From whittake at sbaflorida.com Thu Sep 1 13:41:30 2005 From: whittake at sbaflorida.com (Homer Whittaker) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] WTB: Good printer stand for 75lbs. printer (with 16"x16" footprint)? In-Reply-To: <200508311941.12303.philb@philb.us> References: <20050831161230.72786.qmail@web34106.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <200508311941.12303.philb@philb.us> Message-ID: <43173D4A.7020206@sbaflorida.com> Phil Barnett wrote: >On Wednesday 31 August 2005 12:12 pm, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > > > >>I'm looking for a good printer stand for my new Dell 3100cn >>color laser printer. It weights about 75lbs. and has a >>16"x16" footprint, so I want something that is not pressed >>wood or cheap plastic. So I'm looking for something solid >>plastic or more solid wood, possibly metal (but no glass). >> >> > > > I was going to offer the same thing but I thought he was in TimBukToo! And also, can a double E use a saw? >I have a table saw and all related tools. > > > >Get some plywood and come out here. Alternately, I have a truck and there is a >Home Depot about 2 miles from here. We can get the supplies when you arrive. > >Advantages: Strong and exact dimensions. > You want everything :) > Get to be with a really nice guy. > >Disadvantages: Requires driving and thinking. > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.matrixlist.com/pipermail/pc_support/attachments/20050901/1c3d7e6d/attachment.html From b.j.smith at ieee.org Thu Sep 1 23:39:23 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: WD raptor question In-Reply-To: <43161F6E.6050707@lubik.ca> References: <43161F6E.6050707@lubik.ca> Message-ID: <1125632364.4496.5.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Wed, 2005-08-31 at 17:21 -0400, Ugo Bellavance wrote: > Hi Bryan (Ugo, on the CentOS list), > I know you know hardware very well, so I thought I should ask you that > question. Feel free to let me know if you don't have time to answer. > Someone told me recently that the WD raptor HDD are more CPU-hungry > than other drives, even with a 3ware card. Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) talks directly with the chipset via the AT Attachment (ATA) protocol. So if there are IDE commands and setup that is burdening the CPU, it would occur. It depends on the IDE approach, the data transfer rate (DTR), seek times, etc... And yes, there documented cases of CPU load differences between drives, etc... But it is _ludicrous_ to suggest the same is true with a 3Ware card. In the case of a 3Ware card, _all_ system interaction is handled by its ASIC, including queuing, transfers, etc... Same deal with SCSI or SAS. The SCSI-2 protocol is a standard drive- host command set and transfer approach, with the host adapter chipset handling all system-to-bus operations. No drive to chipset interaction. So, in a nutshell, I don't think this gentleman knows the first thing about what he is talking about. > That person told me he found that info in reviews, but I can't find that. > Can you confirm that? And 10,000rpm or even 15,000rpm drives are _definitely_ going to be able to service _more_ seeks, reads and writes than a 5,400rpm or 7,200rpm drive. So what this gentleman is probably referring to is the ability of 10,000+rpm drives being able to service _more_ requests, which means there might be more involvement of the CPU which is sending/receiving more requests. In a nutshell, it's the side effect of the performance of the drive, and not a negative. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri Sep 2 00:06:23 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] WTB: Good printer stand for 75lbs. printer (=?iso-8859-1?q?with=0916?="x16" footprint)? In-Reply-To: <200508312004.39200.pberry2@cfl.rr.com> References: <20050831161230.72786.qmail@web34106.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <200508312004.39200.pberry2@cfl.rr.com> Message-ID: <1125633984.4496.29.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Wed, 2005-08-31 at 20:04 -0400, Wise Linux User Patrick wrote: > I saw a tool cart at Harbor Freight Tools, here, > http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=6650 > but, bought the one of chromed steel at Costco, for $49. Don't see it on the > web page, with the other Apex shelving. Probably also in most supply houses. > I like the openness for heat dissipation, and to run wires through... Hmmm, that's going to be way too top heavy. BTW, it can (and probably should) be 24" x 24" for stability. Also note that the printer base might only be 16"x16", but it's over 30" high, so I don't need it much off of the floor. Now if they had that with only 2 shelves. Can it be assembled as such? -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri Sep 2 00:14:49 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: WTB: Good printer stand for 75lbs. printer -- cart is probably good idea In-Reply-To: <1125633984.4496.29.