Buying a computer

[WoodPeckr]

EBS

You make good points on this new OS, Longhorn, if it is for real. This type of marketing by Gates is one of the reasons I`m thinking of switching to either Linnux or maybe Mac.

Any good OS should last for more than 6 months before you are forced by Gates to have to shell out big bucks to upgrade to a "newer and marginally better" OS.

 

[Beldivok]

linux is cool but on occation there are issuses

if you like games for ex.
some hard ware too....

the progression of window is reall too predictable they are just bringing the comon consumer up to a nt worksation os... and don't wan't to loose back word compatability like mac did.



Hmmm I'm wonder would it be rude to ask what it takes to create your own web server???? I'm looking into doing that for my bussiness and perhaps pad my pokets on both sides there seems to be a few savy computer guys hear.... I'm thinking
dual xeon prosesors with win2003 for reasons of the societies office uses mdb files and want them connected to the site. any advice on not only the hard ware side but the other side building it is simple its the live on the web thing that has me worried

 

[Cinema Face]

I haven’t heard much about Longhorn but I can guess at the system requirements. It seems that every major release of Windows seems to need approximately double the system requirements of the previous version. Consider the system requirements of Windows XP, double it, and that’s probably a reasonable estimate.

In my experience XP needs at least a 500 MHz CPU and 256 Meg of RAM (IMHO)

Therefore I would guess that if you have at least a 1 GHz CPU and 512 Meg then you’re fine.

Personally, I’m not one who feels the need to always have the latest OS. Although I’m currently using XP, I think Win2k is still a great OS. I don’t mind being 1 version behind but not 2. I think that NT or Win98 are getting pretty stinky now. Just my opinion.

My future upgrade plans are an Athlon 64 around this time next year and I plan to get Windows 64 when it’s available. I’ve been hearing conflicting reports as to when that will be ready.

 

[xarir]

I just gotta say this ...

I'm actually using a Compaq laptop as I type, but ...

I LOVE MY MAC!

Please, give me a Mac any day. Apple's OS X is a good implementation of UNIX that nicely integrated with the hardware. (And it's good quality hardware too.) If I had money, I'd buy one of those gorgeous 23" cinema displays to go with my Mac.

I use Windows PCs at work because I have to. But at home I use my Mac because I want to.

Just my $0.02.

 

[WoodPeckr]

Mac is impressive

A friend at work swears by them, he has a G4 dual processor. Explained all the pros to me, and they sound good, but they are pricey about double the cost of an equal Pentium 4. That 23" HDLCD monitor is the best out right now but that is even more expensive, but it is gorgeous. While I would love to have one, it would run me about $5000 USD, and I can`t see spending that much for a PC.

 

[Berlin]

Anyone using vintage Mac here, such as Mac colour classic ?

 

[analandy]

can someone explain the difference between AMD and pentium?

 

[peteeey]

I have a Performa 5200 with I think System 8 or 8.1, which is (obviously) only used for word processing. Hope you aren't going to ask me any techie questions. It's over eight years old and has been so reliable the only thing I've had to do is replace the keyboard and mouse.

Anyone using vintage Mac here, such as Mac colour classic ?

 

[CyberGoth]

Mr. Waters is absolutely RIGHT.

good shops:

OTA on college
PC outlet
Above All Electronics

godawful horrible shops 2 avoid like plague:

ultinet [EVIL EVIL EVIL]
factory direct

Good brand names: [good reliable ones that have yet to piss me off anyway]

value
Acer [made in taiwan and pretty good overall for the money]
Dell [see acer]

preferred...
compaq [good for commercial desktops and notebooks]
maxtor [gods loving beautiful huge capacity hard drives]
kingston [excellent memory]
NEC [excellent 18" lcd monitors, the MS-1850XE is good]
LG and Plextor [good solid reliable udma CDRW/DVD/DVDRW drives]
Promise Technology [world leaders in UDMA hardware RAID controllers]
3com [they invented ethernet, nuff said]

oh, and I must must must highly recommend the use of USB-2.0 cards. the cards are about $50 and give you 2gbits of external IO for things like hard drives, cdrws, scanners, etc. and its all nicely supported under RH8 and win2kSp2.

and if yer thinking about OS's.... here's what I use.

