I have a "Type"-style (the same sort the Pro 3 uses) purple cover for my Pro 2. I paid $58 for it on Amazon. I actually wanted purple but I could've gotten a pink one even cheaper. Would I take a refurbished keyboard? No question that I would. We use other people's keyboards all the damned time, especially those of us who have an IT support component to our jobs (or for that matter anyone who has ever used an ATM). Am I looking places besides major retailers? No I am not. If you can't find one at a significant discount, you probably shouldn't be buying anything over the internet.
The Surface keyboard is entirely optional. I don't completely love the Windows on-screen keyboard, though it's a damned-sight better than the one Apple ships with iOS (Apple is either not a big fan of basic literacy or thinks letters should always be displayed in uppercase regardless of the state of the shift key). In practice I've found that I don't use it much because my Surface Pro more as a very capable mobile device than as something for real work, but I have powerful desktops and a good laptop available to me as well.
Speaking to the quality of Apple's input devices specifically, I find the lack of key travel and mildly idiosyncratic layout on Apple's own branded keyboards uncomfortable for serious typing in exactly the same way the Surface Type-style keyboard is. I also question the ergonomics of the palmrests on its notebooks and the insistence on comically oversized touchpads as input devices. I wouldn't exactly say either option is without compromise.
MSRP is $130 for a Surface Pro 3 keyboard. They generally sell for under $100, sometimes under $80 if you don't mind one of the less popular colors or getting a refurbished one. I'm not sure where you're getting this $200 figure from, but it's significantly off-base. Further, the Surface Pro doesn't have a hard requirement that you use Microsoft's keyboard. You can use any bluetooth or USB input devices you'd like.
If the CPUs are very similar and the machines are "nearly half as fast", I strongly suspect you're comparing a system with an SSD to one without. There's nothing special or magical about Apple's OS or hardware that would otherwise account for that difference.
Anything that has a modern LSI chip can probably be flashed to Target Initiator mode. I've gotten PERC and IBM M-series SAS controllers for $80 off ebay. You can add in an SAS expander if you need more than 8 drives. With that kind of setup, you don't have to depend on motherboard ports and can buy whatever makes the most sense.
Ordinarily, I'd agree with you, but a few weeks ago I saw Chrome hit just a little short of 9GB RAM utilization on a machine that had been rebooted perhaps four hours before, with only a dozen open tabs. Was that a poor interaction between Chrome and my ad blocker and whatever the hell javascript and.GIFVs on Imgur does? Probably. But there's no way a browser's processes should be using more RAM than running virtual machines.
Pick a benchmark that's representative of your computing needs. Look at relevant benchmark scores.
Recent Intel CPUs are differentiated by their GPUs and TDP moreso than clock speed or thread performance, which is probably why a brand new Haswell i3 is only just a bit faster than an original Nehalem i7 from all the way back in 2008.
If you want top-end per thread performance, you probably want an i5. If you want that and need more cores than a typical desktop, get an i7. You probably don't need to worry about anything else; even five year old desktop and laptop parts are going to be subjectively similar to new for anything but a narrow range of content creation, gaming or scientific applications (assuming similar amounts of RAM and disk subsystems, that is). Whatever CPU you buy will probably be good enough for the life of the other components in the computer.
It's certainly a hassle to compare between CPUs on differing device types (e.g. is a 15W ULV i7 faster than a four year old 45W mobile i3?) but the truth is that within broad categories, newer things are faster and the classifications hold up. If you're doing an apples to oranges comparison, you have to look at whatever benchmark you think might be most relevant.
There's a considerable difference in the bulk of a phone with an external battery pack and a replaceable battery. I'd definitely rather have one than the other.
The Galaxy S5 and LG G3 are probably the best fit options.
I carry an S4 and I seldom need to replace the battery, but a few times a year I go to events where I hundreds photos or videos over four or five hours. I probably wind up swapping the battery at least twice on those days. Even if the need is irregular, not having the ability would be a deal breaker for me, too.
Generally speaking, the CPU branding is an indicator of feature set and relative performance within a generation and product class. We have desktop, mobile and (ultra)low-voltage part. If you're getting hung up trying to determine which CPU is faster between two CPUs of wildly different architectures (desktop Sandy Bridge vs. low-voltage Broadwell, for example), it's almost always going to be an apples to oranges comparison anyway; you're probably looking at different classes of devices. Just pay attention to the product class (desktop/mobile/LV) and product generation and the i3/i5/i7 designations will be appropriate.
