Galt's Gulch

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  • Posted by $ TomB666 8 years, 9 months ago
    I think a lot of performance problems are Windows related. Ubuntu is a Linux operating system that has a pretty good GUI (Graphical User Interface). It loads much faster and shuts down much faster and generally performs better then the same computer with Windows.

    Trouble is there are things I can't do because I do not know the commands to use when the GUI won't do it. In these cases I reboot into Windows, do whatever it is, and then come back into Ubuntu.

    By the way, can any body recommend a site to learn Linux commands?
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    • Posted by ewv 8 years, 9 months ago
      Windows requires more powerful hardware because it does more. It also becomes cluttered over time and needs to be reinstalled, which requires reconfiguring and reinstalling all the programs you use. XP typically requires reinstalling every couple of years and now greatly benefits from more than the 1 GB memory that was the maximum on earlier pcs it was sold with.

      Running linux requires that you know more about how it works and where things are in the file system than windows. The commands and scripting depend on which shell you use, and the commands you need to use for system maintenance like updating programs depends on the version of linux. For the commonly used bash shell look at Learning the bash Shell by Newham & Rosenblatt. In general look at the O'Reilly publisher for that and other linux books. You can also run bash on windows along with many other linux programs compiled for windows in the Cygwin system https://cygwin.com/.
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 8 years, 9 months ago
    I asked a college student last fall where the best deals on new computers was. He said Tiger Direct. I bought one and had no problems. I didn't shop it, though, to confirm it was a good price.
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    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 9 months ago
      Price wise they are a tad higher than Amazon Theh are the old Comp USA. Amazon is less expensive and the least expensive is Computer Depot I mentioned earlier. the one I have now came from an Amazon dealer but not Amazon. Bought three that time - one for every student in the family. One is going back on the one year guarantee. All ae refurbished coming off lease. My three came from the Smithsonian Institute.All five are Dell 6400 series W7 with 4 GByte Ram and four with 160 Gbyte HD one with 500 gbyte HD all with new windows software but I use open office instead. Average cost $160 per computer.The exception machine has a software problem with the view screen. The sixth was a Gateway desk top with the laptop size computer hanging on back of a rather large screen. We got that in time for World Cup playoffs. 8gbyte RAM 500 gbyte HD. Of the two new to me ones I get one again and the other goes to another university level student. the family saved for a year so Id got the best deal I could. That's five not four Dell 6400s and the gateway for $950.00 three Amazon, two computer depot and one Tigerdirect. One needed a new battery within four months which thorugh Amazon was $20.00.. Worked OK but not unplugged. All I did was give up 50% of my restaurant meals for several months. Anyways ....thats how I do it. And I still have a Panasonic toughbook on the boat for navigation using XP. I use it as a backup.
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  • Posted by SaltyDog 8 years, 9 months ago
    Take a look at MacBooks, Rocky. My first MacBook Pro is 15 years old and still working. My latest one, a MacBook Air runs a program called Parallels which allows me to run Windows as well as the Mac operating system. Macs are initially more expensive, but over time the far more economical choice.
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    • Posted by freedomforall 8 years, 9 months ago
      My Compaq transportable from 1985 still works, too. There is no comparison between that 30 yr old computer and your 15 yr old macbook. The same thing can be said comparing the 15 yr old macbook to modern laptops. It still works but its functionally obsolete for many things we expect a computer to do well today. That is true of all brands. The rate of change in performance has slowed in the past 5 years, so today's computers have a better chance to be useful 10 years hence in that respect, but there will probably be additional functionality coming along to herd today's generation into oblivion long before then. imo ;^)
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  • Posted by nicktheitguy 8 years, 9 months ago
    As an I.T. Guy, I normally point folks to Dell Outlet. Say someone specs a machine out at Dell, and it is built and shipped to them. Then returned or the shipment refused for some reason, Dell refurbs it and puts it on Dell Outlet for cheap, with the SAME factory warranty. Laptops, Desktops, and even Servers can be purchased there. My previous manager went to a new place and was buying servers for his new place at almost half the price. http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/22/ca...
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    • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 8 years, 9 months ago
      My 1st laptop was a Dell. It died an early and horrible death. No more Dell's for me.
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      • Posted by nicktheitguy 8 years, 9 months ago
        About 10 years or so ago, Dell laptops sucked bad...and I did not recommend them, but HP was solid. About 5-7 years ago, HP's started sucking bad...Google for DV Death. The DV series had a major problem with the boards going right after the warranty expired. At that time I recommended Dell laptops, but the Dell Desktops (GX270 series) had major board issues, so I recommended HP for Desktops. In the past few years, I have seen a few bad HP Desktop boards, so for the time being, I'm recommending Dell for both laptops and desktops...until the pendulum swings again. If you get their Complete Care coverage, it covers "accidents" such as an adult beverage spilled on it or it flying off the top of your car (while moving) and shattering (both of which I have had to call in under warranty at the office). Good luck with whatever you choose!
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  • Posted by yadaoser 8 years, 9 months ago
    Be careful with Apple. They were the ultimate government setup. The California congresscritters arranged for Apple to sell machines at wholesale to schools and deduct them at retail. Without that the S100 computers would have wiped them out.
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  • Posted by ewv 8 years, 9 months ago
    If you want the latest technology you will pay disproportionately more for it. If that is what you want then don't bother with the big name brands like Dell cutting costs to sell cheap and later jacking the prices for repairs with an impossible to deal with support bureaucracy.

