I've built countless PCs over the last decade. I've also worked on many name-brand PCs - Dell, Gateway, HP, IBM, etc.., as well as the white-boxes/clones.
IMO, you are unlikely to see any monetary savings by building your own PC, assuming the parts used are of a comparable quality. You might be able to get the total cost marginally lower if you don't have to buy Windows (you already have a legal license for your chosen OS, you don't mind using an illegal copy of Windows, etc...). But, even if you can get together the hardware for a little bit less than what you could buy the ready-made system for, after adding in a license for Windows your cost savings are out the window.
When I assemble my own, I typically spend a lot of time researching and deciding which internal components to use. Once that is done, due to budget constraints I usually either use Linux or an unlicensed copy of Windows for the OS, and I always end up skimping on the case. To me, the quality of the case heavily influences my feeling/opinion about the whole compiuter, and invariably my home-built systems have cases that are far, far inferior to the cases used on HPs, Dells, IBMs, etc.. I don't remember the OEM vendor (Palo Alto, maybe), but a few months ago I found the OEM that produces Dell's Dimension 4100 & Micron's cases. I like the cases a lot, and wanted to get one. But, at about $100, I ended up instead going to a computer show and buying a halfway-decent (but only halfway-decent) case for about $50.
As for online vendors: When I researched all of my parts, I ended up getting everything except RAM from NewEgg. The apparent consensus from the newsgroups was that they provided good service, they had good prices, and a good selection of the parts I was interested in. They even had a case, from some company I'd never heard of, that looked and sounded good, and was cheap. Well, the parts took a while to arrive, but I was very impatient at the time. It wasn't an excessive delay, I just wanted my parts overnight, but only wanted to pay for ground shipping. Not their fault.
When the parts did show up, the case, obviously a cheap case, was damaged. NewEgg said they'd swap it out - send the old case back and they'd credit us. When a new shipment of the case arrived, we could re-order and they'd send the replacement. I spoke with at least 3 different reps, and each insisted that they could only reimburse me a maximum of $10 for the return shipping. I was alittle annoyed about that, as I spent a long time trying to get the shipping down, and the cheapest I could find was $20.
The strange thing is, a few weeks later I received a check from them for the full amount. They told me they wouldn't do it, I mentioned that in the newsgroup, and then they went and did everything I wanted them to anyway. (I did go back to the newsgroup and publicize that fact.)
They never received any more of the case I wanted, so I ended up with the computer show case.
NewEgg was good, but they tried to make me think they weren't on the phone. It was weird.
I've been using Win2k Pro for about a year-and-a-half, and I agree. It has proven to be exceptionally stable for me as well.
There is one exception, though. I have found one way to consistently crash (Blue-screen) my Win2k installation. This technique is 100% repeatable. With the PC in sleep/hibernate-mode (power apparently off, but will resume where it was upon a mouse-wiggle), alter the hardware. Change video cards, add a parallel-port card, plug in a USB hub, etc... When you bring the system back up it will freak out.
I can excuse this, as I don't think it's fair to demand the OS hadle this. But it will nail Win 2k dead-to-rights.
Other than that situation, though, I've not seen Win2k crash either.
I don't know about upgrading from the pirate install, but...
This offer is only valid 'while supplies last', but if it's still good, you might be able to get a legal copy for $49.
http://www.microsoft.com/partner/campaign/Winpro 1. asp
Yes, the top of the page says it's only for registered partners, but the smaller print near the bottom says you will be prompted to register if necessary.
And, no I haven't tried this myself, so I can't actually vouch for it, sorry.
I don't know the specifics of the Portland school system, but given a few assumptions compared to the corporate world: -- Short workday -- Lots of holidays -- 2-3 month summer break -- Outstanding benefits package -- Better (existant) retirement/pension -- (As much as I dislike them) Union (?)
Considering all that, $3k/month isn't much less than what I make now, after my company cut payroll across the board last year.
So, yeah, I'd consider it.