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> References: <20050831161230.72786.qmail@web34106.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <200508312004.39200.pberry2@cfl.rr.com> <1125633984.4496.29.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <1125634490.4496.37.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Wed, 2005-08-31 at 20:04 -0400, Wise Linux User Patrick wrote: > I saw a tool cart at Harbor Freight Tools, here, > http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=6650 > but, bought the one of chromed steel at Costco, for $49. Don't see it on the > web page, with the other Apex shelving. Probably also in most supply houses. > I like the openness for heat dissipation, and to run wires through.. On Thu, 2005-09-01 at 23:06 -0500, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Hmmm, that's going to be way too top heavy. > BTW, it can (and probably should) be 24" x 24" for stability. > Also note that the printer base might only be 16"x16", but it's over 30" > high, so I don't need it much off of the floor. > Now if they had that with only 2 shelves. Can it be assembled as such? Hmmm, maybe this ... http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=5107 And I'd put the printer on the bottom shelf. I just measured and it's under 24" high, and that cart looks like it has enough space between the top and bottom shelf. Furthermore, the 30" length means I can pull out the printer tray and load it -- an important consideration. Although 16" wide might not be enough. I just got this from the specifications: 16.5" x 21" x 16.7" So, something around 20" wide, 30" long (so I can pull out the tray) that has at least a 24" clearing between the bottom-most and the next, is what I'm looking for. I like the steel cart suggestion. Although a hard plastic might be safer since it's going near my living area. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri Sep 2 01:10:00 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Dell 3100cn Color LaserJet with PostScript and LPD for $329.40 shipped! In-Reply-To: <1124200824.4679.39.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> References: <20050815203037.83270.qmail@web34104.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <1124200824.4679.39.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <1125637800.4496.74.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Tue, 2005-08-16 at 09:00 -0500, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > In doing some research, I found this printer takes a standard PC133 SO- > DIMM like most Dell notebooks. So instead of paying Dell $60, 70 or 150 > + for their 128, 256 or 512MiB, respectively, I found an aftermarket > dealer who specializes in 1:1 Dell parts. They offere the same for $15, > 30 and 75, respectively. > I grabbed the $30 256MiB module, although they clearly make up for it on > shipping ($12 for UPS Ground!). Still, can't beat the price overall. > I heard you need at least 128MiB to print a 600dpi 8x10" photo. > That sounds about right just in raw pixels: > (8in)(600/in) * (10in)(600/in) * [(24b) / (8b/B)] = 86.4MB > I'm sure the Postscript overhead puts its at least twice as much. > According to the reviews, 8x10" was doable with 192MiB. > I'll have 320MiB. Okay, well, I ordered from Bison Components: http://store.yahoo.com/bisoncomp/depa31b25pcs.html You'll note all Dell notebooks/printer models are listed. And they use their part number "BC57L5IMGL-1GAG" for the SO-DIMM. They sent me "BC37L5IMGL-1GAG" which is a regular DIMM. I'll let you know how well the reseller handles replacement. Hopefully I'll have good things to report. ;-> -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri Sep 2 01:17:10 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Dell 3100cn Color LaserJet with PostScript and LPD for $329.40 shipped! In-Reply-To: <1124199688.4679.26.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> References: <20050815212209.99800.qmail@web34012.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <200508151912.38782.mflang@bellsouth.net> <1124199688.4679.26.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <1125638230.4496.82.