Odyssey Thu Computer Hell

Just one correction
A hard drive is magnetic and the head to platter clearance is on the order of 100,000 times smaller than a mm. The are in the range of 10 nanometers Originally Posted by Aguy

You may be right about that, Aguy. Can you post a link to the source of your information?

I would be interested in knowing the exact clearance.

The tech at the small shop seemed extremely knowledgeable and he said the clearance was 1 or 2 millimeters.

Either way, the high speed of the platter rotation coupled with the close proximity of the reading head creates a scene for disaster if you just innocently bump your computer while in operation.

That was something I did not know, but now something I will never forget.

The moral here is to provide a safety helmet for your computer and keep it tucked away in a cabinet.

I used to keep my computer on top of the cabinet simply because it was easier to access the disk drives, but that occasional convenience is not worth the pain of being dragged through the cactus of computer hell!

Believe me, I know!

. . . I still have the scars to prove it!

I've used AVG Free, Spybot & AdAware faithfully on every comp I've owned for the past 5+ yrs.

The only time I get a virus is when I let my GF check her Yahoo email.

Check that, the only time I GOT a virus - she isn't even allowed in the same room as my computer these days.

I am currently running two desks and a laptop constantly w/nary a problem.

Knock wood.

B.

Running Ubuntu10.10 on a solid state drive. Pure speed.. and no AV software needed.

I am running Ultimate edition Ubuntu Gamers edition and no issues what so ever..

if you are on a windows machine.. FreeAVG, Spy Bot, and Ad aware are a MUST!

But if there is no special software you need windows for.. Ubuntu works VERY well, is free, and can be set up to look like Windows.

There is one other important consideration in backing up your data to an external hard drive that I just discovered.

The independent computer technical magician who finally fixed my computer when everyone else fell short of the task gave me another nugget of gold advice that I did not know when I called him today.

He advised me NOT to use the software that comes with the external hard drive in setting it up when I asked him where was the software for that purpose.

He recommends using the Windows maintenance utility to handle that task because he says that he has had many computers come to his shop for repair where people have used the external hard drive software to back up the data, but the problem with that approach is that in the process, the data gets encrypted and that makes it much more difficult for him to back it up when he has finally only restored the Windows Operating System.

Ponder on that and follow his advice. It all makes sense to me now.

Think about it. If your hard drive has crashed and all the technician has managed to do is restore the operating system it will be a bitch to work around encrypted data in order to back it up if that portion of the software is not yet operational.

Better to keep it simple and make it easy for the technician to repair your computer with unnecessary complications.

Nobody tells you these important little things that can complicate your life and cost you more money due to a minor gap in your knowledge base, but now I have advised you and now you know.

Just my two cents based on over 30 years in IT. I am sure I will get flamed, but no one with experience really trusts the various Windows desktop operating systems to do the right thing (Windows Server OS is a different beast). Windows desktop means constant patching, rebuilds/restores, updating anti-virus programs, and reboots just to keep things on an even keel. Windows 7 is almost a mature OS, but still needs work, maybe they'll get it right next release.

Trusting in-store technicians is like trusting a car dealership's service department. It can be very difficult and trying unless you have someone to cut through their BS. Finding a trusted computer tech can be like finding a trusted mechanic or A/C repairman. Even worse at least the dealership mechanic has a decent amount of training. The in-store computer tech is normally the next step up from floor sales guy or checkout clerk. There may be 1 or 2 folks at the store that are actually decent with consumer computer technology.


Other observations:

If you are technically inclined/gifted you are probably already running some Linux/Unix variant (includes modern Macs).

If you are not technically inclined/gifted then buy a Mac. They may cost a bit more initially, but long term costs and aggravation are much less. Check for used/refurbs if you need lower pricing.

If you care about gaming you probably already have a Windows system with supercharged hardware, but you don't keep any important, critical, or sensitive data on it. Not if you care at all about reliability and security anyway.


Basics for any computer platform:
(How to minimize sleepless nights)

1. Backup your data (Twice!!! Keep a copy with the computer and a copy somewhere else, Swap the offsite copy with the onsite copy often if not using a remote backup service)

2. Be able to restore your OS and data. (OS Restore disks and data restore programs with offsite copies also)

3. Backup data/OS before doing any OS updates.

4. Do OS updates often.

5. Backup data/OS after doing any OS updates.

6. Use encryption programs for sensitive data.

7. Be smart when surfing the web. Would you give your sensitive data to just anyone how walked up to you on the street? Yet many folks hand over that data to websites that they have never heard of until that moment it pops up in their browser window.

There is nobody on this board that is going to flame you for what you said, unless Bill Gates is a member, but I sincerely doubt that.

About 11 years ago, I learned that the Mac operation system is much superior to the Windows operating system and it was a big shock to me to learn that.

If that is really so, I would ask all the experts then why is Windows so much more popular than the Mac OS and they all said that Microsoft was much better at marketing their products than Apple. Pure and simple.

However, the issue here is not which operating system is superior, I believe that all the experts agree that the Mac OS is vastly superior, but Windows has more market share and widely used by businesses.

However,the real issue in this discussion is which system is better to back up your data to an external drive. Should you use the Windows system or the software that comes with the external hard drive?

The answer to that is that you should use the Windows maintenance to perform that function for the reasons I already explained in my previous post.