    Try the small company PCMaker in Waltham, MA. Their very simple web site is usually behind what they are selling so contact them directly for availability and prices. They use the standard Asian-made and assembled Compal components but match them optimally in their own system design, including the optional configurations available, all based on Intel for reliability (up to the latest I7 quad core 64b with 16Gb memory and dual SSDs). Though that means a near-custom design, the parts are reliable, standard, replacements remain available for years, and they have their own shop for reasonable repairs when needed over time.

    They are probably still making available windows and drivers as far back as win7 (64b), or up to date. (Windows 8 is terrible and whether or not 10 turns out to be acceptable don't use a new Windows OS for at least a year after it's released).

    But you pay more for that kind of quality and reliability with top grade hardware, not 'consumer' grade. They are small and so don't get the wholesale bulk discounts, including Windows, that the big companies do.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 9 months ago
    I started with computers. My first was a Kaypro. Mac's cost a lot more IBM Clones which is what MicroSoft computers used to be called mean following a strict set of rules.

    Never buy a microsoft software product until it's at least three years old. They routinely put out unfinished products and let the gullible public foot the bill for their beta testing, de bugging etc. When the system is almost the way it should have been at first retail sail they are three more debugging projects ahead. I just switched from XP to W7 if the timeline holds true my next one will be Windows 10.

    Second I look for deals. I routinely by refurbished laptops. and just two weeks ago bought two W7 with 4 Gb Ram and 500 gb hard drives at 2.8 speed.all with open office. What follows is the addition of Liunux. I had one bad experience that cost me $80 to fix Microsofts screen controller software. The rest I have yet to pay over $200. I prefer Dell, will not touch HP nor Acer.

    Were I buying top end though I'd keep it mind the service contract. That is their way of telling you something IS going to go wrong. Then get a less expensive back up machine. Amazing how much your work product will slow down when the machine is in the shop. Eight states away.I buy through Amazon, Tiger Direct and currently Discount Computer Depot.
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  • Posted by Ibecame 8 years, 9 months ago
    Apple.com - Apple won the technology game by improving both the hardware and operating system software and integrating them together. There are a vast number of hardware improvements in Apple computers that just are not available in PC's and Apple writes the code for their operating system to take full advantage of their hardware patents. I currently have a MacBook Pro that is 4 years old, and for the first time since I bought it I had to do a reset (for something stupid that I did). I only had one other problem in 4 years - a heat sink went bad and Apple had it back to me in two days. I have spent my life working with computers and this is what I have at home. CHEAPER, FASTER, BETTER, SMARTER, AND THE MOST IMPORTANT - LESS FRUSTRATING.
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  • Posted by $ sjatkins 8 years, 9 months ago
    It really depends what you are looking for and what you want to do with it. There is no reason you can't get a good enough price on a good for most things most people are likely to do laptop at Amazon, Best Buy, etc. Even 2-4 year old technology is plenty up to date for most needs.

    If you are more of a geek and are after a gaming machine or something that can do extreme graphics then perhaps I could see being more picky.

    If you are after a really good linux machine then checkout out the system76 web site. Linux pre-installed laptops, desktops and servers. They are good folks.
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  • Posted by $ Thoritsu 8 years, 9 months ago
    I like MicroCenter. They are online and in Cambridge MA. The employees there, really do know products, unlike car salesmen and other computer zeros.