Pentium as a brand name has too much consumer good will for Intel to drop it. Remember that Intel Marketing spent 20 years convincing people to buy them. I have met people who bought a Pentium-based notebook rather than a Core i3 specifically because of the Pentium sticker. And current Pentium CPUs certainly aren't bad. They're pretty much i3s without hyperthreading support. They're perfect adequate for light-use machines.
I jokingly tell people that Celeron is an ancient geek word that means "Don't Buy Me", but the fact that they continue to exist is mostly a statement to the levels of ignorance present in the computer-buying public.
On a per-core basis, a Haswell i3 is significantly faster than an i7-920, but the extra threads and dynamic overclocking in the i7 feature set make up for it. In day to day computing, the two are probably about equivalent. For thread intensive tasks like video encoding, the i7 is still the better option. Which just shows how completely insane i7s are, to remain competitive with mainstream desktop CPUs FIVE YEARS after their launch date.
You can get about 85% functionality from loading four specific APKs to get some Google apps on a FireOS device. You can also root it and load the full suite at the cost of your warranty. But some apps sourced from the Play store use Google components that won't work without Google licensing even if they themselves are not products of Google.
Many Android devs simply don't publish their apps on Amazon. I'm not a mobile dev, so I don't know why that's a problem, but it is.
You can tell people not to use third party stores, but there's a greater problem when the first-party option is completely off the table and the second best and universally compatible choice is wholly inadequate.
I'm more likely to use Spybot's, on systems that support it. That's mostly out of laziness. It's actually possible to do both. Spybot will append its list to whatever is already present, but functionally they're close enough that I don't bother.
MBAM does have an AV module in its paid product, but I think you're not making a distinction between anti-malware and anti-virus applications.The two things are distinct and primarily differentiated by whether or not the software in question tries to spread itself to other files or computers. I agree that anti-malware is much more important because it is much more commonplace, and in my experience there is no single tool that is actually worthwhile for both types of protection, but Windows machines do need both and are best served with best of breed protection from multiple products rather than a single tool that might only really offer worthwhile protection from one side or the other.
I'll also say that Spybot Search and Destroy offers a much more comprehensive array of malware blocking tools when compared to Spywareblaster and it should probably also be in your tool belt.
I think the MVPS.org hosts file is a good idea for everyone on every device, but anyone using Windows 8+ should know that if the Windows Defender Service is enabled (and I've seen system updates re-enable it), Windows 8 will ignore the content of your hosts file.
My standard protection list is: Adblock+ with Easylist, Malware Domains and Fanboy's Annoyances subs (I also use Warning removal and turn off unobtrusive ads) for every browser on every user account. I actually impregnate the default user account on whatever desktop OS to make sure every account gets CREATED with those options turned on for Mozilla and Google browsers.
Adblock+ for IE doesn't have all those options, but as of version 1.3 at least unobtrusive ads can be turned off. IE does support TPLs, so in an AD environment I mandate the Easylist TPL for basic ad blocking, even if the user disables other ad blocking tools.
On Windows machines that don't have some kind of security appliance or web filtering in place, I also install Spybot Search and Destroy for its Immunization function.
I'll also throw Malwarebytes on absolutely everything and I urge end users to avoid installation of Java and Adobe Acrobat Reader as much as humanly possible. On systems that I maintain, I have a script that adds a scheduled task to install Chocolatey.org's repo + scripts to update browsers, flash, PDF reader et al on Windows machines.
Some Android devices don't have licensed access to the Play Store, including anything that runs FireOS and tits-knows how many generic devices that somehow manage to get random retail distribution. You can tell people "Don't buy those things." but what do you say to the people who already own them? In some cases (e.g. Firefox), an APK will be available from the developer, but because of the way Android works, there's every possibility that even a random developer's packaging (e.g. Pushbullet) will rely on Google's authentication framework and therefore their software will be worthless on unlicensed devices.