Redhat 8, VMware, win2k [extremely hardened] and OS/2 v.4 under VMware. [BEST OF ALL WORLDS]

but then, I've been an ubergeek longer than some terbites have been alive. Experience is the harshest and most effective teacher in existance.

good luck and HAVE FUN!!!!
ps: I've seen so many western digital drives and ibm hard drives fail so often that I recommend against using them. one point of contention is the relatively high failure rate coupled with some fairly fascistic "warranty" terms that translate as "screw you, buy a new one"

 

[jimi]

new computer

OK, I'll bite: If you are using the computer for a small business, internet, school, professional practice, word processing and small business accounting, do this, and you will NEVER REGRET IT:
BUY A MAC!!!!!
Never mind the bullshit of the PC power users and their specious arguments promoted by Microsoft and IBM. You can buy used with confidence, unlike PC crap, which hardware is unreliable when it is new! There is plenty of software for the purposes I described above. I have had macs since 1995, and my experience is TYPICAL:
1. never lost a byte of data, ever;
2. only hardware failures were internal CD drives;
3. never lost a hard drive;
4. never had a virus;
5. when problems arise, as they will with any system, I can generally fix them myself.
Don't believe the lies about macs being incompatible with PC's: all my customers are PC users, and I send and receive documents to them all the time, without problems. I have operated a small business for 3 years on my system with ease, reliability and low expense. My colleagues who try to operate solo with PC's are constantly losing data forever, losing hard drives, fighting software problems, getting nasty viruses which shut them down, and spending big bucks on IT consultants to fix their problems.
Go to MacDoc, a specialist in refurbished (enhanced speed and features) macs to set you up. Or, go to Cdn. Computer in Oakville, or Red Tag in Miss. PM me if you like for further info, or come and see my operation. I have 3 macs here, all working away just fine.
I know this will start the usual pro-PC bullshit, but truth will prevail for those with open minds. Oh yeah ... the major point of the PC apologists is that there are much fewer games for macs. This is true. So, if you are one of those losers who sit at their computer for hours and hours playing computer games, slaying dragons and flying rockets, like an 8 year old, then the PC is for you. Being a member of this board, which represents an active hobby, as contrasted to couch/computer potatoes, I doubt games are important.

Examine your real needs carefully, and then look at macs.

 

[CyberGoth]

I've been experiementing with porting linux based server daemons to MAC OS-X 10.2 on a titanium powerbook.... very nice.

OS-X is the most usable unix I've ever encountered.

I wish they'd port that OS to x86 hardware.

 

[oldjones]

Another macster

Anyone using vintage Mac here, such as Mac colour classic ?

Not quite that vintage, but no longer supported by Apple. They've been trouble-free so who cares? MacOS 8.6 on a PPC8500 with video in/out and two monitors (I did add a new video-card) and a PowerBook 3400c ethernetted to share the HSE modem.

Re: the Apple cost factor. Isn't it a bit like the guy who buys the less expensive house in the 'burbs, then spends all his 'savings' year after year on new cars, gas and upkeep to manage the commute that robs him of a coupla hours a day? Maybe he'd have been happier, home sooner and about as poor/rich if he'd ponied up for the 'spensive in-town house and ridden the rocket.

I bought my computers, like my cars, second-hand for less than the equivalent new P2-3's of the time, and didn't have to add that video card, or anything to network them (OK a hub). Unlike my PC friends, I've never had to summon an expert (or 10 yr old boy) to 'fix my computer'. If I wanted I could upgrade to G-level on the 8500. The only downside seems to be games which are few; 'useful' software for the Mac covers everything I've ever thought of doing, and for graphics the proggies are sometimes earlier/better than for the darkside.

It would be foolish to exclude Macs if you want to make the best decision. But, as I've heard it said: YMMV

Sorry you asked Berlin?

 

[Berlin]

Another macster

peteeey, oldjones,
may be you folks can gimme some pointers.

I got a Mac Colour Classic ( OS 8 , I think ) as a gift from a friend, in perfect condition. The thing is, I want to use it for just some word processing, but I have no idea what kind of new printers are compatiable/available for Mac CC. I believe, gut-wise, the Mac CC is similar to the performa series...correct me if I am wrong.

The friend that bought me the Mac is no Mac user, may be you guys can help. And much thanks in advance.

Mac CC is so freekin' cute, I just don't want to see it hanging around collecting dust. And I am seriously considering getting the discontinued Cube as well... it's so quiet, just love the design.

Another Mac gear I want to get is the 'emate'. Don't ask me why, I just love the shape of that thing.

 

[Beldivok]

hmm there was a post inquiring about the difference between AMD and intell...

what are the differences....
price... intell more expensive.
heat... on average AMD generates more heat although the gap narrows.
AMD has 3dnow bilt in I think these instructions help 3d games etc...
intell has mmx which iproves multimedia performance...

intell historically is slightly better at raw math / floating point calculations. as such for business apps / servers a little better.

amd is more over clockable and slightly better for Games....


