It will probably void the warranty or something, but why not just open up the case and unhook the trackpad? Opening a laptop can be tricky, but it is possible.
And while you are at it, take out all the guts and paint your laptop camo (don't forget the keyboard!) so you can have that "Hackers" look.
Oh well, Trolls are to be expected. Tt is too bad people have to get their kicks that way.
My wife and I have been talking over what to get, and we might just try to get a mini or mid tower and put it in a cabinet. I can get some fairly good hardware for around $500. I thought of getting Mac just to play around with something new, but the fact is that I have a few apps that we really want to run (one that I really want to run - Visual Studio) that do not have Mac versions. I like to work from home (programmer) about one day a week and run my tools (Visual Studio 2003, Tera Term, etc) on another machine. but I would still like to be able to run everything I need on this machine as well, as a backup.
Even if I did get the Mac Mini, I think I would get the $599 version. I think the extra proc, RAM and hard drive are worth it.
A 17" LCD is closer to what is displayed on a 19" CRT monitor, from my informal measuring of monitors here with my tape measure. So I went to PriceWatch to check into some prices, and 17" LCD prices are very comparable to 19" CRT prices. I don't really think you can choose between the two based on price unless you are under a super tight budget and want to buy a POS low end CRT.
Actually, my wife so the Mac Mini. Having tried a Mac a few weeks ago in the Apple store, she actually asked me if we could get a Mac that ran Windows. She uses Windows every day, but hasn't used a Mac since Junior High (we are 30). We want to find a PC that is of similar space requirements as the Mac.
In the end, I may end up buying the Mac Mini, even though it does not fill all of my requirements.
Nice searching (wow, I must have really gotten you worked up) but loosing my music for a couple of weeks is not like loosing a computer for a couple of weeks.
You have to understand, I am not trying to dis on Macs. I submitted the story to get ideas for Mac alternatives, not to have a bunch of Macies tell me that I should buy a Mac. But I have been hanging out on/. for a few years, so I knew that would happen.
When a Mac break, what do you do? You have to ship it in or take it to the Apple store. I read blogs like WilWheaton.net where Wil brags up his Mac Notebook over and over, then complains about how is in the shop for the second time and how long it takes to get it back. I have seen this same thing from Mac users I have worked with - when their computer breaks down who fixes it? Not their geek friends, because they all use PCs and don't know how to fix a Mac. I don't know shiat about a Mac, and would not have a clue where to start if it broke.
When Windows or even Linux does something stupid, I have a hope of figuring it out. This is not a superior trait of Windows (for sure) or Linux, but it is just because I have worked with them for a while and know quite a bit more about them than Mac.
People say Macs don't break, but I have seen the opposite. I am sure they do not break anymore than a PC, but when they do you cannot find a Mac store just down the street. I am lucky enough I live in a city with a Mac store, but it is still a 45 minute drive to get there. With a PC I would have a hope of fixing it myself before taking it into a shop.
I could, but I know jack and shiat about Mac OS. I spend the day programming in Unix, Linux and Windows. I already am attempting to retain technical knowledge about all those, I just don't feel like trying to support something else at home.
Seriously, I have a couple of apps that I really like on my PC that I would not have on a Mac. It just isn't what I am looking to get into. I might end up using this as a light weight home work machine if needed.
I have submitted stories and they have gotten by the editors with their spelling mistakes. Anymore I copy and paste everything into Word before submitting. You would thing Firefox would include a speller checker!
For me building it can be fun and educational. It isn't all about the money.
Also, I am wondering about the cost for local vendors trying to compete with the big guys. Can a local computer shop put one of these together to compete with the Mac? Even with a free (as in beer) OS?
And I rather enjoy using their big ol' set of.NET XML classes to talk to our Unix servers. It helps my company get our Windows computers to get along with our Unix computers.
I did not use paradigm or think outside the box. But I am glad you feel superior all the same. It must be nice for your ego, you self-respecting engineer, you!
Why? Microsoft has done a fairly good job promoting XML and SOAP XML Web Services. As long as they stick to the standards (yes, I know) I see no reason to keep them out.
IBM has actually tried to introduce some goofy stuff into the XML standards, like line breaks, etc, that should not be in a pure node-based system like XML. Why are not you picking on them in your comment?