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Tue, 2005-08-16 at 08:41 -0500, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > I think this Dell 3100cn is different. It's a Fuji-Xerox engine, > cartridges are 4,000 sheets/each. FYI, the Dell actually came with _full_capacity_ 4,000-page toner cartridges. They do sell 2,000-page toner cartridges (for about 2/3rd the 4,000-page price), and I figured that's what it would come with -- ala "cheap" like HP. But in a great surprise, mine came with 4,000-page toner cartridges. So far, this printer is *AWESOME*! I'm totally shocked on the quality. I've seen color lasers before, including some Xerox phaser, and this printer's quality must be a newer Fuji-Xerox engine than what I've seen prior. Definitely better than the HP Color Laser 4000s I've seen too. I'll try printing out some full 8"x10" pictures from a 4 Megapixel camera when I get more memory (see my prior e-mail, I've only got 64MB right now). And despite what others said, Dell _did_ a good job of packaging the printer. Everything was tied down well, separately packaged, etc... I also like the fact that the bottom drawer doesn't just use gravity, it has a pair of tightening thumbs. I.e., I can lift up the printer and the bottom drawer will lift with it. The only thing that held true were the cartridges -- trust me, put newspapers down when you change. I thank God my floor is a combination of tile (entrance/traffic areas) and commercial grade laminate (living areas), because the color was all over. All 4 had leaked! They have an "unlock" and "lock" position and it doesn't matter, some comes out. Far worse than any HP, Lexmark, etc... color laser I had used prior when I replaced toner. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri Sep 2 01:48:17 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Dell 3100cn Color LaserJet with PostScript and LPD for $329.40 shipped! In-Reply-To: <1125638230.4496.82.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> References: <20050815212209.99800.qmail@web34012.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <200508151912.38782.mflang@bellsouth.net> <1124199688.4679.26.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> <1125638230.4496.82.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <1125640097.4496.85.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Fri, 2005-09-02 at 00:17 -0500, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > So far, this printer is *AWESOME*! I'm totally shocked on the quality. > I've seen color lasers before, including some Xerox phaser, and this > printer's quality must be a newer Fuji-Xerox engine than what I've seen > prior. Definitely better than the HP Color Laser 4000s I've seen too. > I'll try printing out some full 8"x10" pictures from a 4 Megapixel > camera when I get more memory (see my prior e-mail, I've only got 64MB > right now). Just setup GNOME's Print Tool. Imported the dl3100cn.ppd. Then setup the printer, using that PPD (now listed under "Dell"). Pointed it at the JetDirect compatible port, instead of LPD. [ JetDirect/9100 and LPD/515 are standard, $99 add-on adds IPP, NCP, SMB, etc... ] Nothing but perfect output! -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From whittake at sbaflorida.com Fri Sep 2 13:14:24 2005 From: whittake at sbaflorida.com (Homer Whittaker) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Dell 3100cn Color LaserJet with PostScript and LPD for $329.40 shipped! In-Reply-To: <1125637800.4496.74.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> References: <20050815203037.83270.qmail@web34104.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <1124200824.4679.39.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> <1125637800.4496.74.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <43188870.9030608@sbaflorida.com> Bryan J. Smith wrote: >On Tue, 2005-08-16 at 09:00 -0500, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > > >>In doing some research, I found this printer takes a standard PC133 SO- >>DIMM like most Dell notebooks. So instead of paying Dell $60, 70 or 150 >>+ for their 128, 256 or 512MiB, respectively, I found an aftermarket >>dealer who specializes in 1:1 Dell parts. They offere the same for $15, >>30 and 75, respectively. >> >> Byan: Have you tried to use NON Dell DIMM's? Should even be lesss expensive, like on ebay. Bye the way, what did the printer cost? Homer Whittaker >>I grabbed the $30 256MiB module, although they clearly make up for it on >>shipping ($12 for UPS Ground!). Still, can't beat the price overall. >>I heard you need at least 128MiB to print a 600dpi 8x10" photo. >>That sounds about right just in raw pixels: >> (8in)(600/in) * (10in)(600/in) * [(24b) / (8b/B)] = 86.4MB >>I'm sure the Postscript overhead puts its at least twice as much. >>According to the reviews, 8x10" was doable with 192MiB. >>I'll have 320MiB. >> >> > >Okay, well, I ordered from Bison Components: > http://store.yahoo.com/bisoncomp/depa31b25pcs.html > >You'll note all Dell notebooks/printer models are listed. >And they use their part number "BC57L5IMGL-1GAG" for the SO-DIMM. >They sent me "BC37L5IMGL-1GAG" which is a regular DIMM. > >I'll let you know how well the reseller handles replacement. >Hopefully I'll have good things to report. ;-> > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.matrixlist.com/pipermail/pc_support/attachments/20050902/d47ea2b6/attachment.html From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Fri Sep 2 13:24:18 2005 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Future-proof