Hell, a few weeks ago, after reading the Slashdot article then concerning the LUGs going to work to help the Portland schools (remember - MS gave the teachers/admins an open bar night?), I was motivated to visit my local school system's website. First - it wouldn't work with Opera 5.12. Then, from IE, I was able to read the school system's technology charter/plan/documentation. It was very thorough and detailed. Unfortunately, it was 100% Microsoft, and I had this vision of MS bankrupting our schools with an audit. I can't believe anybody on the planet is strictly compliant with MS stuff. So, I found and filled out a survey at the site. In a comments area, I spent about 15 minutes describing my concerns, and included links to various informative sites that would help the transition to Linux if they were interested.
Upon hitting Submit, IE went into a deep sleep. Eventually I had to kill it. I was then unable to reload the website, from any browser. I assume it was IIS, and I'm pretty sure I killed it.
About 15 minutes later the site was active again. I didn't waste my time re-submitting the letter.
So, better benefits, fewer hours, nearly the same pay, and (honestly) the good feeling from the opportunity to improve the system for everybody ? I'd definitely consider it.
This product is likely to be low quality & buggy, and only serve to further sully the Atari brand image.
The similar product that came out a year or two ago with the Activision games, was crap. The games were not the original ROMs. They had differences, some so bad the games were rendered nearly unplayable.
A few examples: The game Atlantis, originally an Imagic game, had the Imagic name removed from the screen and replaced with the Activision branding. More importantly, you could no longer see your shots on the screen, so it was much harder to aim.
Pitfall had screwed up graphics as well. There were other problems with graphics AND with playability, but I can't recall the specifics.
I don't know why it was necessary to change the ROMs, but the result smacked of low Asian pirate outfit quality. Until actually seeing & using one I planned on getting it, as it was easily worth the $15 retail. After using it I determined it wasn't worth the space it would take up on the shelf. It was lousy.
I expect the same from this new Infogrames product.
Re:When will TiVo get ReplayTV network features?
on
TiVo Series 2 Review
·
· Score: 1, Informative
I'm mildly interested in Replay or TiVO, but have held off because I don't want to risk investing in the product as long as good use of it depends on an external company that may or may not be around long-term. It's the same reason I never got a network/internet digital picture frame.
So, being ignorant of any Tivo details, I've assumed you can always run the output of the Tivo into a standard VCR and archive any recorded shows that way. Is that an incorrect assumption?
I realize you lose picture quality that way, but it's still possible, right?
Secondly - I'd hope (and expect) to be penalized less than the AC's that posted with complete BS. At least I have the balls to use my own name, unlike some who just want to criticize.
That's a pretty neat program - reuses the old tech, trains the unskilled volunteers in an up-and-coming technology (Linux), AND produces more Linux-skilled workers, increasing Linux's mindshare.
I don't know if taxes targetted toward the primary users of a service only became trendy over the last 15-20 years, or if I only became aware of them then (reference: I'm 33 y.o.), but I find them selfish, obnoxious, & rude.
I have always felt (even pre-9/11-let's-all-get-patriotic) that Americans should behave as if we are all a united, team-oriented group, striving for to improve things for everybody and make this a great country. I strongly believe in the pitch-in and help each other attitude.
Things balance out over time. I hate when some person or group declares that he/they should not pay for something, because the speaker doesn't use it.
This is all crap. If gasoline taxes rise $0.01/gallon, and tolls are abolished, than the people that travel the toll roads get a break. Why begrudge them for that? They might be senior citizens long past the stage where they enjoyed the benefits of public schools, yet they still pay taxes that support the public school system.
You may never have a fire in your home or business. Does that mean you shouldn't have to pay whatever portion of your taxes supports the local fire department?
IMO, things even out. If you get shortchanged a little bit in one place, you'll make it up elsewhere.
This country's citizens need to quit whining and begin to behave with a little bit of maturity.
Steve --sorry for the rant, I'm just tired of this BS.
I would have bought a Tivo or Replay and paid the lifetime fee a long time ago if I had confidence the supporting infrastructure/company was going to be here long-term.
I'm still not convinced of that, and I realize that's one of the major obstacles to market-acceptance, and I also realize this might be an unfair hindrance to Tivo's success.
BUT, I don't want to risk paying several hundred dollars for a device that's dependent on an external service only to see that service disappear a few months down the road.
I'm also wary of paying the lifetime fee, and then having the company change it's policy a year later, voiding any lifetime subscriptions.
