New Computer Suggestions

[Jeff Shyu]

don't ever run any executable that arrives via e-mail. EVER.

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

I probably would not buy anything starting at less than 2GB of RAM.

I have 6 on my new DELL. That's some serious real-estate. Think "Lincoln, NE" site of Nationals, compared to say "Hollywood Park"

[KJ Christopher]

Don't visit strange/unknown/porn sites - still to the reputable sites

What key qualities do you look for in determining whether a particular porn site is a reputable one and not too strange?

[Kurt Rahn]

Don't visit strange/unknown/porn sites - still to the reputable sites

What key qualities do you look for in determining whether a particular porn site is a reputable one and not too strange?

I think midgets and preggos are the cut line, pretty much. Anything more deviant than that is definitely disreputable.

[Tito Sar]

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory ... esktop-PCs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Try Newegg. They have great computers that are very affordable. Check out the customer reviews! I am planning my next computer purchase from there.

[Kristoffer Gjevre]

What is a good virus/spyware/malware etc scanner to add to the McAfee that we already purchased. I want something in addition to McAfee since it did not catch the spyware/worm and was not able to fix it.

I have had sucess using the freee trial version of http://www.malwarebytes.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to help clean up a friends computer.

[Kurt Rahn]

Marketing, PR, entertainment, media, and artsy types are not normal human beings nor part of any real business environments.

They are fashionistas who if they ever showed up to a meeting with the only Mac and the rest of their ilk had switched would panic, fain illness and rush to a computer shop to buy the "in" machine.

MAC's do less, in a simple streamlined way. Its like comparing a toaster with a combo oven/range/microwave. Sometimes, if all you want is toast, the Mac will serve you well.

Actually, without getting into the Mac vs. PC thing, Macs do the same thing. In fact they use the exact same processor now. And unlike the characterization that they're "toys," (which platform has the loony blinders-on zealots again?) unless you're running some proprietary software that's only PC, running Word, Excel, Powerpoint and a lot of other things, etc., they're fine. If not, a Mac can run any Windows program, since it can run Windows as well. As I've said before, I'm not a Mac zealot like a lot of other people, but the PC zealots that run down the Mac like it's still 1990 are living in dreamland sound like Mac loons singling a different song. Use what you're comfortable with, but I've used a Mac for 20 years (in business, not some artsy fartsy escapades) and rarely had compatibility problems.

I'm constantly baffled by peoples' need (Mac users and PC users) to denigrate the "other" platform. Whatever works for you is a good thing. Use it and shut up.

[Jeff Nucum]

can't beat dell deals. core 2 duo, 2gbs of ram with a 22" screen with vista AND XP http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/19997/D ... 9WFP-LCD--" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just bult a core i7 920 rig with a 4870x2 with 6gb of ram for sub 1000 few months back (for all the gamers here). Gladly will do it again before getting a mac. although if make makes a netbook....

[Mako Koiwai]

I'm reading an awful lot of Don'ts

Those things really never cross my mind using my Mac.

[Jeff Shyu]

kurt,

i'm not saying there's anything wrong with macs.

what i AM saying, is that fallacy that macs are in some way BETTER than PC because of their supposed higher reliability / lack of problem.

I'm saying that both suffer from the same problems, which is completely dependent upon the end user.

the mac is a more slick package that costs more, tailored toward a specific clientele.
the pc is a straight forward no frills all go box that's tailored toward a different clientele.

[Kristoffer Gjevre]

Dells have gotten a bad rap at work but I bought a couple of Dell desktops (XPS 720 & Inspiron 530) for home use about 1.5 year ago and have been happy with them.

After a string of 3 HDD failures (and some data loss) at work I equiped these with 2 identical large HDD set up in RAID 1 (mirrored), and still make backups on a regular basis.

I am surprised that no one has bitched about Vista... I have it on the 2 Dells and 2 laptops and have no complaints... well, you can allways complain about both Windows XP and Vista... whatever...

[Jeff Shyu]

i'd be interested in some kind of study on actual computer fail rate based upon "per capita" type study, with equal level equipment running same programs

ie, 2 similarly spec'd dell XPS vs. Mac, sitting side by side, running the exact same programs. I'm willing to bet good dollar, that the Mac won't have any higher reliability than the PC.

i think a lot of the "PC has more problem" comes from:

1. there's simply more PC
1a. it's more profitable for malware / virus guys to target the deeper pool
1b. uncontrolled hardware. there's good hardware manuf and there's bad ones. macs have the ability to hand pick, pc ones is completely dependent upon where / who you get it from.

2. PC allows you to do stupid things
2a. Overclocking, liquid cooling, etc. yes, you CAN do the same with a mac, but it's MUCH more prevelent on the PC platform. stuff that the hardware's not exactly meant to do.
2b. OS difference. even though they're very similar now, the basic difference between Mac and PC from the start, was that MACs are more user friendly, whereas PC could do more, if you knew how to make it do it. The PC platform doesn't baby you (though this could easily be argued, which i won't defend very fiercely, especially w/ vista), so you're essentially free to screw it up.

[Will Kalman]

I am surprised that no one has bitched about Vista... I have it on the 2 Dells and 2 laptops and have no complaints... well, you can allways complain about both Windows XP and Vista... whatever...

