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Computers

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Sage
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Posted: Tuesday January 6th, 2004 06:55

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For those of us who are looking for a computer that won't kill us on cost but at the same time, don't want to sacrifice quality,
which brand do you recommend, Dell, Gateway, Apple, etc...?

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Posted: Tuesday January 6th, 2004 19:50

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Ashanti,

Personally now has never been a better time to buy computers, there are so many to choose from and because the IT realm is always evolving. Last years top spec Computer will be old hat by this time next year. I would say evaluate what you want to do on your computer, this may be coding, running Video software, gaming etc. Once you have done this, then go out there any buy a PC, I personally like Dell computers as there computers are exteremely, robust & well built, plus they have superb technical support etc.

But in saying that I picked up a Packard bell pushing 2 GHZ, 256 Ram which I am going to increase with a module to 512K, DVD re-writer for a �100 in curry's. It was the bargain of the century basically I saw an add in my local papers, saying X demo Pc's for sale. I went down there, and because nuff of these IT managers in these stores couldn't tell you what an operating system is I just blagged it and came out with absolute bargain.

Keep your eyes open.

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Posted: Wednesday January 7th, 2004 00:54

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@ Conkers

Much appreciation for your reply. I've had my eye on Dell because I keep reading and hearing positive things about their product. Again thanks for your help.
Ashanti

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Posted: Wednesday January 7th, 2004 01:15

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hi Ashanti i think Dells are good computers but these it is so much cheaper to have a computer built for you. I'm not sure about over in the US but over in the UK there are many people that can build you a state of the art computer for a cheap price. Shopping around is the best option. blktype

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Posted: Wednesday January 7th, 2004 01:25

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Hi Authordox...

Well according to Dell's commercials that are running over here, they can build a computer to suit your needs. But I will keep looking, I don't think there is a person on this planet, that is more cheap, uhhh... I mean more frugal than me. blkbrukteet

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Posted: Wednesday January 7th, 2004 08:26

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^{Does n e one know where to buy aflat screen monitor (preferably silver) for my comp, doesnt have to be very wide and no more than �250 (preferably brand new). Thanks}

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Posted: Wednesday January 7th, 2004 12:30

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BlackBeauty wrote:
Does n e one know where to buy aflat screen monitor (preferably silver) for my comp, doesnt have to be very wide and no more than �250 (preferably brand new).

See Samsung TFT Monitors at bottom of the linked page.
http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/

Offer might not be there by the time you look though, so move fast!

Regards,
TechNoir.

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Posted: Wednesday January 7th, 2004 18:47

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Blackbeauty,

TFT screens are coming down in price, there are loads of places. Try PC world I saw a couple silver ones in there the other day, or even comet.

blkscholar

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Posted: Thursday January 8th, 2004 02:47

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^{This isnt to do with computers. But does n e one know if a DVD can be connected and will work with a TV/Video in one system?}

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Posted: Thursday January 8th, 2004 03:02

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@BlackBeauty

Yeah... if they have a SCART or AV socket... there shouldn't be any problem...

Ijexa

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Posted: Thursday January 8th, 2004 03:51

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^{Thank u!!!}

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Posted: Thursday January 8th, 2004 06:23

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Any Mac heads out there, I need a Power PC laptop power adapter... Of course on the cheap.. low down dirty cheap.... anyone come or know of where I can get one let us know

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Posted: Friday January 16th, 2004 21:01

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Ashanti wrote: Hi Authordox...

Well according to Dell's commercials that are running over here, they can build a computer to suit your needs. But I will keep looking, I don't think there is a person on this planet, that is more cheap, uhhh... I mean more frugal than me. blkbrukteet

Ashanti -

Im a Dell fan myself (but their customer/tech support leaves much to be desired); however, I stick with them because their computers are very robust. But they are not cheap! By the time you've added all the basic stuff you need, your cost will by far exceed any of their advertised prices! you can also pretty much tell Dell what specs to build your computer to or you can tell them what you want to use the comptuter for and they will recommend a configuration for you.

HPs are ok - but people dont seem to like them much. I own a HP desktop that I picked up at an auction for $85.00 and its working perfectly with great office software already installed! (a good HP will probably cost you about $1000-$1200). if you are trying to buy a computer for basic family/home use, and frugality is your midddle name, you can also try eMachines which have really come a long way over the past 5 years or so and are very inexpensive. (probably cost $600-$800) However, if you are going to use the PC for alot of gaming or heavy business applications, I would get the Dell. (will probably run you around $1500.00 though)

Happy shopping!

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Posted: Friday January 16th, 2004 21:28

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@ Happiness

Thanks so much for that info. I appreciate it.

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Posted: Monday January 19th, 2004 20:18

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Technoir, Ijexa or Justavoice: I'm thinking ver seriously about converting to an Applemac...(might get myself a laptop,) can anyone advise me is it possible to set up a network linking an apple to two other pc's that run Windows software.. if so can it be done using wireless technology. My other pc's are currently linked (with via cables,) using the main pc as the gateway for the other (if that makes sense.)

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Posted: Tuesday January 20th, 2004 00:23

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@KunJuFu

There shouldn't be any problems whatsoever with networking an AppleMac within a Windows based TCP/IP environment... both platforms have lapover technologies of which the most common is the previously mentioned TCP/IP...

Slight differences in terms of user interface... but the basic networking procedures are the same...

Not to sure about laptops... but Apple DeskTop machines have an unenviable reputation when comparing like for like with Wintel based machines...

Ijexa

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Posted: Thursday January 22nd, 2004 02:30

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Once you have built your own pc, or had someone build one for you. You will hate manufacturer built machines, I do. But unless you know a friend who is very knowledable or trustworthy, I would just get either a DELL, IBM or HP. I have had a lot of problems with packard bells for some reason. I feel all the other makes, they seem to trade quality for price.