    The real question is what are you going to use it for? Unless you are a serious gamer, doing hardcore Photoshop or engineering analysis, the best processor is a waste. More memory is far more important to usability and longevity. I have a multi screen setup, and 12 GB RAM, but an old dual core processor, and it serves me just fine. I bought an i7, Yoga pro, with 16GB RAM for my trip to Africa. It is great, but processor overkill for me. If you do buy new, USB 3.0 ports are awesome, and lightning fast. I use a port replicator as a dock for my Yoga and work laptops. This connects with a single USB3.0, and drives two separate monitors, the keyboard/mouse and Ethernet on RJ45. All I have to connect is the USB and power cord!

    My wife uses Macs. I got her into them for simplicity, and it really works. She has a 27" iMac, with a separate 27" monitor, just glorious screen space. With 16 GB RAM, she can open 10-20 files at once ad go nuts.
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  • Posted by Herb7734 8 years, 9 months ago
    Once upon a time, 20 year old stuff was old tech. Now it's 20 weeks. I never buy a new machine until the old one is unfixable. Old fashioned attitude. However, with that being said, within the last year I've had to buy a new screen, and a new printer. I must say that I like that skinny wide screen.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 9 months ago
    I started with computers. My first was a Kaypro. Mac's cost a lot more IBM Clones which is what MicroSoft computers used to be called mean following a strict set of rules.

    Never buy a microsoft software product until it's at least three years old. They routinely put out unfinished products and let the gullible public foot the bill for their beta testing, de bugging etc. When the system is almost the way it should have been at first retail sail they are three more debugging projects ahead. I just switched from XP to W7 if the timeline holds true my next one will be Windows 10.

    Second I look for deals. I routinely by refurbished laptops. and just two weeks ago bought two W7 with 4 Gb Ram and 500 gb hard drives at 2.8 speed.all with open office. What follows is the addition of Liunux. I had one bad experience that cost me $80 to fix Microsofts screen controller software. The rest I have yet to pay over $200. I prefer Dell, will not touch HP nor Acer.

    Were I buying top end though I'd keep it mind the service contract. That is their way of telling you something IS going to go wrong. Then get a less expensive back up machine. Amazing how much your work product will slow down when the machine is in the shop. Eight states away.
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    • Posted by jimjamesjames 8 years, 9 months ago
      KAYPRO!!! Got my Kaypro 2000 in 1984. Closed up, it looked like Darth Vader's lunch box, weighed 26 pounds. I paid extra for the two 5.5" floppies, each holding a whopping 350 kb!!! That nine inch screen with the green dots was beautiful. Cost me $2000 and got me through grad school at the U of Wyoming. Did my doctoral dissertation on it.
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      • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 9 months ago
        64K Ram and two count them two 360K DSDD floppies I have a freckle that has more power. DSDD if you forgot is Double Side Double Density and the discs were 5 1/2" across.

        My at the time little girl picked up a 45rpm vinyl disk one day and said, "Dad I didn't know they made hard floppy disks. 31 years ago my how the world has changed with 40% of the planet on internet and probably 100% on cell radio phones doing text!
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    • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 8 years, 9 months ago
      My 8 year old Lenovo is running Vista, but it's starting to have difficulty with all the sites that spin and twirl. It just can't handle it anyone. I bought it at office depot, but you know it's old tech if it's in the store.
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      • Posted by freedomforall 8 years, 9 months ago
        Pirate, if you don't play high end computer games, and you don't do video editing for a living, and you aren't trying to produce bitcoins on your computer you won't notice any difference in the capability of the hardware from 3 years ago compared to the latest from intel. If you use a laptop on battery all the time there have been some real improvements in reducing how much power a computer uses that you would notice. Bottom line is you can get a much better deal buyng what the sellers are trying to get rid of, that is, last year's or two years ago's model. You can get an even better deal on a refurbished computer that has been on a company lease, but has been returned and is now for sale. There are lots of those available online. If that is of interest, then watch for Dell laptops that have a 2nd or 3rd gen intel i5 cpu (the cpu model number is 4-digits starting with a 2 or 3.) . I bought one with a year left of Dell warranty about 8 months ago for $225, and you should be able to do that, too. When you see one for sale do a bit of research online to see what users have said about them. Even with Dell some models are better built than others. Some were expensive when new because they were designed to take more rough treatment (built with heavier gauge materials.)
        I agree with Michael about windows. Win7 is working well now, and I would not go for Win8 or Win10 for a few more years.
        You will be pleased with the performance of Win7 with a modern laptop (less than 3 years old) cpu compared with your old one.
        If you do a lot of typing, you probably should get an external keyboard for use at home, too. Much easier to replace a worn out keyboard when its a $20 external instead of having to send the whole laptop in for service.
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        • Posted by Kittyhawk 8 years, 9 months ago
          It's pretty easy to replace a built-in keyboard on a Dell laptop, too. Just did that on mine after maybe 7 years of use. A few of the keys had the letters worn away, and a few wouldn't register, so it was due. With a memory upgrade a few years back, I'm still very happy with it. You can Google your model and whatever repair or upgrade you want to do, and get full instructions and photos like this: http://www.insidemylaptop.com/replace...
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      • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 9 months ago
        How did you ever put up with that POS this long? W7 was the replacement for Vista. I'm impressed you must have the patience of a parent with teenagers! I haven't used Lenovo. What was your experience?
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        • Posted by Flootus5 8 years, 9 months ago
          I just purchased a high end Lenovo. It is being returned as we speak. No hardware issue or really an issue with Win 8.1, the BIG issue was it came with so much pre-loaded malware, adware, bloatware, spyware and the superfish worm and who knows what else. From the time I fired it up, the pop-ups, the browser tabs to sites I had nothing to do with or any interest in. It was horrendous.

