I found many reviews to be very unreliable for the most part and stopped reading them. Monitor reviews are especially bad imo. Rarely will a reviewer even mention what type of panel it is (TN, S-IPS, S-PVA etc)and that's an irregularity in my view because cheap panels like the TN's get the same or better ratings as the usually superior S-IPS panels (which look obvioulsy different to anyone with 30 seconds instruction). Dell and Samsung seem to always get positive reviews. Then some riot ensues in the forums likes when Dell had banding issues. In the past year Dell has ben swapping inferior panels into displays after they already got reviews with superior panels. The forums are full of "Dell Lottery" posts and thread threads complining about buying one monitor and essentially getting another. After months of this, I think I have seen it mentioned once in an article in the may sites I see visit. Dell ads are flashing on the sides of most of these sites. Reviews seem to be becoming an extension of manufacturers marketing just like TV and print news always seem to be inserting the latest entertainment product made by the ABC, FOX etc. I find the best way to see it good reviews are merited is to follow how the forums react.
In my hardware forum there are what people call AFRT"s or "Another Failed RAID Thread". The average single user doesn't need RAID and many people don't discover this until it's too late.
I have a Scythe Ninja B because of reviews I read on silent pc sites. I have to say its very quiet indeed, and I have to put my ear close to the case hear anything going on. My temps for cpu are also much lower than with noisey stock cooler. I overclocked an E6600 to 3.0 and considered it a waste of time for my uses and went back to specs (it takes less than 5 minutes to get it to 3.0 again if I was going to be encoding or something for awhile). Having abandoned overclocking, I would still get one of these upgraded coolers for the diminished sound . As cited above, it is odd they overlooked sound levels because thats why many people buy these items.
The EFF said don't use Google Desktop because of vulnerabilities"
"[We urge] consumers not to use this feature, because it will make their personal data more vulnerable to subpoenas from the government and possibly private litigants, while providing a convenient one-stop-shop for hackers who've obtained a user's Google password," the EFF said in a statement"
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1925064,00.as p
If Google is under pressure from some governments to hide things, from others to store and reveal things - why would people want more, more, more Google and their vulnerabilities on a computer? As bad as Microsoft is I would rather deal with the devil I still know then the Googlers who seem to want to be the center of the cyber-universe in a way that seems more grandiose than even M$. They lost me when the started censoring stuff here US never mind China.
Maybe that's why Asus has such sketchy support compared to Intel. Their site is horrid and they released my present mobo (P5W HD) without without testing it with retail C2D cpu's (they used engineering samples). When motherboards wouldn't boot with the cpu's (as advertised) the solution Asus had was to have people buy a new Celeron cpu's so they could update the BIOS and THEN the C2D would work. My next mobo will be intel. However with all manufacturers I learned not to rush to buy new board because many of them have headaches the first few months/revisions.
"CISRT said. "This issue has made a huge effection to Chinese people."
I knew Symantec was effectionate because it wanted to screw my computer all the time. It's hard to decide what's worse - an infection or an "effection".
Now you can see whay the Register of Historic Places has been criticised for easy access with the NRHP criteria criticised as "so broad as to be almost useless when evaluating specific properties".
I had a terrible time with Dell - but I think it was because they were poorly managed and not because they intentionally set out to be underhanded. I bought a highly rated and well reviewed 2007WFP monitor. It used a S-IPS type panel well regarded as a superior panel to other panel types for photography. The problem was that after a few months Dell began a "panel lottery" and would randomly swap out the S-IPS panels and use low quality S-PVA panels instead. The quality of the Dell S-PVA image was not comparable at all. The S-PVA made dark areas seem darker face on, and a viewer had to tip side to side to see details. Many people were upset to buy a superior Dell monitor and instead have an inferior monitor delivered. There were revolts in Dell forums and the staff there seemed stuck between rocks and hard places.
However, Dell also undersold it's superior monitors capabilities on its web site. The speed of its 2007WFP was given as 16ms when it was actually faster (6ms gtg). Supposedly the slower time was meant to allow for the use of slower panels without having to explain any slower times when the superior panels were switched for inferior ones. I know other manufacturers also swap parts out (HP no longer lists what panels are used in its monitors) but Dell was really sloppy about swapping inferior panels for superior ones. It was like putting a Taurus engine in a BMW.
