Sunday, April 24, 2011
No power at house.
I wont be posting for probably another week, due to a tornado slamming a tree down on the power line that connects my house. My landlord won't answer any calls, so who knows when I'll have power.....
Saturday, April 16, 2011
What brand of CPU do you prefer?
sorry bout the time it took to get this out, its been a busy week (cisco routing class)
I decided to write this entry to bring up the two largest manufacturers of Central Processing Units.
Back in the day, Intel was new in the business, and started producing processors for computers.
They helped make an architectural standard in conjunction with IBM, known today as x86.
Around the time of the 486, being after the 386 and 286, some employees defected and created a company called AMD (Advanced Micro Devices). After a war of lawsuits between the two erupted and lasted for years. It seems that the beef is settled between the two giants. Nowadays, they compete mostly in the CPU market, and both have pros and cons.
I will summarize the pros and cons of each company.
Advanced Micro Devices
Makes cheap and still decent CPUs.
Pros: Very affordable products
Cons: Not the cutting edge in processor speeds.
Intel Corporation
Commonly used by the big PC companies such as Dell, HP, and gateway.
Pros: Mind blowing speeds, various technologies that AMD lacks
Cons: Too damn expensive
TL;DR, I use AMD, because I'm not rich, and can still have a quad core.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Breaking in a new PC.
So you finally scored that PC you wanted.... What to do now?
As long as your OS (Operating System) is fresh and clean, you should consider installing some programs to help you out on your computing adventures. In the last post I asked "what will you use your PC for ?", and explained what I use my system for, I will go into further detail of most of the programs I use.
Winamp
Combined Community Codec Pack
I use the CCCP for the codecs it contains, as well as the Media Player Classic that comes with it.
You may obtain CCCP @ http://www.cccp-project.net/ for free.
Technitium MAC address changer
A great tool to change the MAC address of your network interface.
get it at tmac.technitium.com/
TL;DR A short example list of programs I use on my PC, to help the reader get a better idea of what they need for their purposes.
Post any questions and I'll try my best to respond.
As long as your OS (Operating System) is fresh and clean, you should consider installing some programs to help you out on your computing adventures. In the last post I asked "what will you use your PC for ?", and explained what I use my system for, I will go into further detail of most of the programs I use.
Multimedia
For my collection of digital music I use Winamp, which can parse a crapload of mp3s into a concise and easy to use library which is searchable. You may obtain winamp @ http://www.winamp.com for free, as well as a paid version with more features(that you probably don't need).
I use the CCCP for the codecs it contains, as well as the Media Player Classic that comes with it.
You may obtain CCCP @ http://www.cccp-project.net/ for free.
Internet
Tor
I use Tor for anonynimity purposes, see my post about tor for more info.
Mozilla Firefox
I use Firefox due to preference mostly. Check it out @ http://www.getfirefox.com
torbutton can be installed in it for easy and safer browsing.
Chatzilla is also nice if you want to lurk in the IRC areas of the internet.Technitium MAC address changer
A great tool to change the MAC address of your network interface.
get it at tmac.technitium.com/
TL;DR A short example list of programs I use on my PC, to help the reader get a better idea of what they need for their purposes.
Post any questions and I'll try my best to respond.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Getting a new PC (without getting ripped off)
I'm writing this as a rant after seeing a laptop for sale in a catalog, which boasted it had a "HUGE 20GB Hard Drive".......
That kinda killed me a little inside.
Many people want a new computer, but some don't know what to look for, and get less than they should for a price.
What are you getting the PC for? You might consider gaming, video editing, or maybe thats all crap to you and you just want a decent computer to browse the web and hold some digital photos.
You must consider the above, because it can mean a difference in hundreds of bucks.
Most people can get away with a factory built tower as a PC.
I have my own special needs in a PC, it needs to hold everything for about 10 people, and shouldn't lag.
Consider my build as an example, It acts as a powerhouse, working both to run my games, and serve the rest of the house with movies and music.
I spent a bit extra than what most would, do to my nasty habit of hoarding information, and loving to customize PCs.
TL;DR : Don't get screwed out of your hard earned cash buying or building a new PC.
Read up on current standards by going to http://www.tigerdirect.com or http://www.newegg.com
That kinda killed me a little inside.
Many people want a new computer, but some don't know what to look for, and get less than they should for a price.
What are you getting the PC for? You might consider gaming, video editing, or maybe thats all crap to you and you just want a decent computer to browse the web and hold some digital photos.
You must consider the above, because it can mean a difference in hundreds of bucks.
Most people can get away with a factory built tower as a PC.
I have my own special needs in a PC, it needs to hold everything for about 10 people, and shouldn't lag.
Consider my build as an example, It acts as a powerhouse, working both to run my games, and serve the rest of the house with movies and music.
I spent a bit extra than what most would, do to my nasty habit of hoarding information, and loving to customize PCs.