I'd say that Avast is best among the free Windows options and that the free version is specifically a better product than the paid one. One of the paid modules is god-awful for system performance.I only install the Virus and Web Shields and the Browser Cleanup and Rescue Disk options. The rest is just fluff and my local mail gateway will check emails anyway.
Microsoft Security Essentials on Windows 7 is more of an antimalware tool than functional antivirus and testing has shown it to be progressively less effective even at that.
Avira insists on generating pop-ups every time you do anything with it. At least Avast can be put permanently into game mode if you never want it to put messages on screen.
AVG is a performance boat-anchor and some the branded add-on tools distributed by AVG are now recognized by removal tools as Potentially Unwanted Programs. Between those things, I put AVG in the same "uninstall on sight" category as home versions of McAfee, Norton and Webroot security products.
That's true to a degree. Heroes need to be challenged on par with their abilities. Superman will never be meaningfully threatened by anything, and Thor's opponents will always ancient, magical beings since anyone from Iron Man's rogues gallery would be instant toast against him. But there had never been a movie like the Avengers before, and I'd like to put forth that Captain America 2 made a wonderful pivot to being as much an espionage thriller as a super hero movie.
Cap is very much a squad level leader. He knows what's going on in the moment and how to direct others to greatest good. He spent years in combat and he literally never tires, so he's always on the front line. In the Avengers movie, he took charge of keeping civilians safe and made sure each of the others was doing the most good.
And before it's asked, Hawkeye was acting as a spotter for Iron Man and the ground team and the Widow ultimately went on a stealth mission after helping Cap at first. No one was useless.
They're completely different continuities separated by an unfortunately short period of time. I think the Raimi movies are vastly better and more watchable and that Andrew Garfield was the worst possible choice they could've made, but I suspect some of that is generational.
Spidey should be the journeyman hero. He does have great powers. He's much stronger and faster than Captain America, and possessed of the same courage and sense of responsibility. He doesn't have experience or skills at first. He never properly learns to fight, but if you follow his journey long enough, he becomes the guy who has seen absolutely everything and not only that, had to DEAL with absolutely everything because whatever it is Spidey is doing isn't big enough to get Avengers out of the mansion, or because the Fantastic Four is out of town, or because it's two blocks out of Hell's Kitchen and Daredevil doesn't care.
Regarding who was doing what where during the Captain America movies:
Thor was battling giants in the rest of the Nine Realms during the first Captain America movie and he was presumably restoring order to them, or perhaps helping to clean up London, during the second. No one on Earth, with the possible exception of Jane Foster, has a way to directly contact Thor. During Winter Soldier, which only took place over the course of a few days, Cap was essentially a fugitive. Stark had recently destroyed his armor collection and in any case he's primarily a resident of the West Coast who has an antagonistic relationship with his dad's favorite fossil. Hawkeye clearly wasn't in town and I doubt anyone would've wanted the Hulk that close to the US Capitol or Pentagon, even given the circumstances.
A bigger question in my mind relates to the current of the MCU with regard of the impact Hydra and AIM have clearly had on US and worldwide political, intelligence and military operations. Two US Senators were revealed to be working for Hydra and the sitting Vice President was working for AIM. A Hydra associate murdered another US Senator in season 2 of Agents of SHIELD and Hydra is also responsible for destroying SHIELD's 40+ story HQ *and* dropping three (presumably multi-billion dollar) aircraft carrier-size vehicles into the Potomac. I am thinking that the USA of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should be making the response to 9/11 look like another fine afternoon in Mayberry in comparison.
I want to see Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He's part of the living world created by Marvel comics, and the Daily Bugle needs to be part of the skyline, even if it's just background.
Spider-Man is also too much a tentpole character to live in the ensemble world that has been created in the Marvel Universe. I don't want it to become all Spidey all the time (as Fox has done with Wolverine in the X-Men movies). We don't even need an origin because it's been done. Just ground him in the world, establish that Cap and Iron Man are in that same world, that Nick Fury is keeping his eye on Spidey's exploits, and have him off to his own super-powered adventures.
In five years, if Sony actually manages to not fuck it up this time, bring him back as the guy who has seen twice as much of everything as Captain America, a science bro on par with Banner and Stark.
