-=> CHARLES ANGELICH wrote to WAYNE CHIRNSIDE <=-

 WC> I even looked at my old Slackware CD and found FTAPE.TGZ
 WC> for my Colorado drive QIC tape backup should I run across a
 WC> spare tape or two.

 CA> If I can get my Colorado tape drive working and erase my tapes
 CA> I have at least four that are 'good' but they have some of my
 CA> source code and other personal stuff on them right now. The
 CA> tape drive is not installed in any machine right now but it
 CA> does/did work when the 80386 ps went belly up.

I'll pay a reasonable price for good tapes but as the ones
I've here are marginal at best, I had to format one of
them six times before it'd reliably take data, I had made
multiple copies of DOS - Windows and none of Linux as yet.
I'm sacrificing one of my dupes to backing up the Linux 
packages in the next day or so and likely more as I move
away from Windows.
If you're not using that dated stuff...

 CA> I've used my USR 14.4k modem for text-only browsing and it's
 CA> really not that slow when using DOS and text-only.

 I'm currently using a Practical Peripherals external
 28800 given to me by Ed Koon, when we were on better 
 terms some years back.
 
 CA> If you're tight on money keep in mind that many people can't
 CA> get better than a 40k connect to their ISP which means the
 CA> cheaper and less desirable 33.6 modems are very close in
 CA> efficiency. No one wants them but the 56k isn't _really_ doing
 CA> 56k anyhow.

 I've heard 47+K is attainable on a clean line.
 I'd love to have a 33.6 but even pricing the used hardware ones
 at Pricewatch I don't recall them being all that much cheaper
 than new 56K's.
 
 WC> I know, I know. You wouldn't believe the crap I had to go
 WC> through to get them to swap the line pair I was on so it
 WC> would support the *14400* modem!!! There were times I've
 WC> certain the voice quality on the line was well below the
 WC> first working telephone.

 CA> As I said, the 56k modem may not pay back the price
 CA> differential?

Clean line _now_ and I _have_ a 56K  PCI internal soft modem
for which there is a Linux driver. Sits in the as yet
not brough online Pentium.

 RJT>> Seems to me that it was right around the holidays when
 RJT>> they laid off a whole mess of people, too. They said that
 RJT>> it was because they couldn't figure out how to deal with
 RJT>> competition. Heh...

 WC> Well since they've automated a lot of stuff that real
 WC> people used to do and and since your average burger flipper
 WC> is smarter than the vast majority of their tech support...

 CA> My generation missed most of that 'burger-flipping' first job
 CA> thing. For me it was dirty nasty factories and trying to not
 CA> lose any fingers, hand, or arm. :-)

 Me too, first mate on a boat, interior painter, cable T.V. 
 installer than like you say working in a really dangerous factory
 that managed to off a few people and maim others while I
 was there. I escaped that place after 7 years unharmed
 and took a driving job.
 
 CA> I think burger flipping is a better option?

Factory job had excellent benefits, free medical, 2 bucks a month
dental, overtime, bonuses and everytime I tried to get fired
disgusted with the place they gave me a raise, go figure.
I made a _lot_ of money, for Florida, there.
I got bonuses from 2 of three shifts every week which
with my overtime more than doubled my income.
It is a good thing I left when I did, actually they left
moving an hours east of here.
Hey check out www.motherboards.org for the Gigabyte 8INXP
motherboard, very impresive indeed and pricewatch has
one listed in "kits" with a 2.4 Gig Pentium IV processor for
490.00 new! IIRC the "kits" are burned in tested before shipment
and depending on the selection you choose some don't have RAM or
hard drive included in that price.
Features too numerous to mention but here's a few.
Supports 4 Gig. RAM, 5 PCI slots one 4 or 8 AGP, 2 IDE, 2 serial
hard drive connections and a Promise Tech RAID controller as well 
as the IDE controller.
 
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