          Malwarebytes did a nice job cleaning it up, but apparently it gets worse:

          http://baltimorepostexaminer.com/leno...
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        • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 8 years, 9 months ago
          My Lenovo is like a Timex, it just keeps on ticking, but it just isn't powerful enough any longer to run all the new stuff at the same time. It's 32 bit with 4 gb memory. It just is now 4 track tech in a mb3 world.
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  • Posted by Technocracy 8 years, 9 months ago
    Depends on what type of laptop you want RMP.

    I prefer Macs, like SaltyDog. Better reliability, but at a price.

    My advice is to start with Amazon to see what is out there, and then you can search beyond there once you decide on a model you like.

    One important point.......Go to a brick and mortar store to find a brand that you like the keyboard feel on. If you do a lot of typing, you really need to be comfortable with the keyboard. Best Buy has a good selection to try out, as does staples. Not sure what you have for chains in your area.
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    • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 8 years, 9 months ago
      I will be going to best buy Tuesday for some hands on. Amazon has so much I need to narrow down the choices. I'm not a big Mac fan. Way to pricey.
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      • Posted by Technocracy 8 years, 9 months ago
        Fair enough RMP, we all determine values for ourselves differently.

        On the PC front I've had the best luck, reliability wise from Asus & Sony.

        Asus is my recommendation for performance, they make some wonderful gaming machines. I also like the keyboard feel on their gaming machines, very much like a standalone keyboard. And a gaming PC will run anything else without issue.

        Sony has been good for year over year use. I have one in our office that I bought back in 2005 when they shut down CompUSA here. Still working fine, battery finally died a couple of months ago, but since it is not used as a portable, not a problem.

        Both brands are not at the bottom price wise, but I consider them good values. My Asus Republic of Gamers laptop is 5 years old now and can still run any software on the market without problems. I still use 2 Sony laptops, 1 is 7 years old, the other is 10, so good long term service. Amortize cost over lifespan and they are good value.
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        • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 8 years, 9 months ago
          I have gotten good value from my Lenovo. I just need the best place to purchase what I decide on.
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          • Posted by Technocracy 8 years, 9 months ago
            Amazon, Tiger Direct, Newegg for online sites.

            Best Buy is the best around my area for Brick & Mortar. Your mileage may vary on the B&M front
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            • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 8 years, 9 months ago
              I have to do the 100+ round trip anyway, so I will be visiting Best Buy on Tuesday. I have looked at Amazon, so I'll look on Tiger Direct and Newegg.
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              • Posted by $ nickursis 8 years, 9 months ago
                Rocky, I have bought several laptops on TigerDirect (refurbs). I almost always get Gateways, because they have the most value in regards to what you get. The biggest problem I ever had was I bought 2 (with what are called "pentium" processors in them which is a dual core processor).It was painful to get Win7 to load, as the newer bios wants you to use what they want you to use, but it can be beaten by selecting "Legacy" bios. Computers tend to want to get you to get much more PC than you need, unless you are doing movies or photo editing a basic dual core (i3 chip) is fine for basic use, if you do movies and photo editing, and want speed, an i5 and an SSD make things faster.I got my wife a little Acer 11" PC at Costco for 250.00 and it works just fine for her. Mine is 6 years old, and has a dual core Pentium in it, but I put in a hybrid hard drive and more ram and it is as good as most you can get today.
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