PC motherboard? Message-ID: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1859647@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2521&p=3 A motherboard from ECS that has a daughterboard for housing the CPU, with daughterboards available that support both current *either* AMD *or* Intel CPUs, with more in development including one for the forthcoming Athlon M2 series. For some perspective, there was a company several years back called PIOS (later renamed to Met@box) that had an engineer named Dave Haynie (ex-Commodore systems engineer) designing a motherboard + daughterboard system called the PIOS-One which would have allowed for something like that. It is an extremely Commodore Amiga-like design to have the CPU on a daughterboard to allow easy upgrading later on (Motorola MC680x0 series with some third-party PowerPC cards), and Haynie's board was initially aimed at the PowerPC "G3" and "G4" processor series. During development Apple halted the clone market causing the non-Apple PowerPC system market to disappear almost overnight; when this happened Haynie went back to the drawing board to redesign his system to also support other CPUs (IIRC for the DEC Alpha), and it is IMHO/IIRC ultimately this redesign that caused the system's ultimate cancellation. So it is very cool to see "modern" motherboards starting to look at this. -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - Damien.McKenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri Sep 2 15:39:29 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Dell 3100cn Color LaserJet with PostScript and LPD for $329.40 shipped! In-Reply-To: <43188870.9030608@sbaflorida.com> References: <20050815203037.83270.qmail@web34104.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <1124200824.4679.39.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> <1125637800.4496.74.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> <43188870.9030608@sbaflorida.com> Message-ID: <1125689970.4662.13.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Fri, 2005-09-02 at 13:14 -0400, Homer Whittaker wrote: > Byan: Have you tried to use NON Dell DIMM's? First off, this is _exactly_ what I have. Secondly, it's a DIMM, not a SO-DIMM like I need. I just wanted a vendor who claimed the exact Dell part number. The good news is the reseller immediate admitted they had an error and gave me their UPS shipping number so there is $0 cost to me. I don't mind delays, as long as the reseller immediate comes forth, and offers to pick up all costs. > Should even be lesss expensive, like on ebay. I wanted an exact part match from a vendor claiming such. I probably could have found an equivalent anywhere, but I'm not complaining about $30 for a 256MB PC133 SO-DIMM at this point. > Bye the way, what did the printer cost? Check the subject. ;-> -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri Sep 2 19:52:09 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Future-proof PC motherboard? In-Reply-To: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1859647@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> References: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1859647@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> Message-ID: <1125705129.4662.29.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Fri, 2005-09-02 at 13:24 -0400, Damien McKenna wrote: > http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2521&p=3 > A motherboard from ECS that has a daughterboard for housing the CPU, > with daughterboards available that support both current *either* AMD > *or* Intel CPUs, with more in development including one for the > forthcoming Athlon M2 series. Yep. HyperTransport makes it easy. You can tunnel in whatever you want. That includes an additional HyperTransport tunnel with another 16 PCIe channels. For Intel, the options are greatly reduced. At most, they have a CPU upgrade module. Airma (IIRC) also has a HyperTransport upgrade module that lets you switch between different CPUs sockets. > For some perspective, there was a company several years back called PIOS > (later renamed to Met@box) that had an engineer named Dave Haynie > (ex-Commodore systems engineer) designing a motherboard + daughterboard > system called the PIOS-One which would have allowed for something like > that. It is an extremely Commodore Amiga-like design to have the CPU on > a daughterboard to allow easy upgrading later on (Motorola MC680x0 > series with some third-party PowerPC cards), and Haynie's board was > initially aimed at the PowerPC "G3" and "G4" processor series. During > development Apple halted the clone market causing the non-Apple PowerPC > system market to disappear almost overnight; when this happened Haynie > went back to the drawing board to redesign his system to also support > other CPUs (IIRC for the DEC Alpha), and it is IMHO/IIRC ultimately this > redesign that caused the system's ultimate cancellation. > So it is very cool to see "modern" motherboards starting to look at > this. The difference is that HyperTransport lends itself to such designs. You can get extremely flexible with *0* redesign. That includes additional tunnels and other peripherals using HyperTransport. Intel AGTL+ cannot. At most for Intel, you have your PCIe channels out off the daughtercard -- but that's it. *0* flexibility in adding more peripherals. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 4 00:32:59 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Tom's Hardware on 19 Power Supplies ... consider Seasonic S12 series? Message-ID: <1125808380.4587.89.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> Tom's Hardware has completed a 6 week test of 19 power supply units (PSUs): http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/200507111/index.html The candidates were priced from $95 for a 300W Fortron to $500 for the Monster PC Power & Cooling 850W SSI: http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/200507111/stresstest-06.html#prices_and_general_overview_of_tested_products In the end, the 300W Fortron took quiet honors while the 600W Seasonic S12 took price/power honors. The Seasonic S12 is an interesting design with a 120mm outtake fan mounted on the inside, no fan on the outside -- reducing audio noise while still moving a lot of air. A nice design overall. Especially considering the S12 series is ATX2.0 with dual +12V rails, 6-pin (2x3) SSI WS (aka PCIe) connectors, and 8-pin (2x4) SSI Server connectors on all models 430+W. NewEgg carries versions of 330W, 380W, 430W, 500W and 600W for $59 - $159: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=GO&Range=1&bop=and&description=seasonic+S12 You might find a better deal on Froogle with another reseller though. from $36.50 - 185.99: http://froogle.google.com/froogle?scoring=p&q=Seasonic+S12 In the new MicroATX cases I've been recommending, the full size ATX of a little over 120mm depth should just barely fit with a standard DVD drive (but not a removable drive bay like I have). The 120mm fan would be just above the slots and pull air directly off of the slots, which would be a nice bonus (in addition to the 120mm over the CPU on the case itself). -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 4 00:59:17 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Tom's Hardware on six (6) i945+ICH6/7 LGA-775 mainboards ... Message-ID: <1125809957.4587.95.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> If you still prefer Intel's high-end (and your CPU seconds as an egg fryer), they Tom's Hardware has a good review of the latest i945 chipsets with both ICH6 and the latest ICH7 southbridges. http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20050901/index.html A feature breakdown is here: http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20050901/intel_945p-18.html Note you'll see Intel's newest I/O Controller Hub (ICH) and nVidia's Media and Communications Processor (MCP) claiming RAID-5 on the chipset. I will quickly expose what they really are in my next post. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 4 01:17:08 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Intel ICH7R and nVidia MCP-04 at RAID-5 = 15MBps (yes, it's FRAID) Message-ID: <1125811028.4587.114.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> I'm going to post this to LEAP as well, because just today I had to explain FRAID (fake RAID) yet again. - What is FRAID (Fake RAID)? And why is it popular? FRAID is _software_ RAID done in the vendor's driver for the OS. The reason it is popular is because it requires *0* additional hardware. The vendor takes a _dumb_ ATA bus arbitrator, and adds a little extra logic into the 16-bit BIOS Int13h Disk Services. You think you get hardware RAID, but you don't. All RAID functionality is 100% driven by your CPU. You see, once the OS boots, the little extra 16-bit routines are _useless_ and a driver is required. But instead of letting the OS handle the disk organization, it has already been fixed in the 16-bit Int13h Disk Services. So it's up to the software driver, with some 3rd party licensed code, to do the RAID. It's that 3rd party licensed code that is proprietary and will never have a GPL release. A _real_, intelligent hardware RAID card has on-board intelligence with firmware that drives all RAID functionality. The OS driver only talks to that intelligence, not the disks themselves, for block transfers. The on-board intelligence does rebuilds, XORs, etc... This is important to note because RAID-1 and, especially, RAID-5 is extremely poor in software. Not because of the XOR operation, but because of the redundant streams of data that much pass through the CPU during a write. Instead of a simple block transfer from memory directly to I/O, and