As far as SOAP and XML Web Services (standardized protocols for XML RPC transactions) Microsoft was way ahead of the pack. And I rather enjoy using their rich set of.NET XML classes to talk to our Unix servers. It helps my company interop.
I used to live in an appt. complex (in a house now) that had about 10 WAPs I could see at any time. Almost all were running on 6, so I just switched to 11 and everything was fine.
What was a little anoying was that two of the owners were obvious bible thumpers. One guy had named his WAP "JesusSaves", and the other one changed Xtian messages every few days (stuff like "He_Saves" and "JesusIsLord"). When friends came over with wi-fi, this was a source of a lot of heckling of me, since I am agnostic.
What did I do? I named my WAP "Fuck_Jesus". After that, the guy switching his WAP every week started putting up stuff like "Jesus_Rulz" and "BurnInHell". At least I got some amusement out of it. To this day, my WAP is named "Fuck_Jesus".
I don't know what you are talking about with that comment. My system, 3.6 GHz Pentium 4 with 3 GB RAM, runs MS Office just fine. I believe that is just above the current hardware requirements of MS Office.
Thanks for the advice. The truth is that I am just too trusting and have always had really good luck with online purchases. I now purchase everything with my PayPal or a CC that I know has protection.
I usually would not say anything, but I had such an incredibly horrible experiece with ClearPC that I am going to comment.
I wanted to buy a clear acrylic case for a PC I was buidling, and decorate it with neon wires (one reseller). I went ahead and purchased from ClearPC, a Canadian company (actually, just some guy, but read on).
I was told the case would be packaged in a safe way, so it would arrive undamaged. When it did arrive, several parts were broken, and some extras I ordered like LED fans, etc, were just missing.
After 6 months of constantly trying to get a response from ClearPC, I finally got some of the broken parts replaced and some of the missing parts (I still did not have everything I need for a full case, nor all the parts I ordered).
I just gave up, but swore I would tell anyone looking for a cool case that ClearPC is a horrible vendor with horrible customer service. I usually live and let live, but this is a very special case for me. I will not put their URL here, no need to give them a free link. But if you find yourself on a case site offering clear cases ending in ".ca", just keep on surfing. BTW, this is not a dis on Canada at all, it just happens that this company is there or I probably would have at least taken them to small claims court and tried to get them blocked from doing business in my state.
"Oh, here is another over priced piece of Apple crap", I thought. And that time, I might have been right. I am not an Apple fan by nature.
I bought a 20 GB player from another company, and liked it well enough.
Earlier this year, I had the chance to get $100 off one of the new 4th gneration iPods. I decided on the 20 Gb to replace the brick that was my MP3 player.
I have never looked back.
My iPod is easily the best gadget (or maybe even technology item, period) that I have ever purchased. I love it. My life is now filled with music and audio books.
What I really don't get is how a company like Sony can fall on its face over, and over, and over. Seriously, can't Sony, f@cking Sony, figure out how to make a cool gadget to compete with iPod? Seriously, nothing I have tickered with at WorstBuy (tm) or CircuitCrapy (tm) from Sony even comes close to the ease of use and pure coolness that I have with my iPod.
As a software developer, I really don't get how a company that is often on or ahead of the curve like Sony and continue to f@ck it up!
Apple is in strange territory. Many times the first to market is also to far ahead of the market that they fail. This is not the case with the iPod, and Sony needs a huge shift in engineering and attitude if they want to even attempt to catch up.
By contrast, the average wireless computer network can send only around 50 megabits (50 million bits) of data per second.
I would think that a mean network would be the 802.11b network running 11MBits, not 50. Are there really that many 802.11g networks out there, pushing the average up to 50, or is this reporter just clueless because their office runs around 50? I used to travel quite a bit, and what networks I did run into at coffee shops and airports were 11 Mbit. Do others have a different view than this?
I am part of his hunter constituency, and we could give a crap about damns. Perhaps some people at Ducks Unlimited are all up in arms, but it is actually the far-left environmentalists that are anti-damn.
I would be every penny I have that when a new damn is being built, it is not the hunter/fisher types that voted for Bush protesting and creating law suits, but the spotted owl types that probably (grin) did not vote for Bush.
Hydro is a great power source, but every time someone wants to build a new hydro plant (read: damn) a lot of concerns are raised about the environmental impact of the damn. Seems like some similar arguments are being used against wind power now.