Trying to get panels exchanged was both very easy and very hard. Dell didn't refuse exchanges and many people returned monitors 2 or 3 times until they got a S-IPS panel. I returned my first monitor because of stuck pixels. My exchange monitor was the poor quality S-PVA. Dell "forgot" to send return shipping label for monitor number one so I was stuck with two monitors. I now knew I didn't want a Dell anyway but instead wanted an NEC 20WMGX2 (most awesome monitor I ever owned). Well to cut a long story short it took two months of over two dozen calls, case numbers, dropped calls, etc to get monitors returned.
I lot of the service people seemed nice enough and they seemed like they wanted to help but from one person to the other the system seemed to break down. To me it just seemed like chaos and not criminal intent. A compnay trying to gouge people doesn't let them make 2,3,4 returns at their cost no questions asked. They don't hide their best selling statistics. This is my opinion after many hours stuck in this situtation from Nov 06 to Feb 07. Dells accounting was so bad they counting even refund the CC I used with PayPal and they had to send me a check after 4 weeks of mishaps on their end.
I can't say Dell didn't ask for trouble because they were awful. But I don't think they were criminal as much as poorly managed. I am sure there are worse companies out there.
Thank-you. The only thing I knew about KDE was that the desktop was blue and that the founder decided to make an interface his girfriend could easily use. I wanted to start as asimply as possible and maybe move on up from that point. I think I read "Debian" was named after some guys wife(Debbie). Seems Linux owes a lot to girlfriends and wives lol.
Thank-you, I was thinking I should just try both of them out since I'll have a dedicated linux system now just to learn with. I assembled a new PC for Vista last October and then decided not to use Vista so I will just channel my desire for new OS to Linux until Autumn - or whenever they get a first service pack out.
I just installed Ubuntu fir the first time on a spare PC and was on the web in a bit over an hour. Then I read about Kubuntu and was wondering if I should use that instead. Any opinons on what would be better to learn Linux on?
I just put Ubuntu on a 4 old machine. I expected issues, but within an hour I had OS installed and was surfing the web with Firefox. I even got Adobe Flash installed using a method I had never seen. In the months prior to install - when I read up on Linx - I thought a big problem was the way many of the Linux cognocenti would keep saying Linux was "easy" but then described things in a way that seemed was almost impssible to understand.
Google doesn't just censor in China it does so in the US as well but follows it's own agenda at home. Even it's own board of directors objected to a proposal to block pro-active censorship:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/googles-boar d-objects-anti-censorship-proposal/story.aspx?guid =%7BE4924442-BA3A-4F47-A5B8-DCA66F1A9CB0%7D
Google also wants to index more government records at home while working to censor abroad. I think Google hs been going down a slippery slope, and when Google's own actions are considered against the governmnets desire to force Google to be an investigative/monitoring tool I think Google is more vulnerable to a viable backlash then Microsoft ever was. In any case that "do no evil" bit doesn't work anymore.
Wow I remember Garth railing against used CD sales. He was explaining on Leno or somewhere that used CD sales are wrong because the "songwriter doesn't get paid". I was like "wtf...is Ford supossed to get a cut when I sell my car?" And Garth was one of those country music rhinestone cowboys who was always singing about "little people" and such - but heaven forbid they by a used CD.
All week I been reading how the kid at Virginia Tech couldn't be dismissed from school even though he stalked, threatened and oozed a violent psyche to the point of having 2 professors ask the university for help with him. Universities should only protect students as vigorously as they seem to protect themselves in this case.
Many photographers use Canon cameras because they intentionally don't "juice" up photos like other makers do. They also don't over-sharp an image and Canon's photos are "soft" out of the camera compared to others. They allow the photographer to add what they would like in post processing. It's easier to add then to take away.
