgradable that gives the hardware vendor a kickback if purchased by the end user.
The article is about performance of 200mbps powerline vs. 5GHz draft-N, fair enough. In my experience home users just want an easy stable connection for cheap. They inevitably start with wireless-G, which they either can't setup, or get a useless 0-2 bars of signal with. We sell them a 85mbps powerline kit, requires no setup, and they quickly wonder what all this wireless nonsense is about. Lots of happy customers.
This debate has come up numerous times on slashdot, and I'm disturbed by the completely different paths such professionals adhere to.
I've also been an independent technician for home/small business for 7 years, and for the vast majority of situations, I strongly believe in fix instead of reload. The reason is two-fold:
Most of time it is a single issue (such as an infection), which I consistently remedy in an hour or so of billable time. If there are many issues it's a strong indication of hardware problems, which may appear fixed after a reload, but this is only temporary. It has nothing to do with ego--fixing requires lots of experience and competence, it is a skill worth developing.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, users have lots of stuff that can't be backed up and restored. A good example would be a printer, which these days typically can't be installed without being present. The list goes on. The beginner users struggle to do these things themselves, and the advanced users who could will have an endless list of things they've setup just their way. Users appreciate having their PC back the way they're familiar with.
Like a lot of games of the time, Ghostbusters II (the 1989 Activision release) was impossibly hard. It had pretty cool graphics and sound for the time, but poor controls and little content. When it comes to games based on movies, things never changed.
And this is where the small premium for a business class laptop pays off bigtime. Buy an HP business laptop or a Dell Vostro machine and you get pretty much a clean OS install with working drivers and a minimal (of often helpful) third party apps.
This is true. Nevermind the fact that you get higher quality hardware, and a completely different tier of support.
Unfortunately they're starting a slide a bit too, the latest generation of HP Business Notebooks have Yahoo Toolbar, the fattest Norton/McAfee home product, Office 07 (trial), and SQL Server running.
First of all, the reason drivers for home printers are no longer 50kb is because what used to be done in hardware, is now removed to save costs. It's also why you can now buy a printer for $30 instead of $300.
Second, a lot of these "drivers" actually include software--often entire applications, or several of them. Also, the amount of functions and features on the average multifunction has continually increased
That certainly is true, but then, why should so many user applications have the ability to affect the rest of the operating system? Either they don't and whether they are shit quality is moot, or they do and this is rightfully considered a shortcoming in the overall design of Windows. I don't see any third options here.
Any operating system can run resource-intensive or dysfunctional applications!
Most of this third party software is installed because the OEM gets a small kickback. If the user purchases an activation/subscription/upgrade, the OEM gets a larger kickback. The only thing to blame is falling margins, the dominance of Windows on the desktop, and lack of consumer interest.
Honda already has a car that is more fuel efficient than any car they sell in North America, and would easily out-sell the Prius. But they choose not to sell it in North America.. why?
It's called the Civic CTDi. The Civic is already the most popular car in North America. It is less expensive than the Civic Hybrid, offers a heap more power, and has arguably better combined mileage. In fact, this engine was awarded "International Engine of the Year" in 2005.
Yeah there's a lot of talk here about ideas for the future, but "iGo" products are pretty decent. I only wish they had added a way to store the tips when not being used.
You're not serious are you? He did say a Lenovo Thinkpad.
USB's power specification is 5V and a maximum of 500mA. That works out to 2.5W, when notebooks require 90W, or more. Notebooks aren't the only battery-powered high-wattage devices either.
On the upside, there are some new standards coming that promise as much as 9W over standard USB. There's another that called "Powered USB" but is requires different connectors.
Seeing that CD, DVD, and BD drives in any device have always been backwards compatible (and likely always will be), I think they're a safe bet. Just use a variety of media (and dye types) and store them horizontally with silica gel. I'd put good money on that.
I imagine Microsoft is being short-sighted and deciding they don't want to promote another platform like Windows Mobile that will never sell a $300 Office or any of their bread and butter.
A lot of passively cooled devices will overheat without some airflow in the chassis. That's why the D201GLY2 came with or without a mounted fan. I imagine the D945GCLF would be the same way.
Intel High Definition Audio (HDA) is a standard created by Intel for integrated PC audio. Currently, Intel does not manufacturer or brand any HDA adapters. Realtek however, is one of the most popular manufacturers.
No. In fact a lot more boards currently have an HDA-compatible audio adapter than those that have a gigabit ethernet adapter. This is even more common with big box home PCs.
This is just an Intel D945GCLF: the price point will be about $60 USD, and it will be available everywhere by next month. It's very similar to the Intel D201GLY2 which has been available for the past year and sells for about the same price. The CPUs are an Atom 230 and Celeron 220 respectively. I assume they gave them those model numbers purposely so that those comparing would realize they're very similar, but the Atom is a slight notch above.
I'm amazed no one has mentioned this, but when Intel defined the HD Audio specification in 2004 (used in most new computers sold today) it included an ability called Jack Retasking. This allows any jack to function as anything, including a second or third stereo output, or even additional microphones. The problem is hardware manufacturers still don't implement the entire specification, even though the specification is part of Vista's new audio architecture called UAA (also to be included in XP SP3).
IMHO, fully implementing HD Audio would be the greatest audio enhancement for multimedia and home theater PCs since their conception.
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Any perceived "speed" improvement in 7 is misguided. You will hear many people say that their PC has better performance after removing the included Vista installation, and installing XP/7/linux. This is actually because of the amount of additional software installed by the hardware vendor.
This software can be divided into two categories: applications from the vendor that manage updates, backups, connectivity, media handling, recovery, you name it (even though Vista has all of these things already), and applications from third-parties that are trials/demos/upgradable that gives the hardware vendor a kickback if purchased by the end user.