My wife got our first cellphone last year. She is addicted to the phone, all her friends are out of town, and our long distance bill is outrageous.
SO, we reasoned, get a cell phone with free long distance for $35/mo., and we can save a ton of cash on our land-line.
Turns out, our cell phone can't get a signal in our house! To use it we have to take it into our yard.
As always, you get what you pay for, and we pay for not-very-much-coverage. (Sprint PCS if anyone cares.)
** Rather, it will seem like the Web site is broken, which is what I would love to see.:) After all, all these broken Web sites with screwed up HTML (tables especially - ugh!), JavaScript, and especially anything that's intentionally IE-specific deserve it. When 35 million additional users can't use your Web site because you have crap code, there's a compelling reason to fix it. **
I have a trivial little 'vanity' website of my own. I put info & pics up on it to share with family and friends. It's nothing special, and almost everything I know about writing webpages I learned from the 1st half of a '10 Minute Guide To HTML' about 5 years ago.
Sometime last year, I made a very minor change to the page. I think I simply added a sentence of text to the top of the index page. Due to the insignificance of what I was doing, I was lazy and used either FrontPage or NS Composer (I don't recall which) to affect the change.
Since then, the page has generated a scripting error when viewed with IE. I didn't realize this at first, as I use Opera. By the time it was pointed out to me, I had forgotten exactly what I changed. And I haven't really taken any time to try and fix it.
My point is that I'm betting a lot of the broken webpages were generated by software programs such as FrontPage, and the creators may not know how to fix the pages. If it works in IE, it's easier for them to require viewers to use IE rather than for them to determine and fix the problem.
Clearly this isn't a good strategy for a business-related site, but for something that isn't a revenue-stream, standards-compliance may be low on the priority list.
I actually did buy a copy. At the time, I had a 486/40 (AMD, even then), and had recently installed a Multimedia Kit (!!whee!!) The kit included a CD-ROM drive, Sound card, and software which was probably pretty cool, but to this day is sitting in it's original box, CD sleeves unopened. I've even kept the package with me through 3 or 4 moves.
At any rate, the graphics and sound effects of Myst blew me away. I got the game, and actually enjoyed it immensely. I thought many of the puzzles were pretty clever.
But that's just me.
Steve
Slashdot Mirror
IMO, you are unlikely to see any monetary savings by building your own PC, assuming the parts used are of a comparable quality. You might be able to get the total cost marginally lower if you don't have to buy Windows (you already have a legal license for your chosen OS, you don't mind using an illegal copy of Windows, etc...). But, even if you can get together the hardware for a little bit less than what you could buy the ready-made system for, after adding in a license for Windows your cost savings are out the window.
When I assemble my own, I typically spend a lot of time researching and deciding which internal components to use. Once that is done, due to budget constraints I usually either use Linux or an unlicensed copy of Windows for the OS, and I always end up skimping on the case. To me, the quality of the case heavily influences my feeling/opinion about the whole compiuter, and invariably my home-built systems have cases that are far, far inferior to the cases used on HPs, Dells, IBMs, etc.. I don't remember the OEM vendor (Palo Alto, maybe), but a few months ago I found the OEM that produces Dell's Dimension 4100 & Micron's cases. I like the cases a lot, and wanted to get one. But, at about $100, I ended up instead going to a computer show and buying a halfway-decent (but only halfway-decent) case for about $50.
As for online vendors: When I researched all of my parts, I ended up getting everything except RAM from NewEgg. The apparent consensus from the newsgroups was that they provided good service, they had good prices, and a good selection of the parts I was interested in. They even had a case, from some company I'd never heard of, that looked and sounded good, and was cheap. Well, the parts took a while to arrive, but I was very impatient at the time. It wasn't an excessive delay, I just wanted my parts overnight, but only wanted to pay for ground shipping. Not their fault.
When the parts did show up, the case, obviously a cheap case, was damaged. NewEgg said they'd swap it out - send the old case back and they'd credit us. When a new shipment of the case arrived, we could re-order and they'd send the replacement. I spoke with at least 3 different reps, and each insisted that they could only reimburse me a maximum of $10 for the return shipping. I was alittle annoyed about that, as I spent a long time trying to get the shipping down, and the cheapest I could find was $20.
