O/T Computers (Specs etc)
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mike johnson
Re: O/T Computers (Specs etc)
Addendum-of course, some find it a benefit w/ a Mac that they can thumb their noses at Microsoft. They are less susceptible to viruses.
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mike johnson
Re: O/T Computers (Specs etc)
You know more about this than i do, magoo,(not hard as i know nothing) but try going to download.com & searching databases;filter at bottom & you will find 100+ free programs for Windows. I think tho that perhaps you just need a file manager, like maybe Terabyte1.1, also free but a large DL at 4.75 MB. Or maybe even an image viewer? Anyone know??
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crofter
Re: O/T Computers (Specs etc)
just one point Magoo, would stear well clear of the Apple Mac if you are using it to surf the net, because a lot of software, mpeg joiners, players etc, are not compatible or even released for Apple Mac, just bear that in mind.
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EC
Re: O/T Computers (Specs etc)
I'm currently running the latest version of GirlFriend and I've been having some problems lately. I've been running the same version of DrinkingBuddies 1.0 forever as my primary application, and all the GirlFriend releases I've tried have always conflicted with it.
I hear that DrinkingBuddies won't crash if GirlFriend is run in background mode and the sound is turned off. But I'm embarrassed to say I can't find the switch to turn the sound off. I just run them separately, and it works okay.
Girlfriend also seems to have a problem co-existing with my Golf program, often trying to abort Golf with some sort of timing incompatibility.
I probably should have stayed with GirlFriend 1.0, but I thought I might see better performance from GirlFriend 2.0. After months of conflicts and other problems, I consulted a friend who has had experience with GirlFriend 2.0. He said I probably didn't have enough cache to run GirlFriend 2.0, and eventually it would require a Token Ring to run properly. He was right - as soon as I purged my cache, it uninstalled itself.
Shortly after that, I installed GirlFriend 3.0 beta. All the bugs were supposed to be gone, but the first time I used it, it gave me a virus anyway. I had to clean out my whole system and shut down for a while.
I very cautiously upgraded to GirlFriend 4.0. This time I used a SCSI probe first and also installed a virus protection program. It worked okay for a while until I discovered that GirlFriend 1.0 was still in my system.
I tried running GirlFriend 1.0 again with GirlFriend 4.0 still installed, but GirlFriend 4.0 has a feature I didn't know about that automatically senses the presence of any other version of GirlFriend and communicates with it in some way, which results in the immediate removal of both versions.
The version I have now works pretty well, but there are still some problems. Like all versions of GirlFriend, it is written in some obscure language I can't understand, much less reprogram. Frankly I think there is too much attention paid to the look and feel rather than the desired functionality. Also, to get the best connections with your hardware, you usually have to use gold-plated contacts. And I've never liked how GirlFriend is totally "object-oriented."
A year ago, a friend of mine upgraded his version of GirlFriend to GirlFriendPlus 1.0, which is a Terminate and Stay Resident version of GirlFriend. He discovered that GirlFriendPlus 1.0 expires within a year if you don't upgrade to Fiancee 1.0. So he did, but soon after that, he had to upgrade to Wife 1.0, which he describes as a huge resource hog. It has taken up all his space, so he can't load anything else.
One of the primary reasons he decided to go with Wife 1.0 was because it came bundled with FreeSexPlus.
Well, it turns out the resource allocation module of Wife 1.0 sometimes prohibits access to FreeSexPlus, particularly the new Plug-Ins he wanted to try. On top of that, Wife 1.0 must be running on a well warmed-up system before he can do anything. Although he did not ask for it, Wife 1.0 came with MotherInLaw which has an automatic pop-up feature he can't turn off.
I told him to try installing Mistress 1.0, but he said he heard if you try to run it without first uninstalling Wife 1.0, Wife 1.0 will delete MSMoney files before doing the uninstall itself. Then Mistress 1.0 won't install anyway because of insufficient resources.
I hear that DrinkingBuddies won't crash if GirlFriend is run in background mode and the sound is turned off. But I'm embarrassed to say I can't find the switch to turn the sound off. I just run them separately, and it works okay.
Girlfriend also seems to have a problem co-existing with my Golf program, often trying to abort Golf with some sort of timing incompatibility.
I probably should have stayed with GirlFriend 1.0, but I thought I might see better performance from GirlFriend 2.0. After months of conflicts and other problems, I consulted a friend who has had experience with GirlFriend 2.0. He said I probably didn't have enough cache to run GirlFriend 2.0, and eventually it would require a Token Ring to run properly. He was right - as soon as I purged my cache, it uninstalled itself.
Shortly after that, I installed GirlFriend 3.0 beta. All the bugs were supposed to be gone, but the first time I used it, it gave me a virus anyway. I had to clean out my whole system and shut down for a while.
I very cautiously upgraded to GirlFriend 4.0. This time I used a SCSI probe first and also installed a virus protection program. It worked okay for a while until I discovered that GirlFriend 1.0 was still in my system.
I tried running GirlFriend 1.0 again with GirlFriend 4.0 still installed, but GirlFriend 4.0 has a feature I didn't know about that automatically senses the presence of any other version of GirlFriend and communicates with it in some way, which results in the immediate removal of both versions.