the intelligence doing any mirroring/parity, it gets jammed through the CPU first, which adds _massive_ overhead. - So what? Why should I care? Well, the comment came up today that RAID-5 is always hardware. Not so! The new Intel I/O Controller Hub version 7 RAID (ICH7R) and nVidia Media and Communication Processor (MCP-04) chips now offer so-called RAID-5 support. They are nothing more than FRAID, with the CPU still doing _all_ work. If you still don't believe how _bad_ software RAID-5, you need to check out these charts from GamePC ... The first one shows _write_ performance of RAID-5: http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=raid505&page=9 You'll note the ICH7R and MCP-04 at the _bottom_. Even the Areca ARC-1110 (superscalar XScale Intel I/O Processor 331, IOP331) in a 32- bit PCI slot is much faster, as well as the Broadcom (which is partially FRAID, long story). In reality, these tests were _not_ good because they only use 1GB writes maximum -- a bigger write would have been better (let alone with _multiple_ client loads like a server would have). Now this next one shows where hardware RAID rules (second graph): http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=raid505&page=10 As the disk cache fills up, only the Areca performs (in a 64-bit slot -- much be an issue with it in a 32-bit slot). Even the Broadcom quickly gets overloaded with pushing too much data up the CPU interconnect after a few MBs. Again, I'd really like to see multi-GB files used, which would be much better at showing off the real performance. And in any case, 3Ware _rules_ the I/O queuing -- which is what servers are all about. No one has been able to show an ATA/SATA solution that bests it at raw queuing -- and it really challenges even most SCSI RAID solutions as well (all but the top-end IOP331-333 designs). -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 4 02:36:38 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Blog: Fake RAID (FRAID) suck even more at RAID-5 -- WAS: Intel ICH7R In-Reply-To: <1125811028.4587.114.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> References: <1125811028.4587.114.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <1125815799.4587.117.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Sun, 2005-09-04 at 00:17 -0500, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > I'm going to post this to LEAP as well, because just today I had to > explain FRAID (fake RAID) yet again. I created a blog entry here: http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2005/09/fake-raid-fraid-sucks-even-more-at.html Nothing like turning modern disk I/O into i486-era PIO. ;-> -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon Sep 5 00:01:58 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Tom's Hardware on AMD Turion 64 ... Message-ID: <1125892919.6310.61.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> For those that still don't know what Intel Centrino is, I thought Tom's first 2 paragraphs on the AMD Turion 64 tell the story ... "Do you still remember March 12, 2003? That's the day when Intel launched its not-yet-finished mobile technology called Centrino with great fanfare. At the same time, they let the entire mobile hardware world know that they could use this technology to build successful and profitable devices from power-saving CPUs, chipsets and wireless LAN modules. But the mobile PC world suffered in the months that followed from a dearth of new offerings without any significant differences among them as Intel bombarded the airwaves and print media with a relentless Centrino marketing blitz. Third-party chipset and wireless LAN module builders found themselves edged out of the market overnight, with little or no demand for their products from system builders. Two years later, the primary consequence of this announcement appears to be a glut of some exaggeratedly designed notebooks all bearing the Centrino brand, none of which can be easily distinguished from another on technical merits. On first blush, this may not appear to pose problems for notebook buyers, but it does put Intel on track to expand its market-leading position into an outright monopoly. When that happens there's never a real guarantee that products will be continuously improved and enhanced or that buyers will get the best bang for their mobile technology bucks. And, as a kind of scary example and warning about what such market position can mean, you need only think of a well-known software maker based in Redmond, WA. Today, many people are unhappy with Intel's products and pricing, and seek an alternative to what the Centrino leaves unfulfilled." AMD Turion 64 is about partnerships with 3rd parties, instead of a single, cookie-cutter, marketing-only name for existing technology from a single vendor. Tom's article: http://www.tomshardware.com/mobile/20050830/index.html -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From damien at mc-kenna.com Mon Sep 5 13:15:51 2005 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Intel ICH7R and nVidia MCP-04 at RAID-5 = 15MBps (yes, it's FRAID) In-Reply-To: <1125811028.4587.114.