The strange thing is, a few weeks later I received a check from them for the full amount. They told me they wouldn't do it, I mentioned that in the newsgroup, and then they went and did everything I wanted them to anyway. (I did go back to the newsgroup and publicize that fact.)
They never received any more of the case I wanted, so I ended up with the computer show case. NewEgg was good, but they tried to make me think they weren't on the phone. It was weird.
There is one exception, though. I have found one way to consistently crash (Blue-screen) my Win2k installation. This technique is 100% repeatable. With the PC in sleep/hibernate-mode (power apparently off, but will resume where it was upon a mouse-wiggle), alter the hardware. Change video cards, add a parallel-port card, plug in a USB hub, etc... When you bring the system back up it will freak out.
I can excuse this, as I don't think it's fair to demand the OS hadle this. But it will nail Win 2k dead-to-rights. Other than that situation, though, I've not seen Win2k crash either.
I don't know about upgrading from the pirate install, but...
o 1. asp
This offer is only valid 'while supplies last', but if it's still good, you might be able to get a legal copy for $49.
http://www.microsoft.com/partner/campaign/Winpr
Yes, the top of the page says it's only for registered partners, but the smaller print near the bottom says you will be prompted to register if necessary.
And, no I haven't tried this myself, so I can't actually vouch for it, sorry.
I don't know the specifics of the Portland school system, but given a few assumptions compared to the corporate world:
-- Short workday
-- Lots of holidays
-- 2-3 month summer break
-- Outstanding benefits package
-- Better (existant) retirement/pension
-- (As much as I dislike them) Union (?)
Considering all that, $3k/month isn't much less than what I make now, after my company cut payroll across the board last year.
So, yeah, I'd consider it.
Hell, a few weeks ago, after reading the Slashdot article then concerning the LUGs going to work to help the Portland schools (remember - MS gave the teachers/admins an open bar night?), I was motivated to visit my local school system's website. First - it wouldn't work with Opera 5.12. Then, from IE, I was able to read the school system's technology charter/plan/documentation. It was very thorough and detailed. Unfortunately, it was 100% Microsoft, and I had this vision of MS bankrupting our schools with an audit. I can't believe anybody on the planet is strictly compliant with MS stuff. So, I found and filled out a survey at the site. In a comments area, I spent about 15 minutes describing my concerns, and included links to various informative sites that would help the transition to Linux if they were interested.
Upon hitting Submit, IE went into a deep sleep. Eventually I had to kill it. I was then unable to reload the website, from any browser. I assume it was IIS, and I'm pretty sure I killed it.
About 15 minutes later the site was active again. I didn't waste my time re-submitting the letter.
So, better benefits, fewer hours, nearly the same pay, and (honestly) the good feeling from the opportunity to improve the system for everybody ? I'd definitely consider it.
This product is likely to be low quality & buggy, and only serve to further sully the Atari brand image.
The similar product that came out a year or two ago with the Activision games, was crap. The games were not the original ROMs. They had differences, some so bad the games were rendered nearly unplayable.
A few examples: The game Atlantis, originally an Imagic game, had the Imagic name removed from the screen and replaced with the Activision branding. More importantly, you could no longer see your shots on the screen, so it was much harder to aim.
Pitfall had screwed up graphics as well. There were other problems with graphics AND with playability, but I can't recall the specifics.
I don't know why it was necessary to change the ROMs, but the result smacked of low Asian pirate outfit quality. Until actually seeing & using one I planned on getting it, as it was easily worth the $15 retail. After using it I determined it wasn't worth the space it would take up on the shelf. It was lousy.
I expect the same from this new Infogrames product.
I'm mildly interested in Replay or TiVO, but have held off because I don't want to risk investing in the product as long as good use of it depends on an external company that may or may not be around long-term. It's the same reason I never got a network/internet digital picture frame.
So, being ignorant of any Tivo details, I've assumed you can always run the output of the Tivo into a standard VCR and archive any recorded shows that way. Is that an incorrect assumption?
I realize you lose picture quality that way, but it's still possible, right?
And, why is Replay any different in this regard?
Steve
First off - I read the whole article.
Secondly - I'd hope (and expect) to be penalized less than the AC's that posted with complete BS. At least I have the balls to use my own name, unlike some who just want to criticize.