I think we need to start looking at the whole picture. I think all roofs in the southern US should be shingled white, by law. This can save a lot of energy during the summer months. We also need to come up other (better) building techniques or use the better techniques available to us.
In addition to these measures to reduce power consumption, why don't we compromise in some other areas. Let power companies replace older, inefficient oil and coal power plants with newer, more efficient oil and coal plants (less pollution, more power). Building a new coal plant is a Good Thing when it replaces an older, more polluting plant. Let us build a few more damns and wind farms, and continue to do research into solar, wind and other sources.
I believe we will eventually get there, but progress of any kind and especially progress on this scale is always slow. Let not be afraid to take some intermediary steps to help curb pollution, increase power output, and decrease power consumption.
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And while you are at it, take out all the guts and paint your laptop camo (don't forget the keyboard!) so you can have that "Hackers" look.
My wife and I have been talking over what to get, and we might just try to get a mini or mid tower and put it in a cabinet. I can get some fairly good hardware for around $500. I thought of getting Mac just to play around with something new, but the fact is that I have a few apps that we really want to run (one that I really want to run - Visual Studio) that do not have Mac versions. I like to work from home (programmer) about one day a week and run my tools (Visual Studio 2003, Tera Term, etc) on another machine. but I would still like to be able to run everything I need on this machine as well, as a backup.
Even if I did get the Mac Mini, I think I would get the $599 version. I think the extra proc, RAM and hard drive are worth it.
A 17" LCD is closer to what is displayed on a 19" CRT monitor, from my informal measuring of monitors here with my tape measure. So I went to PriceWatch to check into some prices, and 17" LCD prices are very comparable to 19" CRT prices. I don't really think you can choose between the two based on price unless you are under a super tight budget and want to buy a POS low end CRT.
Thanks for the info on your experiences with Mac.
Plus - your wife is asking for it right?
Actually, my wife so the Mac Mini. Having tried a Mac a few weeks ago in the Apple store, she actually asked me if we could get a Mac that ran Windows. She uses Windows every day, but hasn't used a Mac since Junior High (we are 30). We want to find a PC that is of similar space requirements as the Mac.
In the end, I may end up buying the Mac Mini, even though it does not fill all of my requirements.
You have to understand, I am not trying to dis on Macs. I submitted the story to get ideas for Mac alternatives, not to have a bunch of Macies tell me that I should buy a Mac. But I have been hanging out on /. for a few years, so I knew that would happen.
When Windows or even Linux does something stupid, I have a hope of figuring it out. This is not a superior trait of Windows (for sure) or Linux, but it is just because I have worked with them for a while and know quite a bit more about them than Mac.
People say Macs don't break, but I have seen the opposite. I am sure they do not break anymore than a PC, but when they do you cannot find a Mac store just down the street. I am lucky enough I live in a city with a Mac store, but it is still a 45 minute drive to get there. With a PC I would have a hope of fixing it myself before taking it into a shop.
Seriously, I have a couple of apps that I really like on my PC that I would not have on a Mac. It just isn't what I am looking to get into. I might end up using this as a light weight home work machine if needed.
I have submitted stories and they have gotten by the editors with their spelling mistakes. Anymore I copy and paste everything into Word before submitting. You would thing Firefox would include a speller checker!
Also, I am wondering about the cost for local vendors trying to compete with the big guys. Can a local computer shop put one of these together to compete with the Mac? Even with a free (as in beer) OS?
I did not submit the "lond" part. I am a terrible speller, but that is not my mistake.
And I rather enjoy using their big ol' set of .NET XML classes to talk to our Unix servers. It helps my company get our Windows computers to get along with our Unix computers.
I did not use paradigm or think outside the box. But I am glad you feel superior all the same. It must be nice for your ego, you self-respecting engineer, you!
IBM has actually tried to introduce some goofy stuff into the XML standards, like line breaks, etc, that should not be in a pure node-based system like XML. Why are not you picking on them in your comment?
As far as SOAP and XML Web Services (standardized protocols for XML RPC transactions) Microsoft was way ahead of the pack. And I rather enjoy using their rich set of .NET XML classes to talk to our Unix servers. It helps my company interop.