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I have a "Type"-style (the same sort the Pro 3 uses) purple cover for my Pro 2. I paid $58 for it on Amazon. I actually wanted purple but I could've gotten a pink one even cheaper. Would I take a refurbished keyboard? No question that I would. We use other people's keyboards all the damned time, especially those of us who have an IT support component to our jobs (or for that matter anyone who has ever used an ATM). Am I looking places besides major retailers? No I am not. If you can't find one at a significant discount, you probably shouldn't be buying anything over the internet.
The Surface keyboard is entirely optional. I don't completely love the Windows on-screen keyboard, though it's a damned-sight better than the one Apple ships with iOS (Apple is either not a big fan of basic literacy or thinks letters should always be displayed in uppercase regardless of the state of the shift key). In practice I've found that I don't use it much because my Surface Pro more as a very capable mobile device than as something for real work, but I have powerful desktops and a good laptop available to me as well.
Speaking to the quality of Apple's input devices specifically, I find the lack of key travel and mildly idiosyncratic layout on Apple's own branded keyboards uncomfortable for serious typing in exactly the same way the Surface Type-style keyboard is. I also question the ergonomics of the palmrests on its notebooks and the insistence on comically oversized touchpads as input devices. I wouldn't exactly say either option is without compromise.
MSRP is $130 for a Surface Pro 3 keyboard. They generally sell for under $100, sometimes under $80 if you don't mind one of the less popular colors or getting a refurbished one. I'm not sure where you're getting this $200 figure from, but it's significantly off-base.
Further, the Surface Pro doesn't have a hard requirement that you use Microsoft's keyboard. You can use any bluetooth or USB input devices you'd like.
If the CPUs are very similar and the machines are "nearly half as fast", I strongly suspect you're comparing a system with an SSD to one without. There's nothing special or magical about Apple's OS or hardware that would otherwise account for that difference.
Anything that has a modern LSI chip can probably be flashed to Target Initiator mode. I've gotten PERC and IBM M-series SAS controllers for $80 off ebay. You can add in an SAS expander if you need more than 8 drives.
With that kind of setup, you don't have to depend on motherboard ports and can buy whatever makes the most sense.
Ordinarily, I'd agree with you, but a few weeks ago I saw Chrome hit just a little short of 9GB RAM utilization on a machine that had been rebooted perhaps four hours before, with only a dozen open tabs. Was that a poor interaction between Chrome and my ad blocker and whatever the hell javascript and .GIFVs on Imgur does? Probably. But there's no way a browser's processes should be using more RAM than running virtual machines.
Pick a benchmark that's representative of your computing needs. Look at relevant benchmark scores.
Recent Intel CPUs are differentiated by their GPUs and TDP moreso than clock speed or thread performance, which is probably why a brand new Haswell i3 is only just a bit faster than an original Nehalem i7 from all the way back in 2008.
If you want top-end per thread performance, you probably want an i5. If you want that and need more cores than a typical desktop, get an i7. You probably don't need to worry about anything else; even five year old desktop and laptop parts are going to be subjectively similar to new for anything but a narrow range of content creation, gaming or scientific applications (assuming similar amounts of RAM and disk subsystems, that is). Whatever CPU you buy will probably be good enough for the life of the other components in the computer.
It's certainly a hassle to compare between CPUs on differing device types (e.g. is a 15W ULV i7 faster than a four year old 45W mobile i3?) but the truth is that within broad categories, newer things are faster and the classifications hold up. If you're doing an apples to oranges comparison, you have to look at whatever benchmark you think might be most relevant.
There's a considerable difference in the bulk of a phone with an external battery pack and a replaceable battery. I'd definitely rather have one than the other.
The Galaxy S5 and LG G3 are probably the best fit options.
I carry an S4 and I seldom need to replace the battery, but a few times a year I go to events where I hundreds photos or videos over four or five hours. I probably wind up swapping the battery at least twice on those days. Even if the need is irregular, not having the ability would be a deal breaker for me, too.
Generally speaking, the CPU branding is an indicator of feature set and relative performance within a generation and product class. We have desktop, mobile and (ultra)low-voltage part. If you're getting hung up trying to determine which CPU is faster between two CPUs of wildly different architectures (desktop Sandy Bridge vs. low-voltage Broadwell, for example), it's almost always going to be an apples to oranges comparison anyway; you're probably looking at different classes of devices. Just pay attention to the product class (desktop/mobile/LV) and product generation and the i3/i5/i7 designations will be appropriate.