Steve
That's a pretty neat program - reuses the old tech, trains the unskilled volunteers in an up-and-coming technology (Linux), AND produces more Linux-skilled workers, increasing Linux's mindshare.
Sounds good to me.
I don't know if taxes targetted toward the primary users of a service only became trendy over the last 15-20 years, or if I only became aware of them then (reference: I'm 33 y.o.), but I find them selfish, obnoxious, & rude.
I have always felt (even pre-9/11-let's-all-get-patriotic) that Americans should behave as if we are all a united, team-oriented group, striving for to improve things for everybody and make this a great country. I strongly believe in the pitch-in and help each other attitude.
Things balance out over time. I hate when some person or group declares that he/they should not pay for something, because the speaker doesn't use it.
This is all crap. If gasoline taxes rise $0.01/gallon, and tolls are abolished, than the people that travel the toll roads get a break. Why begrudge them for that? They might be senior citizens long past the stage where they enjoyed the benefits of public schools, yet they still pay taxes that support the public school system.
You may never have a fire in your home or business. Does that mean you shouldn't have to pay whatever portion of your taxes supports the local fire department?
IMO, things even out. If you get shortchanged a little bit in one place, you'll make it up elsewhere.
This country's citizens need to quit whining and begin to behave with a little bit of maturity.
Steve
--sorry for the rant, I'm just tired of this BS.
I would have bought a Tivo or Replay and paid the lifetime fee a long time ago if I had confidence the supporting infrastructure/company was going to be here long-term.
I'm still not convinced of that, and I realize that's one of the major obstacles to market-acceptance, and I also realize this might be an unfair hindrance to Tivo's success.
BUT, I don't want to risk paying several hundred dollars for a device that's dependent on an external service only to see that service disappear a few months down the road.
I'm also wary of paying the lifetime fee, and then having the company change it's policy a year later, voiding any lifetime subscriptions.
Steve
My wife got our first cellphone last year. She is addicted to the phone, all her friends are out of town, and our long distance bill is outrageous. SO, we reasoned, get a cell phone with free long distance for $35/mo., and we can save a ton of cash on our land-line. Turns out, our cell phone can't get a signal in our house! To use it we have to take it into our yard. As always, you get what you pay for, and we pay for not-very-much-coverage. (Sprint PCS if anyone cares.)
** Rather, it will seem like the Web site is broken, which is what I would love to see. :) After all, all these broken Web sites with screwed up HTML (tables especially - ugh!), JavaScript, and especially anything that's intentionally IE-specific deserve it. When 35 million additional users can't use your Web site because you have crap code, there's a compelling reason to fix it. **
I have a trivial little 'vanity' website of my own. I put info & pics up on it to share with family and friends. It's nothing special, and almost everything I know about writing webpages I learned from the 1st half of a '10 Minute Guide To HTML' about 5 years ago.
Sometime last year, I made a very minor change to the page. I think I simply added a sentence of text to the top of the index page. Due to the insignificance of what I was doing, I was lazy and used either FrontPage or NS Composer (I don't recall which) to affect the change.
Since then, the page has generated a scripting error when viewed with IE. I didn't realize this at first, as I use Opera. By the time it was pointed out to me, I had forgotten exactly what I changed. And I haven't really taken any time to try and fix it.
My point is that I'm betting a lot of the broken webpages were generated by software programs such as FrontPage, and the creators may not know how to fix the pages. If it works in IE, it's easier for them to require viewers to use IE rather than for them to determine and fix the problem.
Clearly this isn't a good strategy for a business-related site, but for something that isn't a revenue-stream, standards-compliance may be low on the priority list.
Steve
Before you burn it to the ground, I'd be glad to take it off your hands.
I'm eager for a challenge.
Steve
I actually did buy a copy. At the time, I had a 486/40 (AMD, even then), and had recently installed a Multimedia Kit (!!whee!!) The kit included a CD-ROM drive, Sound card, and software which was probably pretty cool, but to this day is sitting in it's original box, CD sleeves unopened. I've even kept the package with me through 3 or 4 moves. At any rate, the graphics and sound effects of Myst blew me away. I got the game, and actually enjoyed it immensely. I thought many of the puzzles were pretty clever. But that's just me. Steve