What was a little anoying was that two of the owners were obvious bible thumpers. One guy had named his WAP "JesusSaves", and the other one changed Xtian messages every few days (stuff like "He_Saves" and "JesusIsLord"). When friends came over with wi-fi, this was a source of a lot of heckling of me, since I am agnostic.
What did I do? I named my WAP "Fuck_Jesus". After that, the guy switching his WAP every week started putting up stuff like "Jesus_Rulz" and "BurnInHell". At least I got some amusement out of it. To this day, my WAP is named "Fuck_Jesus".
I don't know what you are talking about with that comment. My system, 3.6 GHz Pentium 4 with 3 GB RAM, runs MS Office just fine. I believe that is just above the current hardware requirements of MS Office.
Are you being sarcastic, or did not you get the joke?
Thanks for the advice. The truth is that I am just too trusting and have always had really good luck with online purchases. I now purchase everything with my PayPal or a CC that I know has protection.
Not to be rude, but you don't think I tried that? They said they would give no refund.
I wanted to buy a clear acrylic case for a PC I was buidling, and decorate it with neon wires (one reseller). I went ahead and purchased from ClearPC, a Canadian company (actually, just some guy, but read on).
I was told the case would be packaged in a safe way, so it would arrive undamaged. When it did arrive, several parts were broken, and some extras I ordered like LED fans, etc, were just missing.
After 6 months of constantly trying to get a response from ClearPC, I finally got some of the broken parts replaced and some of the missing parts (I still did not have everything I need for a full case, nor all the parts I ordered).
I just gave up, but swore I would tell anyone looking for a cool case that ClearPC is a horrible vendor with horrible customer service. I usually live and let live, but this is a very special case for me. I will not put their URL here, no need to give them a free link. But if you find yourself on a case site offering clear cases ending in ".ca", just keep on surfing. BTW, this is not a dis on Canada at all, it just happens that this company is there or I probably would have at least taken them to small claims court and tried to get them blocked from doing business in my state.
"Oh, here is another over priced piece of Apple crap", I thought. And that time, I might have been right. I am not an Apple fan by nature.
I bought a 20 GB player from another company, and liked it well enough.
Earlier this year, I had the chance to get $100 off one of the new 4th gneration iPods. I decided on the 20 Gb to replace the brick that was my MP3 player.
I have never looked back.
My iPod is easily the best gadget (or maybe even technology item, period) that I have ever purchased. I love it. My life is now filled with music and audio books.
What I really don't get is how a company like Sony can fall on its face over, and over, and over. Seriously, can't Sony, f@cking Sony, figure out how to make a cool gadget to compete with iPod? Seriously, nothing I have tickered with at WorstBuy (tm) or CircuitCrapy (tm) from Sony even comes close to the ease of use and pure coolness that I have with my iPod.
As a software developer, I really don't get how a company that is often on or ahead of the curve like Sony and continue to f@ck it up!
Apple is in strange territory. Many times the first to market is also to far ahead of the market that they fail. This is not the case with the iPod, and Sony needs a huge shift in engineering and attitude if they want to even attempt to catch up.
I noticed this, but I guess it is a feature I use so much in VS.NET that I missed it in my review!
I would think that a mean network would be the 802.11b network running 11MBits, not 50. Are there really that many 802.11g networks out there, pushing the average up to 50, or is this reporter just clueless because their office runs around 50? I used to travel quite a bit, and what networks I did run into at coffee shops and airports were 11 Mbit. Do others have a different view than this?
Was trying to be funny.
I would be every penny I have that when a new damn is being built, it is not the hunter/fisher types that voted for Bush protesting and creating law suits, but the spotted owl types that probably (grin) did not vote for Bush.
What part of "Southern US" did you miss?
I think we need to start looking at the whole picture. I think all roofs in the southern US should be shingled white, by law. This can save a lot of energy during the summer months. We also need to come up other (better) building techniques or use the better techniques available to us.
In addition to these measures to reduce power consumption, why don't we compromise in some other areas. Let power companies replace older, inefficient oil and coal power plants with newer, more efficient oil and coal plants (less pollution, more power). Building a new coal plant is a Good Thing when it replaces an older, more polluting plant. Let us build a few more damns and wind farms, and continue to do research into solar, wind and other sources.
I believe we will eventually get there, but progress of any kind and especially progress on this scale is always slow. Let not be afraid to take some intermediary steps to help curb pollution, increase power output, and decrease power consumption.