From my perspective as a Mechanical Engineer I tend to agree with Capt_Troy. Experience and knowledge is not a static thing and a designer in any field HAS TO build on his experience. Non competition agreements are very dificult to enforce, though patents and copyrights are a lot easier. I tend to see concepts as a result of individual talent and in this case, Cliff stated that his employee stated that "he'd solved a very similar problem a previous place of employment". The total of the project, however, it seems was a joint effort. ("they had developed a "neat" solution.")
It follows that the concept was something from his personal experience and is useable but the total solution was a joint effort and as such intellectual property of his former employer.
Ernie
Like I said, you have to know exactly what you want before you buy from a vendor at a computer fair but my experience has been good. I did get a bad hard drive once but one email to the vendor resolved the problem. I received the new drive via UPS the next day and returned the bad drive in the same box. (prepaid shipping too) I've built 5 machines from parts bought at Cogan Fairs and I would bet I've had far less problems than if I'd bought from so called "reputable vendors" on line.
My experience with online vendors, however has been mostly bad. Ram from Crucial was defective. Software purchased online never was received though my Visa was charged. I received a case that was damaged in shipping so bad that the covers wouldn't come off with out a hammer. Returning that and getting a replacement took 3 weeks.
Granted there is a huge advantage to buying from a shop close to home. These folks have a vested interest in keeping their customers happy, but they have a large overhead and just can't compete with the "carnival gypsies"
If you're careful and WELL PREPARED you can save a substancial amount of money. I would recommend an "established" computer fair. Visit their website and look into the policy they set for their vendors. And by all means stay away from flea markets. They generally have no control over vendors.
Ernie
As far as I have seen, the best prices on computer hardware can be found at computer fairs. Here in Connecticut, the place to go is Cogan Fairs http://www.coganfairs.com A google search should locate some computer fairs near you.
The reason I recomend the fairs is that many of the companies that work the fairs have no show room thus little overhead and can afford to sell at a great price.
Savings can be huge, pc 133 ram for example, over $125 at CompUSA for 512Mb is typicaly $50 at the computer fairs. My only caution is that many vendors are selling outdated parts. If you're in the market for a new motherboard or the latest video card, do your research and come with a list of what you need with detailed descriptions and full part numbers. As the vendors are typically not local businesses, returns of defective parts is a bit difficult and time consuming, but the fair operators do a great job assuring that the vendors are honest and any vendor that has violated their policies won't be allowed back.
Ernie
Slashdot Mirror
From my perspective as a Mechanical Engineer I tend to agree with Capt_Troy. Experience and knowledge is not a static thing and a designer in any field HAS TO build on his experience. Non competition agreements are very dificult to enforce, though patents and copyrights are a lot easier. I tend to see concepts as a result of individual talent and in this case, Cliff stated that his employee stated that "he'd solved a very similar problem a previous place of employment". The total of the project, however, it seems was a joint effort. ("they had developed a "neat" solution.") It follows that the concept was something from his personal experience and is useable but the total solution was a joint effort and as such intellectual property of his former employer. Ernie
Like I said, you have to know exactly what you want before you buy from a vendor at a computer fair but my experience has been good. I did get a bad hard drive once but one email to the vendor resolved the problem. I received the new drive via UPS the next day and returned the bad drive in the same box. (prepaid shipping too) I've built 5 machines from parts bought at Cogan Fairs and I would bet I've had far less problems than if I'd bought from so called "reputable vendors" on line. My experience with online vendors, however has been mostly bad. Ram from Crucial was defective. Software purchased online never was received though my Visa was charged. I received a case that was damaged in shipping so bad that the covers wouldn't come off with out a hammer. Returning that and getting a replacement took 3 weeks. Granted there is a huge advantage to buying from a shop close to home. These folks have a vested interest in keeping their customers happy, but they have a large overhead and just can't compete with the "carnival gypsies" If you're careful and WELL PREPARED you can save a substancial amount of money. I would recommend an "established" computer fair. Visit their website and look into the policy they set for their vendors. And by all means stay away from flea markets. They generally have no control over vendors. Ernie
As far as I have seen, the best prices on computer hardware can be found at computer fairs. Here in Connecticut, the place to go is Cogan Fairs http://www.coganfairs.com A google search should locate some computer fairs near you. The reason I recomend the fairs is that many of the companies that work the fairs have no show room thus little overhead and can afford to sell at a great price. Savings can be huge, pc 133 ram for example, over $125 at CompUSA for 512Mb is typicaly $50 at the computer fairs. My only caution is that many vendors are selling outdated parts. If you're in the market for a new motherboard or the latest video card, do your research and come with a list of what you need with detailed descriptions and full part numbers. As the vendors are typically not local businesses, returns of defective parts is a bit difficult and time consuming, but the fair operators do a great job assuring that the vendors are honest and any vendor that has violated their policies won't be allowed back. Ernie