IMHO Intell is a beter chip and is more supported by software developers gameing included...

HOWEVER the main advantage to intell isn't the chip itself but the chipsets.... if you hot a goo processor but bad chipset your screwed.... I've seen a p200 work better than a piii 1 g or equal... right now the new intell chipset rocks the computer world...
besure to get eith an intel board or {my recomendation } asus....

I admit I patronize asus too much but they are reliable quality...

Anyway the computer will only be as fast as your components so if you get a crazy fast cpu and a chipset that isn't you will be very disapointed. awesome chipset with decent cpu and you'll be surprised at how well it works...


I'm running a AMD 2100 bought a year ago.... 1 GB RAM
asus a7v333 mainboard.... via 333 chipset...
WD 80 gb hdd in a mirror array casue my maxtor craped out on me so I though I'd get the 8 mb cach... nice to bad I'm a computer consultant and need the redundancy puting them in a stripped arraw would be wild...

oppss geek speak.... don't worry guys there are 2 things I like more than computers sex and food ... hmmm maybe not the food

 

[Berlin]

Mac and PC

PC: is MSI board any good ? I used ASUS before, but a store I visited was recommending MSI.

----------------------------------

Mac: regarding my Mac Colour Classic post, any advise ?


Much thanks in advance.

 

[LoveThemGirls]

Re: Mac and PC

PC: is MSI board any good ? I used ASUS before, but a store I visited was recommending MSI.

Be warned, I bought the MSI K7N2G-ILSR board on the weekend, it's incompatible with Kingmax memory and most generic memory. Now I have to search for Samsung or Crucial memory (I'm using my friend's Samsung in it which works). Big hassle that I don't need, also the board is a bit smaller than a standard ATX form factor, so the screws don't line up between the case and the board. I was much happier with my old ASUS A7V board.

 

[oldjones]

Re: Another macster

peteeey, oldjones,
may be you folks can gimme some pointers.

I got a Mac Colour Classic ( OS 8 , I think )…but I have no idea what kind of new printers are compatiable/available for Mac CC.…And I am seriously considering getting the discontinued Cube as well

Berlin, you've probably already noticed a distinct lack of USB pluggability on the CC, which pretty much eliminates new printers—except through networking to a USB equipped Mac. Or to an older Mac with a printer using LocalTalk protocol via the Printer port, I assume the CC has a modem port as well, it can take the [old] printer. CPUsed on Dupont (www.cpused) sells second-hand Mac stuff, and may have a printer for you. Nick at Clickon! Eastern at Broadview ditto, and he has old software too. Or there's ebay.
If I see the Cube first, you may have to fight me for it.
BTW clicking on the Apple top L of screen, then on "About this computer" will tell you exactly what OS you've got, OS 8 can upgrade to 8.6 with free d/l s from Apple's website.
Keep in mind that's a piece of history: a 68xxx CPU, long since supplanted by the PowerPC chip. But Word4 (and Excel) ran on my 68K Macs, and there's an all-in-one suite: ClarisWorks (later re-named Appleworks) from v.2 up to version 5 (v.6 is for OSX) that'll give you word processing, drawing, painting, spreadsheet,and database—new retail was app. CAD$100—with lot's less memory/HD footprint. CW2.1 was very respectably featured, stable and competent, v.3 to 5 just added small touches (URL integration etc).
There's a Usenet group:
alt.binaries.mac.applications.retro
you might check into, (as well as the non-retro group) and a bunch of groups under comp.sys.mac.
Happy days.

 

[Beldivok]

msi and gigabit have some good boards

but aren't as a whole as reliable.... so you usually have to investigate their product alittle more.
it just seems that asus produces on average better boards. I just choose the chipset I'm looking for and find asus mainboard with it and be sure that the other feature I'm looking for is there too....

 

[Berlin]

Mac, PC

LoveThemGirls, Beldivok :
Thanks for the advise on MSI motherboards. I think I shall opt for Asus again for my new system. I don't know why but the pc store was really pushing hard for MSI, and all my older systems use Asus.


oldjones :
thanks for the advise on Mac CC. I will be using the Mac for minor word processing, nothing major really. I think I should be able to get some compatiable hard/software @ the places you mentioned. And the Cube..... o yes, such an amazing, lovely thing.

Major thanks again for all your valuable input ,guys!
Have a great weekend.

 

[Alien (<>..<>)]

I always wondered why that miniscule population that uses MAC are still stuck with those PC's when they are incompatible to almost everything in the "normal" computer world. This is a Microsoft world guys, who would want to own a MAC and not be able to buy all those popular software titles out there? I wouldn't want one even for free, nice looks but too alien.