A lot of the psychology forums (lots of them) are young girls - so are the diary sites like Live Journal etc. Young people in general don't always know how to interpret what they are feeling but girls will be more conscious of their emotions and and want to discuss them in diaries and journals. Forums that have "Secrets" groups or threads are always hugely popular (people express a secret thought using photos and captions usually). In the negative, the "pro" eating disorder sites are also 98% girls - and there are mobs of them. The fan sites and art sites like deviantART are also mostly girls. I find the computer and gaming sites to be mostly guys as one would expect but most forums seem they are mostly young girls and women - some drastically so. One thing about these groups is it brings them online a lot and while posting and MSNing they are visiting other sites and forums that they learn about from each other. There are a lot of young people online and its the girls who want to talk and write about a lot of things with their peers. They are also the best typists (and piano players). A lot of guys get a bit spooked by a keyboard.
My Gateway 500S that cost $1250 in 2002 won't even bring $100 on ebay. I haven't tried to sell mine but I watched a lot of others try and fail. I think after 3 or 4 years the computer is only worth about what the software might cost new. Speaking of which, I was reading that XP won't be sold next year and maybe that will boost the price of some of the old machines since people might want XP again. I can't speak for all of Gateway's computers but the 500S was a stud (and Consumer Reports best buy) and mine still works great. I might pick up a couple more since they cost about what a copy of XP home would cost new anyway. I still don't even have to activate with Microsoft when I reinstall my XP from the 2002 Gateway so I was wondering if its easy to transfer OS to new machine. Old versions of XP might be nice to have.
Many people who like Asus products know the Asus website is awful. No problem on that site would come as any surprise to anyone who goes there for updates or information. I'm glad it's no big deal this specific problem but that is still one dodgey site that needs TLC quite desperately.
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I found many reviews to be very unreliable for the most part and stopped reading them. Monitor reviews are especially bad imo. Rarely will a reviewer even mention what type of panel it is (TN, S-IPS, S-PVA etc)and that's an irregularity in my view because cheap panels like the TN's get the same or better ratings as the usually superior S-IPS panels (which look obvioulsy different to anyone with 30 seconds instruction). Dell and Samsung seem to always get positive reviews. Then some riot ensues in the forums likes when Dell had banding issues. In the past year Dell has ben swapping inferior panels into displays after they already got reviews with superior panels. The forums are full of "Dell Lottery" posts and thread threads complining about buying one monitor and essentially getting another. After months of this, I think I have seen it mentioned once in an article in the may sites I see visit. Dell ads are flashing on the sides of most of these sites. Reviews seem to be becoming an extension of manufacturers marketing just like TV and print news always seem to be inserting the latest entertainment product made by the ABC, FOX etc. I find the best way to see it good reviews are merited is to follow how the forums react.
In my hardware forum there are what people call AFRT"s or "Another Failed RAID Thread". The average single user doesn't need RAID and many people don't discover this until it's too late.
I was about to post the same thing. I see so many studies making claims based on a sample of 25 people, 124 people etc. It's a joke statistically.
I have a Scythe Ninja B because of reviews I read on silent pc sites. I have to say its very quiet indeed, and I have to put my ear close to the case hear anything going on. My temps for cpu are also much lower than with noisey stock cooler. I overclocked an E6600 to 3.0 and considered it a waste of time for my uses and went back to specs (it takes less than 5 minutes to get it to 3.0 again if I was going to be encoding or something for awhile). Having abandoned overclocking, I would still get one of these upgraded coolers for the diminished sound . As cited above, it is odd they overlooked sound levels because thats why many people buy these items.
Nah lots of people/groups/orgs warn off on Google Search. IT people warn about it on networks all the time.
The EFF said don't use Google Desktop because of vulnerabilities" "[We urge] consumers not to use this feature, because it will make their personal data more vulnerable to subpoenas from the government and possibly private litigants, while providing a convenient one-stop-shop for hackers who've obtained a user's Google password," the EFF said in a statement" http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1925064,00.as p
If Google is under pressure from some governments to hide things, from others to store and reveal things - why would people want more, more, more Google and their vulnerabilities on a computer? As bad as Microsoft is I would rather deal with the devil I still know then the Googlers who seem to want to be the center of the cyber-universe in a way that seems more grandiose than even M$. They lost me when the started censoring stuff here US never mind China.
