1237a5bd5606
tech



Hello Wayne - 

WC>> Well I've seen a number of exceptions to that. Gigabyte is
WC>> putting out a board with every imaginable port _and_ has 5
WC>> or 6 available slots, 4 gig memory support. Real bleeding
WC>> edge critter it is too, optical audio ports and such. 

CA>> I know where you are seeing these and they are
CA>> doityourself sever class kits, not your typical system at
CA>> all. 

WC> Well at the higher end Pricewatch is selling them assembled
WC> burned in and tested at near 500 bucks with a 2.5 GHz or
WC> better processor. Usually this does not include RAM or hard
WC> drive but does include case, power supply all your
WC> connectors and such. Given I've got a hard drive, 3 CD-ROM
WC> drives here(one too ancient to be acceptable but works, two
WC> software modems, one hardware modem and an ethernet card
WC> and it's mighty tempting to wait the six - 8 months it'd
WC> take to purchase one. 

Realistically the question is, "do you need it?". 

The hard drive access rates are more of a bottleneck than ANY
other with the possible exception of slow video if you mainly
use a GUI and a browser all day long (or do graphics
manipulations). 

You would be upgrading the least important parts and throttling
them back by using older _important_ parts. :-\ 

I suspect Knoppix is just the tip of the iceberg (I hear there
are other Linx that execute from just the CD now). I expect to
see many such CDs out there soon and definitely on DVDs when
more of us can afford them. It really makes more sense to take
your install with you to whatever machine and be comfortably
'at home' with the applications you know and can make use of.
Seems so to me anyhow. 

If I am correct, fast CD drives or a good DVD burner would put
a computer user in the path of the newest 'bleeding edge' of
technology. 

WC> Lots of beans, rice and carrots to trim the budget to get
WC> there. 

It's your call but I thought I'd toss in my 2 cents anyhow. ;-) 

WC> Right now one of the local retailers is offering 128 Meg.
WC> PC133 DIMM's for 49 dollars but don't know if they'll go in
WC> this machine as it's manual says PC100. Great thing is I
WC> don't need matched size pairs as currently two sticks at 64
WC> and 32 Meg are in there from different manufacturers and
WC> they co-exist just fine. 

256 meg is a 'comfortable' place to be for W9x if you can get
there. 

WC> Installed Hyperterminal P.E. and got one packet downloaded
WC> alright but need to read the docs as something didn't go
WC> right this morning and the packet wouldn't decompress. 

I seem to recall a similar situation for my brother. I _think_
he did not have the autodetect for binary/ascii transfers
turned on? Dim and foggy but seems that was it. 

I installed WS_FTP for him to use when doing FTP transfers. I
use it on my older machines too. 

WC> Next move is to create an icon for MultiMail so I don't
WC> have to drop to DOS box. 

Can't help there. My squabbles with WMcB made me not want to
depend on MM so I rewrote ATP and use that. 

--8<--cut 

WC> You're talking a whole different kind of video editing I'm
WC> contemplating as I'm using _editing_ in the most limited
WC> interpretation of the word. 

OK. 

WC>> A hardware 56K modem is desirable too. Done some thinking
WC>> on my resources and budget and think I shall in fact soon
WC>> go DSL. 

CA>> If you are certain you want DSL skip the modem you'll
CA>> seldom use afterwards. DSL spoils you. ;-) 

WC> Not certain of much of anything just yet except RAM for
WC> both machines and a large drive are priorities as well as
WC> changing ISP's. 

Sounds like a good plan. :-) 

WC> Attempted to sign up on www.ij.net yesterday and it flat
WC> out told me it wouldn't accept NS 7.0 :-( So I log back on
WC> with Explorer and it tells me I'm not encrypted so I can't
WC> get to that page. Never encrypted anything out of lack of
WC> need so I guess I'll have to look into my settings here. 

Hmmm ... did they say what level of encryption? There are
restrictions as to what level of encryption can be exported
outside the USA. You may have inadvertently downloaded the
wrong versions of Nestscape and IEx? I think most want 128 bit
encryption now? 

WC>> Than I'll be able to burn my own Linux releases right off
WC>> the net! 

CA>> Dubious privilege with CDs selling for 99 cents plus
CA>> shipping. 

WC> No credit card as before I got hurt I stupidly paid cash
WC> for everything except my first cycle. Got a source for
WC> Linux CD's that accept checks or money order? 

At least one or two of the links at the BasicLinux webpage at
my website accept money orders. Possibly the one(s) listed for
Knoppix do too. I don't recall exactly which are which but I
think Edmunds does. (same sources supply many versions of Linux
CDs, not just those for BL or Knoppix) 

WC> I'll check cheapbytes today myself. That being the case I
WC> might just go with Internet Junctions 9.95/ month unlimited
WC> however this is without a server option which from my brief
WC> look at their pricing kicks in at 60 bucks a month DSL,
WC> phone lines extra which is way out of my reach. But at 9.95
WC> unlimited, 20 meg space on your account dialup not bad at
WC> all. This is a Florida ISP. 

I pay $15 per month with no server access. It's excessive but
convenient for me. Saving $5 a month won't help me a great deal
and I have access to several servers already. 

WC>> 6 month goal along with the beer making equipment. BTW the
WC>> URL for my local supplier is www.beerandwinemaking.com 

CA>> Saved to my files. :-) 

WC> I'm sure there's one local to you and you can search the
WC> net for mail order outfits for the malts and hops at better
WC> prices in larger quantities but I thought I'd clue you in
WC> to the site for a looksee. I'm not planning on kegging or
WC> getting CO2 charging canisters but doing it the old way
WC> with natural carbonation in the bottle. Besides it's half
WC> the price. The trick here is to use the hydrometer to
WC> determine the specific gravity of the brew before bottling
WC> and adding precisely the correct amount of corn sugar
WC> before you bottle and cap. I _never_ blew up a bottle...
WC> yet (g) 

You shouldn't have told me that. Now I'm thinking how enjoyable
cleaning _that_ up would be. :-\ 

>
>        ,                                        ,
>      o/      Charles_Angelich  - DOS Ghost       \o       ,
>       __o/
>     / >  www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/faf/  < \   __\__
 

___ * ATP/16bit 2.31 * 
... DOS the Ghost in the Machine! http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/

--- Maximus/2 3.01