The reason Apple's share of the market is small is because they refused to license out their technology. No one but Apple was allowed to manufacture MacIntosh computers. It made them elitist and expensive. Meanwhile, since the PC technology was licensed, everybody and their brother could manufacture one. That made them plentiful and cheap. Which do you think would wind up with the vast majority of the market?

Yes, Apple had the superior machine, but they handled it badly.

The Intel based machines available today are far better than their ancestors. With their speed, capacity and ability to run vary flavors of Linux, in additional to Windows, they will keep the majority of the market. Apple is not going away, but I do not think they will be able to make any more significant gains in market share unless they come up with something quite radical. A possibility not beyond them by any means.

As for backups, I use Acronis and yes, I even have an old release of Norton's Ghost which still makes a perfect backup image of a drive and you can restore it without even having an operating system in place.

Running Ubuntu10.10 on a solid state drive. Pure speed.. and no AV software needed. Originally Posted by matchingmole

Sorry, gotta vote for Windows 7. I've tried all three and Win7 has my vote. And before you question my tech prowess, just know I started learning how to fix, upgrade, and optimize computers when I was in grade school. STRICTLY OS I'm going with 7. Hardward-wise, as much as it pains to side with Mac, It disgusted me how much RAM they're cramming in Macbook Pros these days, AND it's all being recognized by the OS.

The reason Apple's share of the market is small is because they refused to license out their technology. No one but Apple was allowed to manufacture MacIntosh computers. It made them elitist and expensive. Meanwhile, since the PC technology was licensed, everybody and their brother could manufacture one. That made them plentiful and cheap. Which do you think would wind up with the vast majority of the market?

Yes, Apple had the superior machine, but they handled it badly.
Originally Posted by Mokoa

The irony is that the strength and weakness with Apple are wrapped in the same man: Steve Jobs.

The man is a genius which is his strength, but he has a colossal ego which is his weakness and that is the real problem with Apple. Only now can I really understand why John Sculley had to fire Steve Jobs.

Bill Gates is able to market his product better than Steve even though Apple has the better product.

Bill Gates is a genius too, but less of an ego and has more vision.

My dream is that Steve and Bill could collaborate and build the ultimate computer, but I doubt that is going to happen in this life time.

Apple lost the PC wars for the very same reason that they are in the process of loosing the smart phone wars to Google's android. They maintain too much control over things. The nature of computers is that users want to have control. That's why it's a personal computer -- it's yours to do what you want with it. Eventually, Android is going to eat iPhone alive. It works on more than one hardware platform, the manufacturer doesn't give a rat's ass who writes programs for it or what they do, and Google isn't in the business of being a control freak. Same with Microsoft and Windows.

Apple lost the PC wars for the very same reason that they are in the process of loosing the smart phone wars to Google's android. They maintain too much control over things. The nature of computers is that users want to have control. That's why it's a personal computer -- it's yours to do what you want with it. Eventually, Android is going to eat iPhone alive. It works on more than one hardware platform, the manufacturer doesn't give a rat's ass who writes programs for it or what they do, and Google isn't in the business of being a control freak. Same with Microsoft and Windows. Originally Posted by TexTushHog

It is fascinating how computers have evolved so much in the last 25 years.

When the PCs were first introduced I honestly did not see any value in the weak tinker toys when compared to the massive horsepower of the mainframes that big companies relied on to do the heavy data processing.

But somehow those scrawny little tinker toys bulked up and not only rivaled the once mighty mainframes, but then replaced them altogether!

Apple I came out first in 1976. if you don't count "The Sphere" which came out only in kit form.

IBM introduced the first PC in 1981. but they were still basically toys running on a very prosaic DOS system with a blinking pixel.

Apple made dramatic improvements, but Microsoft went with a different philosophy.

I don't think anybody really knows which way computers are headed today.

There is so much talk about "cloud computing" where the main horsepower would reside in a powerful server somewhere and the PC itself would have only minimum resources.

So in a way, we have gone full circle if cloud computing becomes the norm of computing where the pc would then be a modern version of the dumb terminal used with the powerful mainframes of the early days and the server would play the role of the mainframe.

There is a fierce battle going on which will determine who will be left on the field and what the computer of the future will look like.

Maybe the smart phones will replace the pcs of tomorrow like the pcs replaced the minicomputers.

Regardless of how it all shakes out, right now, my money is riding on Google.

They way things are going, I do think that Google is going to leave Microsoft, Apple and IBM in the dust.

Maybe the smart phones will replace the pcs of tomorrow like the pcs replaced the minicomputers.
Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

That's not going to happen for many operations. Can you imagine an business running applications on a smart phone like word processing, accounting, spreadsheets, CAD, etc.? I don't know what percentage of hardware that is sold is sold to business, but I'll bet it's still quite high.

I own a law firm. Yes, our lawyers and other key personnel have iPhones (because right now they hook up with MS-Exchange Server better than Andriod). But if you compare the pennies we spend on iPhones with the bucks we spend on Dell desk tops, Lenovo lap tops for typing while on the road or in Court, etc. it's pennies on the dollar. Single digit pennies on the dollar. (And that doesn't in clude laser printers, photo printers, LCD projectors, real software, other peripherals, etc., none of which work with phones.)