Maybe that's why Asus has such sketchy support compared to Intel. Their site is horrid and they released my present mobo (P5W HD) without without testing it with retail C2D cpu's (they used engineering samples). When motherboards wouldn't boot with the cpu's (as advertised) the solution Asus had was to have people buy a new Celeron cpu's so they could update the BIOS and THEN the C2D would work. My next mobo will be intel. However with all manufacturers I learned not to rush to buy new board because many of them have headaches the first few months/revisions.
Lol - I was quoting the guy from China in the article who said "effection". It was great use of engrish.
"CISRT said. "This issue has made a huge effection to Chinese people." I knew Symantec was effectionate because it wanted to screw my computer all the time. It's hard to decide what's worse - an infection or an "effection".
Now you can see whay the Register of Historic Places has been criticised for easy access with the NRHP criteria criticised as "so broad as to be almost useless when evaluating specific properties".
I had a terrible time with Dell - but I think it was because they were poorly managed and not because they intentionally set out to be underhanded. I bought a highly rated and well reviewed 2007WFP monitor. It used a S-IPS type panel well regarded as a superior panel to other panel types for photography. The problem was that after a few months Dell began a "panel lottery" and would randomly swap out the S-IPS panels and use low quality S-PVA panels instead. The quality of the Dell S-PVA image was not comparable at all. The S-PVA made dark areas seem darker face on, and a viewer had to tip side to side to see details. Many people were upset to buy a superior Dell monitor and instead have an inferior monitor delivered. There were revolts in Dell forums and the staff there seemed stuck between rocks and hard places. However, Dell also undersold it's superior monitors capabilities on its web site. The speed of its 2007WFP was given as 16ms when it was actually faster (6ms gtg). Supposedly the slower time was meant to allow for the use of slower panels without having to explain any slower times when the superior panels were switched for inferior ones. I know other manufacturers also swap parts out (HP no longer lists what panels are used in its monitors) but Dell was really sloppy about swapping inferior panels for superior ones. It was like putting a Taurus engine in a BMW. Trying to get panels exchanged was both very easy and very hard. Dell didn't refuse exchanges and many people returned monitors 2 or 3 times until they got a S-IPS panel. I returned my first monitor because of stuck pixels. My exchange monitor was the poor quality S-PVA. Dell "forgot" to send return shipping label for monitor number one so I was stuck with two monitors. I now knew I didn't want a Dell anyway but instead wanted an NEC 20WMGX2 (most awesome monitor I ever owned). Well to cut a long story short it took two months of over two dozen calls, case numbers, dropped calls, etc to get monitors returned. I lot of the service people seemed nice enough and they seemed like they wanted to help but from one person to the other the system seemed to break down. To me it just seemed like chaos and not criminal intent. A compnay trying to gouge people doesn't let them make 2,3,4 returns at their cost no questions asked. They don't hide their best selling statistics. This is my opinion after many hours stuck in this situtation from Nov 06 to Feb 07. Dells accounting was so bad they counting even refund the CC I used with PayPal and they had to send me a check after 4 weeks of mishaps on their end. I can't say Dell didn't ask for trouble because they were awful. But I don't think they were criminal as much as poorly managed. I am sure there are worse companies out there.
Thank-you I will try that.
Thank-you. The only thing I knew about KDE was that the desktop was blue and that the founder decided to make an interface his girfriend could easily use. I wanted to start as asimply as possible and maybe move on up from that point. I think I read "Debian" was named after some guys wife(Debbie). Seems Linux owes a lot to girlfriends and wives lol.
Thank-you, I was thinking I should just try both of them out since I'll have a dedicated linux system now just to learn with. I assembled a new PC for Vista last October and then decided not to use Vista so I will just channel my desire for new OS to Linux until Autumn - or whenever they get a first service pack out.
I just installed Ubuntu fir the first time on a spare PC and was on the web in a bit over an hour. Then I read about Kubuntu and was wondering if I should use that instead. Any opinons on what would be better to learn Linux on?