The version I have now works pretty well, but there are still some problems. Like all versions of GirlFriend, it is written in some obscure language I can't understand, much less reprogram. Frankly I think there is too much attention paid to the look and feel rather than the desired functionality. Also, to get the best connections with your hardware, you usually have to use gold-plated contacts. And I've never liked how GirlFriend is totally "object-oriented."
A year ago, a friend of mine upgraded his version of GirlFriend to GirlFriendPlus 1.0, which is a Terminate and Stay Resident version of GirlFriend. He discovered that GirlFriendPlus 1.0 expires within a year if you don't upgrade to Fiancee 1.0. So he did, but soon after that, he had to upgrade to Wife 1.0, which he describes as a huge resource hog. It has taken up all his space, so he can't load anything else.
One of the primary reasons he decided to go with Wife 1.0 was because it came bundled with FreeSexPlus.
Well, it turns out the resource allocation module of Wife 1.0 sometimes prohibits access to FreeSexPlus, particularly the new Plug-Ins he wanted to try. On top of that, Wife 1.0 must be running on a well warmed-up system before he can do anything. Although he did not ask for it, Wife 1.0 came with MotherInLaw which has an automatic pop-up feature he can't turn off.
I told him to try installing Mistress 1.0, but he said he heard if you try to run it without first uninstalling Wife 1.0, Wife 1.0 will delete MSMoney files before doing the uninstall itself. Then Mistress 1.0 won't install anyway because of insufficient resources.
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P R Mann
Re: O/T Computers (Specs etc)
Mike Johnson wrote:
>
> Yeah but any Apple machine costs about half-again what a
> comparable PC does,
So what? My Merc cost four times the price of a family saloon but it's not four times better - however it is beautifully screwed together and it gives one an enormous sense of well being driving down the road in it. To all those people who drive Mercs (and there's one on every street corner nowadays) these qualities are obviously worth paying considerably more for. Forget about ?cheap this? and ?cheap that? - you could end up getting labelled a cheap bum and cheapskate - like Allan.
& you are stuck w/ a proprietary (dare I
> say monopolistic?) vendor.
Ha! The pot calling the Kettle! Microsoft escaped being busted up by the Clinton administration by the skin of their teeth for being guilty of the very crime you allege. It was only George Bush who let Bill Gates of the hook.
Fewer people work on them so they
> can charge more. They are harder & costlier to
> upgrade.
It's true that fewer people work on Macs and as a consequence they can charge more - as with any specialist service. But what you find is the people that do work on them are much more professional and clued up - not like with PC's where you might get 'Dagenham Dave' the divi electrician claiming to be a computer systems engineer and fucking your pride and joy up because in actual fact he hasn't got a clue about computing and electronics beyond wiring your cooker up.
There's nothing hard about upgrading a Mac - You just release a catch on the side and it magical unfolds revealing the memory, drives, expansion cards, etc. Yes, they are probably costlier to upgrade, but not that much.
Software is either much slower in coming to Macs or
> more often, doesnt come at all.
This is a misleading statement. Major cross platform programs like Adobe Photoshop Macromedia Dreamweaver are released simultaneously. Programs like Microsoft Office have release dates geared to each individual platform as versions for Mac and PC are developed separately; in fact the last version of Office for Mac had many features in it that hadn't yet appeared in the PC version. The PC crew had to wait for their version to catch up! The programs that "don't come at all? you do not need and they are not worth having. Yes, there is the odd thing that is available for PC but not Mac but these things are very specialised and unless you?re into some very esoteric field of computing and digital art you will not even know they exist. Everything the home, small business, and of course graphics, printing and digital art studios need is available for Mac in spades. For fuck sake how many spreadsheets, databases, word processors etc do you need on one computer?
>You have to learn a new OS
Yes, but it's much nicer, friendlier an easier to use - as Bill Gates realized when he saw the first Mac GUI and though he better try and copy it, stick it on top of his horrible code and call it "Windows"
> quality-wise, they are only average.
To that absurd statement I can only say "Cobblers!" PC's are built down to a cost. Macs by virtue of them being proprietary must all be built to a high standard. They frequently exhibit cutting edge computer design - like the latest I Mac for instance - that PC makers then try to emulate.
P R Mann ? Hey Jobs, how about a job or at least a well stuffed brown envelope? (Steve Jobs is to Apple what Gates is to Microsoft)
>
> Yeah but any Apple machine costs about half-again what a
> comparable PC does,
So what? My Merc cost four times the price of a family saloon but it's not four times better - however it is beautifully screwed together and it gives one an enormous sense of well being driving down the road in it. To all those people who drive Mercs (and there's one on every street corner nowadays) these qualities are obviously worth paying considerably more for. Forget about ?cheap this? and ?cheap that? - you could end up getting labelled a cheap bum and cheapskate - like Allan.
& you are stuck w/ a proprietary (dare I
> say monopolistic?) vendor.
Ha! The pot calling the Kettle! Microsoft escaped being busted up by the Clinton administration by the skin of their teeth for being guilty of the very crime you allege. It was only George Bush who let Bill Gates of the hook.