If you need any advice on what specs to look for feel free to ask for some advice.

As for the question about macs and pc's on a network. As far as I know it should work. I know that you can share internet between them fine, but as for file sharing I am not 100% sure, but there is bound to be some software on the internet somewhere if not.

Last edited on Thursday January 22nd, 2004 02:32 by Nick

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Posted: Thursday January 22nd, 2004 06:34

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i managed to get a compaq pc at an ok price. being feamle i had already done my research and compared many different makes. i knew the basic of what i wanted and when i went into the shops i showed them my checklist and advised what had to be on there as a neccessity. the benefits of working among computer and it folk all day

i might get a laptop soon

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Posted: Thursday January 22nd, 2004 10:27

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@Nick

Hmmmmm...?

***Scratches head***

Both systems... I think should support file sharing via NFS... and I think there's also freeware versions of Appleshare for windows...

Have only ever worked with Appleshare and NFS for connecting Apples to UNIX servers... so haven't evaluated how they connect directly between Windows and MAC OS's...

@All

Anybody knows what happened to SoftWindows on the MacIntosh...?

Ijexa

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Posted: Friday January 23rd, 2004 02:10

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Ijexa wrote:
@All

Anybody knows what happened to SoftWindows on the MacIntosh...?

Don't know.

What I do know is that a similar product called VirtualPC for Mac was bought by Microsoft last year from the original developers Connectix.

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/virtualpc/virtualpc.aspx?pid=virtualpc

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Posted: Friday January 23rd, 2004 06:00

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Not really a mac person, but isn't the latest os meant to be based on linux?

I actually know a friend who has a Mac and a PC on a network together, when I'm next round I will see if I can get any info about it.

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Posted: Friday January 23rd, 2004 07:14

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Nick wrote:
Not really a mac person, but isn't the latest os meant to be based on linux?

No, but close. Mac OS X is a descendant of the NeXTstep operating system. It has a hybrid kernel fusing elements of Mach and FreeBSD with a FreeBSD userland. At the command line it looks like Unix, just like Linux hence the confusion. They call the underlying OS, Darwin and make it available on an open-source basis. On top of that they have implemented a sophisticated GUI called Aqua which is not based on X11.

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Posted: Friday January 23rd, 2004 11:03

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@TechNoir

Thanks for the info on the demise of SoftWindows...

***Shakes head***

But disappointed that they sold out to Microsoft...

Ijexa

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Posted: Sunday January 25th, 2004 06:23

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Let's start with all computers are "von Neumann machines"

http://presidentjackson.no-ip.org/knavelacademy/vonmach01.html

The most extensive benchmark I have seen on computers was in the January 1983 issue of BYTE MAGAZINE. I never saw the word "benchmark" in the 4 years I worked at IBM. The Series 1 was one of the computers I was trained on. In the BYTE test the Series 1 took 38 seconds running COBOL. The IBM 3033 mainframe was 300 times as fast running COBOL. That mainfram cost 1 to 2.5 million dollars depending on configuration. The fastest machine was the 3033 running assembly language which was 10 times as fast as COBOL. Assembly language is the fastest possible language and the programmer has to know the internals of the CPU. It is a pain in the ass to program.

The article includes the source code in multiple languages so I ran it on my 533 MHz machine in C under Mandrake Linux. My computer beat the 3033 running assembly language. Since assembly is normally 2 or 3 times as fast as C, I estimate a 300 MHz computer is about equal to an IBM 3033 mainframe circa 1983. Such a machine would process 10,000 checks an hour in a bank.

I think the best buy these days is a used computer not less than 300 MHz. It is more powerful than most people can make the most use of. it just may not run THE LATEST games. Buy the latest computer and loose a lot in depreciation.

I bought a 166 MHz machine for $85. Took out the 3 gig drive and put in a 40 gig. I'm running Red Hat Linux on it.

I think Black people worldwide should standardize on Linux.

Knave of Spades

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Posted: Sunday January 25th, 2004 09:29

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Knave of Spades wrote:
I think the best buy these days is a used computer not less than 300 MHz. It is more powerful than most people can make the most use of. it just may not run THE LATEST games. Buy the latest computer and loose a lot in depreciation.

Funnily enough, I seem to have subconsciously adopted this strategy. The last two machines I have purchased were used but refurbished laptops. One is an IBM Thinkpad with a 300MHz CPU and the other is a Toshiba Portege with a 650MHz CPU. I have had the RAM and HD upgraded on the Thinkpad.

I think Black people worldwide should standardize on Linux.

I'm not going to argue with you. The Thinkpad runs Slackware Linux, the Portege dual boots Windows 2000 and Slackware as I have a no XP policy.

Furthermore, I know at least one black organisation that has extensively deployed Linux to the point where they only have one Windows server left and they are actively working on migrating its functions to a Linux server.

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Posted: Sunday January 23rd, 2005 20:07

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Softwindows (and realpc) were sold to FWB software. http://www.fwb.com.

They have subsequently decided not to continue developement.

If you search there site for realpc you get to see a copy of there press release

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Posted: Monday January 24th, 2005 20:26

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One thing to bear in mind in regards to these cheap pc's nowadays is their operating system that comes with the pc. If you are going to buy one of these, ask the store assistant whether their is a full version disk of windows xp comes with the pc, or a recovery disk.

A friend of mine bought a pc from Time somewhile back. It only came with a recovery disk and not a full version of XP. When he ran into problems, he couldn't recover any of the information that he had on his pc and subsequently had to reformat his pc.

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