I just put Ubuntu on a 4 old machine. I expected issues, but within an hour I had OS installed and was surfing the web with Firefox. I even got Adobe Flash installed using a method I had never seen. In the months prior to install - when I read up on Linx - I thought a big problem was the way many of the Linux cognocenti would keep saying Linux was "easy" but then described things in a way that seemed was almost impssible to understand.
Google doesn't just censor in China it does so in the US as well but follows it's own agenda at home. Even it's own board of directors objected to a proposal to block pro-active censorship: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/googles-boar d-objects-anti-censorship-proposal/story.aspx?guid =%7BE4924442-BA3A-4F47-A5B8-DCA66F1A9CB0%7D
Google also wants to index more government records at home while working to censor abroad. I think Google hs been going down a slippery slope, and when Google's own actions are considered against the governmnets desire to force Google to be an investigative/monitoring tool I think Google is more vulnerable to a viable backlash then Microsoft ever was. In any case that "do no evil" bit doesn't work anymore.
Wow I remember Garth railing against used CD sales. He was explaining on Leno or somewhere that used CD sales are wrong because the "songwriter doesn't get paid". I was like "wtf...is Ford supossed to get a cut when I sell my car?" And Garth was one of those country music rhinestone cowboys who was always singing about "little people" and such - but heaven forbid they by a used CD.
Google plays along with China in censoring but it lobbys in the US for opening government records? While at the same time its board is advising it's sharholders to not vote for proposals to bar any "proactive" censorship (and Google is censoring a lot)? Google is getting creepy and I already use another search engine to get unbiased results. Google's board objects to anticensorship proposal http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/googles-boar d-objects-anti-censorship-proposal/story.aspx?guid =%7BE4924442-BA3A-4F47-A5B8-DCA66F1A9CB0%7D
All week I been reading how the kid at Virginia Tech couldn't be dismissed from school even though he stalked, threatened and oozed a violent psyche to the point of having 2 professors ask the university for help with him. Universities should only protect students as vigorously as they seem to protect themselves in this case.
Many photographers use Canon cameras because they intentionally don't "juice" up photos like other makers do. They also don't over-sharp an image and Canon's photos are "soft" out of the camera compared to others. They allow the photographer to add what they would like in post processing. It's easier to add then to take away.
A lot of the psychology forums (lots of them) are young girls - so are the diary sites like Live Journal etc. Young people in general don't always know how to interpret what they are feeling but girls will be more conscious of their emotions and and want to discuss them in diaries and journals. Forums that have "Secrets" groups or threads are always hugely popular (people express a secret thought using photos and captions usually). In the negative, the "pro" eating disorder sites are also 98% girls - and there are mobs of them. The fan sites and art sites like deviantART are also mostly girls. I find the computer and gaming sites to be mostly guys as one would expect but most forums seem they are mostly young girls and women - some drastically so. One thing about these groups is it brings them online a lot and while posting and MSNing they are visiting other sites and forums that they learn about from each other. There are a lot of young people online and its the girls who want to talk and write about a lot of things with their peers. They are also the best typists (and piano players). A lot of guys get a bit spooked by a keyboard.
It's $89 at Newegg (OEM version)
My Gateway 500S that cost $1250 in 2002 won't even bring $100 on ebay. I haven't tried to sell mine but I watched a lot of others try and fail. I think after 3 or 4 years the computer is only worth about what the software might cost new. Speaking of which, I was reading that XP won't be sold next year and maybe that will boost the price of some of the old machines since people might want XP again. I can't speak for all of Gateway's computers but the 500S was a stud (and Consumer Reports best buy) and mine still works great. I might pick up a couple more since they cost about what a copy of XP home would cost new anyway. I still don't even have to activate with Microsoft when I reinstall my XP from the 2002 Gateway so I was wondering if its easy to transfer OS to new machine. Old versions of XP might be nice to have.
Many people who like Asus products know the Asus website is awful. No problem on that site would come as any surprise to anyone who goes there for updates or information. I'm glad it's no big deal this specific problem but that is still one dodgey site that needs TLC quite desperately.