Pentium as a brand name has too much consumer good will for Intel to drop it. Remember that Intel Marketing spent 20 years convincing people to buy them. I have met people who bought a Pentium-based notebook rather than a Core i3 specifically because of the Pentium sticker. And current Pentium CPUs certainly aren't bad. They're pretty much i3s without hyperthreading support. They're perfect adequate for light-use machines.
I jokingly tell people that Celeron is an ancient geek word that means "Don't Buy Me", but the fact that they continue to exist is mostly a statement to the levels of ignorance present in the computer-buying public.
On a per-core basis, a Haswell i3 is significantly faster than an i7-920, but the extra threads and dynamic overclocking in the i7 feature set make up for it. In day to day computing, the two are probably about equivalent. For thread intensive tasks like video encoding, the i7 is still the better option. Which just shows how completely insane i7s are, to remain competitive with mainstream desktop CPUs FIVE YEARS after their launch date.
You can get about 85% functionality from loading four specific APKs to get some Google apps on a FireOS device. You can also root it and load the full suite at the cost of your warranty. But some apps sourced from the Play store use Google components that won't work without Google licensing even if they themselves are not products of Google.
Many Android devs simply don't publish their apps on Amazon. I'm not a mobile dev, so I don't know why that's a problem, but it is.
You can tell people not to use third party stores, but there's a greater problem when the first-party option is completely off the table and the second best and universally compatible choice is wholly inadequate.
I'm more likely to use Spybot's, on systems that support it. That's mostly out of laziness. It's actually possible to do both. Spybot will append its list to whatever is already present, but functionally they're close enough that I don't bother.
MBAM does have an AV module in its paid product, but I think you're not making a distinction between anti-malware and anti-virus applications.The two things are distinct and primarily differentiated by whether or not the software in question tries to spread itself to other files or computers. I agree that anti-malware is much more important because it is much more commonplace, and in my experience there is no single tool that is actually worthwhile for both types of protection, but Windows machines do need both and are best served with best of breed protection from multiple products rather than a single tool that might only really offer worthwhile protection from one side or the other.
I'll also say that Spybot Search and Destroy offers a much more comprehensive array of malware blocking tools when compared to Spywareblaster and it should probably also be in your tool belt.
I think the MVPS.org hosts file is a good idea for everyone on every device, but anyone using Windows 8+ should know that if the Windows Defender Service is enabled (and I've seen system updates re-enable it), Windows 8 will ignore the content of your hosts file.
My standard protection list is: Adblock+ with Easylist, Malware Domains and Fanboy's Annoyances subs (I also use Warning removal and turn off unobtrusive ads) for every browser on every user account. I actually impregnate the default user account on whatever desktop OS to make sure every account gets CREATED with those options turned on for Mozilla and Google browsers.
Adblock+ for IE doesn't have all those options, but as of version 1.3 at least unobtrusive ads can be turned off. IE does support TPLs, so in an AD environment I mandate the Easylist TPL for basic ad blocking, even if the user disables other ad blocking tools.
On Windows machines that don't have some kind of security appliance or web filtering in place, I also install Spybot Search and Destroy for its Immunization function.
I'll also throw Malwarebytes on absolutely everything and I urge end users to avoid installation of Java and Adobe Acrobat Reader as much as humanly possible. On systems that I maintain, I have a script that adds a scheduled task to install Chocolatey.org's repo + scripts to update browsers, flash, PDF reader et al on Windows machines.
Some Android devices don't have licensed access to the Play Store, including anything that runs FireOS and tits-knows how many generic devices that somehow manage to get random retail distribution. You can tell people "Don't buy those things." but what do you say to the people who already own them?
In some cases (e.g. Firefox), an APK will be available from the developer, but because of the way Android works, there's every possibility that even a random developer's packaging (e.g. Pushbullet) will rely on Google's authentication framework and therefore their software will be worthless on unlicensed devices.
I'd say that Avast is best among the free Windows options and that the free version is specifically a better product than the paid one. One of the paid modules is god-awful for system performance.I only install the Virus and Web Shields and the Browser Cleanup and Rescue Disk options. The rest is just fluff and my local mail gateway will check emails anyway.