Yeah, I don't get the Vista complaints, either. I run XP at work and Vista at home on roughly equivalent PC's running the same primary software and other than the fancy window-trimmings in Vista and generally more "squishy" feel to the UI effects (fade in/out of windows), I don't really notice the difference. And I'm running 64-bit Vista which should be the least compatible and most problematic way to go.

[Jeff Shyu]

my only complaint about vista is the f'n daily updates..

or at least it feels like daily..

[Kurt Rahn]

i'd be interested in some kind of study on actual computer fail rate based upon "per capita" type study, with equal level equipment running same programs

ie, 2 similarly spec'd dell XPS vs. Mac, sitting side by side, running the exact same programs. I'm willing to bet good dollar, that the Mac won't have any higher reliability than the PC.

i think a lot of the "PC has more problem" comes from:

1. there's simply more PC
1a. it's more profitable for malware / virus guys to target the deeper pool
1b. uncontrolled hardware. there's good hardware manuf and there's bad ones. macs have the ability to hand pick, pc ones is completely dependent upon where / who you get it from.

2. PC allows you to do stupid things
2a. Overclocking, liquid cooling, etc. yes, you CAN do the same with a mac, but it's MUCH more prevelent on the PC platform. stuff that the hardware's not exactly meant to do.
2b. OS difference. even though they're very similar now, the basic difference between Mac and PC from the start, was that MACs are more user friendly, whereas PC could do more, if you knew how to make it do it. The PC platform doesn't baby you (though this could easily be argued, which i won't defend very fiercely, especially w/ vista), so you're essentially free to screw it up.

Believe me, I run a whole network of Macs (about 50 of them, of various vintages)...they have their problems just like PCs. They're all computers...none of them is better than the other. They just are. If the one you chose helps you get things done faster/more efficiently, then whoopee for you. But the name calling on both sides is ridiculous (not pointing a finger at you, Jeff...you're not really a name caller, more of a measured thinker).

[Steve Ekstrand]

Mac's suck!

[Kurt Rahn]

Mac's suck!

LOL

[Kathy Teulie]

What steps do we need to take to reformat the hard drive on the PC. We have XP if that matters

[Leonard Cachola]

Could just do a Google search:

http://www.google.com/search?q=reformat ... =firefox-a

[Kristoffer Gjevre]

What steps do we need to take to reformat the hard drive on the PC. We have XP if that matters

some suggestions...

If your system still is suspect to have any virus/spyware/maleware/root-kit you would want to boot the PC on the XP installation CD (you may have to change boot settings to have to boot from the CD) and make sure to select to delete the existing partition(s), select to create new one(s), select to format it(them), and then select to install XP (on the primary one).

Before doing that you might want to make some notes about settings in apps you use and also perhaps your network driver settings.

If for some reason the XP installation CDs did not have a network driver that works after the installation, and you do not have an additional computer to access the internet with to download a driver, you should find the latest driver and download it and put it on a USB drive just in case (but be warened about potentially infecting the new installation from the USB drive).

BTW, to reduce Windows rot I try to leave the primary partition for the OS only and put my music, pictures, videos, and documents on a secondary partition/drive (temp files, swap files, etc could also be pointed to the secondary partition/drive).

[Leonard Cachola]

What steps do we need to take to reformat the hard drive on the PC. We have XP if that matters

If your system still is suspect to have any virus/spyware/maleware/root-kit you would want to boot the PC on the XP installation CD (you may have to change boot settings to have to boot from the CD) and make sure to select to delete the existing partition(s), select to create new one(s), select to format it(them), and then select to install XP (on the primary one).

Back up any important data onto some type of external drive before doing anything.

[Will Kalman]

A hard drive, being mechanical, is potentially the least reliable part of your computer but the most valuable since it has all your data on it. If yours has been running for 5 years, go buy a new hard drive for your new installation, maybe $50, and it will probably have 4x the capacity of your current drive.

Once you've reloaded the OS on the new drive, installed antivirus/etc, put the old drive in a USB case and run the windows backup program to backup the entire old drive to a single file on the new drive. Now you have a way to retrieve any old data at any time.

Then reformat the old drive in the USB case and use it for data backups going forward.

(Personally, I convert my old physical machines into a virtual machines so I can even boot it up at a later date and run a program when I can't relocate or have lost the installer. )

[Kristoffer Gjevre]

(Personally, I convert my old physical machines into a virtual machines so I can even boot it up at a later date and run a program when I can't relocate or have lost the installer. )

Been thinking about doing that to my old PC... we use VMware at work for testing (but they want us to use the free VMware Server and I do not care much for the somewhat slugish interface in version 2 so I keep using Workstation 5 for most of my work)... what virtual machine software do you recomend for a backup of a PC?

[Will Kalman]

Been thinking about doing that to my old PC... we use VMware at work for testing (but they want us to use the free VMware Server and I do not care much for the somewhat slugish interface in version 2 so I keep using Workstation 5 for most of my work)... what virtual machine software do you recomend for a backup of a PC?

I just use the free stuff from VMWare. It's been a few months since I last converted a machine so, of course, they've "re-branded" everything again. Looks like it's called "vCenter Converter" this week.

[Mako Koiwai]

You're right, they aren't perfect ... merely the most reliable