Summary |
Computer: | ||||
Computer Type | ACPI x86-based PC | |||
Operating System | Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate | |||
OS Service Pack | Service Pack 1 | |||
Internet Explorer | 8.0.6001.18702 (IE 8.0) | |||
DirectX | DirectX 10.1 | |||
Computer Name | ENTERPRISE | |||
User Name | Zandercorp | |||
Logon Domain | ENTERPRISE | |||
Date / Time | 2011-04-06 / 16:59 | |||
Motherboard: | ||||
CPU Type | QuadCore AMD Athlon II X4 620, 2800 MHz (13 x 215) | |||
Motherboard Name | Biostar TA790GXB3 (3 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Video, Gigabit LAN) | |||
Motherboard Chipset | AMD 790GX, AMD K10 | |||
System Memory | 3328 MB (DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM) | |||
DIMM1: Corsair XMS3 CM3X1G1333C9 | 1 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 518 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz) | |||
DIMM2: Corsair XMS3 CM3X1G1333C9 | 1 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 518 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz) | |||
DIMM3: Corsair XMS3 CM3X1G1333C9 | 1 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 518 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz) | |||
DIMM4: Corsair XMS3 CM3X1G1333C9 | 1 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 518 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz) | |||
BIOS Type | AMI (07/30/09) | |||
Display: | ||||
Video Adapter | ATI Radeon HD 3300 Graphics (256 MB) | |||
Video Adapter | ATI Radeon HD 3300 Graphics (256 MB) | |||
3D Accelerator | ATI Radeon HD 3300 (RS780D) | |||
Monitor | Generic PnP Monitor [NoDB] (942RY1NA00923) | |||
Multimedia: | ||||
Audio Adapter | ATI RS690 HDMI @ AMD RS780/RS880 Chipset - High Definition Audio Controller | |||
Audio Adapter | ATI RS690 HDMI @ ATI SB750 - High Definition Audio Controller | |||
Storage: | ||||
IDE Controller | Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller | |||
IDE Controller | Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller | |||
Storage Controller | AZCH756R IDE Controller | |||
Storage Controller | Microsoft iSCSI Initiator | |||
Storage Controller | VIA RAID Controller - 3249 | |||
Disk Drive | Generic Storage Device USB Device | |||
Disk Drive | ST31000333AS ATA Device (1000 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II) | |||
Disk Drive | ST32000542AS ATA Device (2000 GB, 5900 RPM, SATA-II) | |||
Disk Drive | ST3250623A ATA Device (250 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100) | |||
Disk Drive | ST3500830AS ATA Device (500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II) | |||
Optical Drive | Optiarc DVD RW AD-7170A ATA Device (DVD+R9:8x, DVD-R9:8x, DVD+RW:18x/8x, DVD-RW:18x/6x, DVD-RAM:12x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM) | |||
Optical Drive | QNY 0PUZ896VCPQ SCSI CdRom Device | |||
Optical Drive | QNY 0PUZ896VCPQ SCSI CdRom Device | |||
SMART Hard Disks Status | OK | |||
Partitions: | ||||
C: (NTFS) | 218.2 GB (24.2 GB free) | |||
D: (NTFS) | 931.5 GB (315.8 GB free) | |||
E: (NTFS) | 6997 MB (1975 MB free) | |||
F: (NTFS) | 7051 MB (6706 MB free) | |||
I: (NTFS) | 465.8 GB (114.3 GB free) | |||
X: (NTFS) | 1863.0 GB (1219.0 GB free) | |||
Total Size | 3492.2 GB (1681.8 GB free) | |||
TL;DR : Don't get screwed out of your hard earned cash buying or building a new PC.
Read up on current standards by going to http://www.tigerdirect.com or http://www.newegg.com
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Multiple Online Identity group
Maybe you are thinking James Bond, or Jason Bourne, well.... not really.
Having multiple identities can help you organize your online life properly.
I recommend at least two email addresses, one for garbage that doesn't matter, and one for important stuff like business and school. The garbage account is used to get accounts at places you probably won't go back to. You can have both accounts feed into an email client, that way you only have to check your email at one place. Another concept to think about is walling off your accounts by having different password groups, just in case someone fools you into feeding their keylogger, you can slow the damage done to your accounts.
TL;DR use at least two different email addresses, and different sets of passwords to increase security.
Having multiple identities can help you organize your online life properly.
I recommend at least two email addresses, one for garbage that doesn't matter, and one for important stuff like business and school. The garbage account is used to get accounts at places you probably won't go back to. You can have both accounts feed into an email client, that way you only have to check your email at one place. Another concept to think about is walling off your accounts by having different password groups, just in case someone fools you into feeding their keylogger, you can slow the damage done to your accounts.
TL;DR use at least two different email addresses, and different sets of passwords to increase security.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)