The fact that there's no plans for Quest for Glory would be depressing if it wasn't for the recent release of this free QFG2 recreation.
Until the next variant which is likely due out in the next 24 hours.
The article is about performance of 200mbps powerline vs. 5GHz draft-N, fair enough. In my experience home users just want an easy stable connection for cheap. They inevitably start with wireless-G, which they either can't setup, or get a useless 0-2 bars of signal with. We sell them a 85mbps powerline kit, requires no setup, and they quickly wonder what all this wireless nonsense is about. Lots of happy customers.
This debate has come up numerous times on slashdot, and I'm disturbed by the completely different paths such professionals adhere to.
I've also been an independent technician for home/small business for 7 years, and for the vast majority of situations, I strongly believe in fix instead of reload. The reason is two-fold:
Most of time it is a single issue (such as an infection), which I consistently remedy in an hour or so of billable time. If there are many issues it's a strong indication of hardware problems, which may appear fixed after a reload, but this is only temporary. It has nothing to do with ego--fixing requires lots of experience and competence, it is a skill worth developing.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, users have lots of stuff that can't be backed up and restored. A good example would be a printer, which these days typically can't be installed without being present. The list goes on. The beginner users struggle to do these things themselves, and the advanced users who could will have an endless list of things they've setup just their way. Users appreciate having their PC back the way they're familiar with.
15,000 SATA drives do no exist (SAS do). Obviously a troll.
Like a lot of games of the time, Ghostbusters II (the 1989 Activision release) was impossibly hard. It had pretty cool graphics and sound for the time, but poor controls and little content. When it comes to games based on movies, things never changed.
And this is where the small premium for a business class laptop pays off bigtime. Buy an HP business laptop or a Dell Vostro machine and you get pretty much a clean OS install with working drivers and a minimal (of often helpful) third party apps.
This is true. Nevermind the fact that you get higher quality hardware, and a completely different tier of support.
Unfortunately they're starting a slide a bit too, the latest generation of HP Business Notebooks have Yahoo Toolbar, the fattest Norton/McAfee home product, Office 07 (trial), and SQL Server running.
First of all, the reason drivers for home printers are no longer 50kb is because what used to be done in hardware, is now removed to save costs. It's also why you can now buy a printer for $30 instead of $300.
Second, a lot of these "drivers" actually include software--often entire applications, or several of them. Also, the amount of functions and features on the average multifunction has continually increased
Mod parent up. This article was the first Vista article on slashdot (and there's been many) that painted an honest picture of the situation.
That certainly is true, but then, why should so many user applications have the ability to affect the rest of the operating system? Either they don't and whether they are shit quality is moot, or they do and this is rightfully considered a shortcoming in the overall design of Windows. I don't see any third options here.
Any operating system can run resource-intensive or dysfunctional applications!
Most of this third party software is installed because the OEM gets a small kickback. If the user purchases an activation/subscription/upgrade, the OEM gets a larger kickback. The only thing to blame is falling margins, the dominance of Windows on the desktop, and lack of consumer interest.
Honda already has a car that is more fuel efficient than any car they sell in North America, and would easily out-sell the Prius. But they choose not to sell it in North America.. why?
It's called the Civic CTDi. The Civic is already the most popular car in North America. It is less expensive than the Civic Hybrid, offers a heap more power, and has arguably better combined mileage. In fact, this engine was awarded "International Engine of the Year" in 2005.
Yeah there's a lot of talk here about ideas for the future, but "iGo" products are pretty decent. I only wish they had added a way to store the tips when not being used.
You're not serious are you? He did say a Lenovo Thinkpad.
USB's power specification is 5V and a maximum of 500mA. That works out to 2.5W, when notebooks require 90W, or more. Notebooks aren't the only battery-powered high-wattage devices either.
On the upside, there are some new standards coming that promise as much as 9W over standard USB. There's another that called "Powered USB" but is requires different connectors.
xD?! Its almost a dead format now...
Seeing that CD, DVD, and BD drives in any device have always been backwards compatible (and likely always will be), I think they're a safe bet. Just use a variety of media (and dye types) and store them horizontally with silica gel. I'd put good money on that.
I imagine Microsoft is being short-sighted and deciding they don't want to promote another platform like Windows Mobile that will never sell a $300 Office or any of their bread and butter.
The Ewoks were fortified in the jungle and successfully defended against attacking AT-STs. There must be something to it. :)
A lot of passively cooled devices will overheat without some airflow in the chassis. That's why the D201GLY2 came with or without a mounted fan. I imagine the D945GCLF would be the same way.
Intel High Definition Audio (HDA) is a standard created by Intel for integrated PC audio. Currently, Intel does not manufacturer or brand any HDA adapters. Realtek however, is one of the most popular manufacturers.
No. In fact a lot more boards currently have an HDA-compatible audio adapter than those that have a gigabit ethernet adapter. This is even more common with big box home PCs.
This is just an Intel D945GCLF: the price point will be about $60 USD, and it will be available everywhere by next month. It's very similar to the Intel D201GLY2 which has been available for the past year and sells for about the same price. The CPUs are an Atom 230 and Celeron 220 respectively. I assume they gave them those model numbers purposely so that those comparing would realize they're very similar, but the Atom is a slight notch above.
Made me think of "Into The Wild".
I'm amazed no one has mentioned this, but when Intel defined the HD Audio specification in 2004 (used in most new computers sold today) it included an ability called Jack Retasking. This allows any jack to function as anything, including a second or third stereo output, or even additional microphones. The problem is hardware manufacturers still don't implement the entire specification, even though the specification is part of Vista's new audio architecture called UAA (also to be included in XP SP3).
IMHO, fully implementing HD Audio would be the greatest audio enhancement for multimedia and home theater PCs since their conception.
one=done