Fewer people work on them so they
> can charge more. They are harder & costlier to
> upgrade.
It's true that fewer people work on Macs and as a consequence they can charge more - as with any specialist service. But what you find is the people that do work on them are much more professional and clued up - not like with PC's where you might get 'Dagenham Dave' the divi electrician claiming to be a computer systems engineer and fucking your pride and joy up because in actual fact he hasn't got a clue about computing and electronics beyond wiring your cooker up.
There's nothing hard about upgrading a Mac - You just release a catch on the side and it magical unfolds revealing the memory, drives, expansion cards, etc. Yes, they are probably costlier to upgrade, but not that much.
Software is either much slower in coming to Macs or
> more often, doesnt come at all.
This is a misleading statement. Major cross platform programs like Adobe Photoshop Macromedia Dreamweaver are released simultaneously. Programs like Microsoft Office have release dates geared to each individual platform as versions for Mac and PC are developed separately; in fact the last version of Office for Mac had many features in it that hadn't yet appeared in the PC version. The PC crew had to wait for their version to catch up! The programs that "don't come at all? you do not need and they are not worth having. Yes, there is the odd thing that is available for PC but not Mac but these things are very specialised and unless you?re into some very esoteric field of computing and digital art you will not even know they exist. Everything the home, small business, and of course graphics, printing and digital art studios need is available for Mac in spades. For fuck sake how many spreadsheets, databases, word processors etc do you need on one computer?
>You have to learn a new OS
Yes, but it's much nicer, friendlier an easier to use - as Bill Gates realized when he saw the first Mac GUI and though he better try and copy it, stick it on top of his horrible code and call it "Windows"
> quality-wise, they are only average.
To that absurd statement I can only say "Cobblers!" PC's are built down to a cost. Macs by virtue of them being proprietary must all be built to a high standard. They frequently exhibit cutting edge computer design - like the latest I Mac for instance - that PC makers then try to emulate.
P R Mann ? Hey Jobs, how about a job or at least a well stuffed brown envelope? (Steve Jobs is to Apple what Gates is to Microsoft)
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richy
Re: O/T Computers (Specs etc)
Let's just dispel a few myths, here. Processors - the speed of your processor has absolutely no bearing on how fast you can surf and download, that's governed by your connection and modem speed, and particularly the demand on the web in total. You can have the fastest processor known to man, but when scanning or printing, for instance, the speed is ultimately governed by the hardware. For basic surfing and wordprocessing, you can get away with a very small disc, even as small as 10GB. A huge (ie: 60+)
capacity will just make available more storage space than you'll need, and waste you money in the process. If you need to store videos/games/pictures etc, fine, but simple text uses very little space. Which leads on to RAM - if you want to run XP, it will run with 128MB, but this leaves very little un-used. Better to go for 256MB, it will run better. Also, if you do a lot of scanning, you will need to double that figure to 512MB, particularly if you scan in a high resolution, as this really eats up RAM. Think of RAM as 'working memory' and hard disc as permanent memory (but deletable nonetheless), and you'll get some idea of useage requirements. Modern games need all this speed/RAM/HD space/latest video cards etc., simple surfing and word processing needs none of this. I reckon a minimal system for around ?600 would suffice, but take your time. It took me three months to choose my system, and ultimately it may all come down to delivery/warranty/service.
capacity will just make available more storage space than you'll need, and waste you money in the process. If you need to store videos/games/pictures etc, fine, but simple text uses very little space. Which leads on to RAM - if you want to run XP, it will run with 128MB, but this leaves very little un-used. Better to go for 256MB, it will run better. Also, if you do a lot of scanning, you will need to double that figure to 512MB, particularly if you scan in a high resolution, as this really eats up RAM. Think of RAM as 'working memory' and hard disc as permanent memory (but deletable nonetheless), and you'll get some idea of useage requirements. Modern games need all this speed/RAM/HD space/latest video cards etc., simple surfing and word processing needs none of this. I reckon a minimal system for around ?600 would suffice, but take your time. It took me three months to choose my system, and ultimately it may all come down to delivery/warranty/service.
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Matt
Re: O/T Computers (Specs etc)
I recently bought a second hand computer for use down under - what I needed to ask myself was what I wanted it for - that is what determines the specs ou should be looking for. Personally I don't care for gaming much so the whole graphics thing wasn't important to me at all. I have a 566 celeron processor which is ample for my needs, 368 ram and 20gig hard drive. This is fine. CPU could be a little faster, but for what reason? As said, it doesn't effect internet speed and that's all I really do on it. There's a certain pull to get the fastest, biggest etc. computers out there - don't fall for it. Get what you need and stay put 
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Crimpo
Re: O/T Computers (Specs etc)
Matt just hit the nail on the head - my comp is 3 years old and beside upgrading witha cD-writer it still does everything I need. Sure the new comps have better performance but I don't need it just now. If I was buying a comp from start I'd get just less than the current top spec - it can come in an awful lot cheaper!
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richy
Re: O/T Computers (Specs etc)
Just what I was trying to say, Matt, but you've done it without having a pop at the Nerds !!!! I could learn something, here.