Microsoft Security Essentials on Windows 7 is more of an antimalware tool than functional antivirus and testing has shown it to be progressively less effective even at that.
Avira insists on generating pop-ups every time you do anything with it. At least Avast can be put permanently into game mode if you never want it to put messages on screen.
AVG is a performance boat-anchor and some the branded add-on tools distributed by AVG are now recognized by removal tools as Potentially Unwanted Programs. Between those things, I put AVG in the same "uninstall on sight" category as home versions of McAfee, Norton and Webroot security products.
That's true to a degree. Heroes need to be challenged on par with their abilities. Superman will never be meaningfully threatened by anything, and Thor's opponents will always ancient, magical beings since anyone from Iron Man's rogues gallery would be instant toast against him.
But there had never been a movie like the Avengers before, and I'd like to put forth that Captain America 2 made a wonderful pivot to being as much an espionage thriller as a super hero movie.
Cap is very much a squad level leader. He knows what's going on in the moment and how to direct others to greatest good. He spent years in combat and he literally never tires, so he's always on the front line. In the Avengers movie, he took charge of keeping civilians safe and made sure each of the others was doing the most good.
And before it's asked, Hawkeye was acting as a spotter for Iron Man and the ground team and the Widow ultimately went on a stealth mission after helping Cap at first. No one was useless.
They're completely different continuities separated by an unfortunately short period of time. I think the Raimi movies are vastly better and more watchable and that Andrew Garfield was the worst possible choice they could've made, but I suspect some of that is generational.
Spidey should be the journeyman hero. He does have great powers. He's much stronger and faster than Captain America, and possessed of the same courage and sense of responsibility. He doesn't have experience or skills at first. He never properly learns to fight, but if you follow his journey long enough, he becomes the guy who has seen absolutely everything and not only that, had to DEAL with absolutely everything because whatever it is Spidey is doing isn't big enough to get Avengers out of the mansion, or because the Fantastic Four is out of town, or because it's two blocks out of Hell's Kitchen and Daredevil doesn't care.
Regarding who was doing what where during the Captain America movies:
Thor was battling giants in the rest of the Nine Realms during the first Captain America movie and he was presumably restoring order to them, or perhaps helping to clean up London, during the second. No one on Earth, with the possible exception of Jane Foster, has a way to directly contact Thor.
During Winter Soldier, which only took place over the course of a few days, Cap was essentially a fugitive. Stark had recently destroyed his armor collection and in any case he's primarily a resident of the West Coast who has an antagonistic relationship with his dad's favorite fossil. Hawkeye clearly wasn't in town and I doubt anyone would've wanted the Hulk that close to the US Capitol or Pentagon, even given the circumstances.
A bigger question in my mind relates to the current of the MCU with regard of the impact Hydra and AIM have clearly had on US and worldwide political, intelligence and military operations. Two US Senators were revealed to be working for Hydra and the sitting Vice President was working for AIM. A Hydra associate murdered another US Senator in season 2 of Agents of SHIELD and Hydra is also responsible for destroying SHIELD's 40+ story HQ *and* dropping three (presumably multi-billion dollar) aircraft carrier-size vehicles into the Potomac. I am thinking that the USA of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should be making the response to 9/11 look like another fine afternoon in Mayberry in comparison.
I want to see Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He's part of the living world created by Marvel comics, and the Daily Bugle needs to be part of the skyline, even if it's just background.
Spider-Man is also too much a tentpole character to live in the ensemble world that has been created in the Marvel Universe. I don't want it to become all Spidey all the time (as Fox has done with Wolverine in the X-Men movies). We don't even need an origin because it's been done. Just ground him in the world, establish that Cap and Iron Man are in that same world, that Nick Fury is keeping his eye on Spidey's exploits, and have him off to his own super-powered adventures.
In five years, if Sony actually manages to not fuck it up this time, bring him back as the guy who has seen twice as much of everything as Captain America, a science bro on par with Banner and Stark.
That would be just fine.
AMD doesn't have a CPU with that level of performance with appropriate TDP.
The powershell stuff installs the Chocolatey.org software repository on a client. It's also entirely readable as pseudocode.
Once it's installed, it's like have ports or apt, but on a Windows machine.