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> References: <1125811028.4587.114.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <431C7D47.3070707@mc-kenna.com> Bryan J. Smith wrote: >Well, the comment came up today that RAID-5 is always hardware. Not so! >The new Intel I/O Controller Hub version 7 RAID (ICH7R) and nVidia Media >and Communication Processor (MCP-04) chips now offer so-called RAID-5 >support. > Also note that many nVidia nForce 4 motherboards have an SIL3114 chip that does RAID-5... in software. Even SIL's online documentation doesn't mention RAID-5 support in that chip (you need the SIL3124 for that), its a software add-on. -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon Sep 5 14:00:51 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Intel ICH7R and nVidia MCP-04 at RAID-5 = 15MBps (yes, it's FRAID) In-Reply-To: <431C7D47.3070707@mc-kenna.com> References: <1125811028.4587.114.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> <431C7D47.3070707@mc-kenna.com> Message-ID: <1125943251.6310.107.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Mon, 2005-09-05 at 13:15 -0400, Damien McKenna wrote: > Also note that many nVidia nForce 4 motherboards have an SIL3114 chip > that does RAID-5... in software. Even SIL's online documentation > doesn't mention RAID-5 support in that chip (you need the SIL3124 for > that), its a software add-on. A lot of vendors are starting to move into the "software RAID options as a profit model." Broadcom and others are selling software RAID support such as dynamic resizing and other things as add-ons for $$$. I have no problem with that as long as the solution does at least RAID-1 (or RAID-10 aka RAID-1e) duplication _in_hardware_, so I'm not turning my CPU into an I/O processor, and reducing my performance. And that's just for RAID-1 or 10. For RAID-5, I expect XORs to be done locally in local hardware. If it's being done at the CPU, I'm better off using the OS' RAID functionality like NT5+'s LDM, Linux's MD, etc... -- which still sucks compared to an on-board XOR engine. Remember, it's not the simple XOR operation that kills you. It's all the extra dataflow in your system. It's much, much, _much_ cheaper for these companies to sell you a software RAID-5 solution than to make a hardware one -- literally the difference between a $5 card and a $150 card. The RAID license is typically a 1-time licensing deal, whereas making a true, intelligent hardware RAID solution is a massive, recurring cost. CPU utilization is _not_ a good indicator of the performance hit. RAID benchmarks are best showing "real world" file/application server performance as the RAID is running. That's where the added I/O of software RAID cuts massively into the services performance -- especially for writes (and God help you during rebuilds ;-). Software RAID _only_ works well when the system is doing nothing else -- i.e., the system is a storage device, not a file/application/etc... server as well. When spending $3,000 on a server, I have a real problem when people want to save $300 -- $300 that would give them far greater performance and far fewer headaches. I have yet to meet someone who has deployed 3Ware solutions (_correctly_**) that has gone back to FRAID or even software RAID. -- Bryan **NOTE: I have seen plenty of people buy 3Ware cards and then use software RAID, only to complain about 3Ware. They buy the 3Ware cards for hot-swap support, which doesn't always work correctly with software RAID. I find it incomprehensible to buy a 3Ware card and not use its hardware RAID functions. 9 times out of 10, these people have not even attempted it, but believed the over-marketing non-sense of software RAID bigots who say hardware RAID is slower -- typically based on their prior use of i960 hardware RAID solutions that were not viable 10 years ago, much less 5 years ago when StrongARM and ASICs started showing up. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From whittake at sbaflorida.com Mon Sep 5 15:41:00 2005 From: whittake at sbaflorida.com (Homer Whittaker) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:14 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Tom's Hardware on 19 Power Supplies ... consider Seasonic S12 series? In-Reply-To: <1125808380.4587.89.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> References: <1125808380.4587.89.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <431C9F4C.3070508@sbaflorida.com> I understand that from a pure engineering point of view the various testing tables are essential. Having said that I truly believe that the overall results found by the various Leap and other Lug memberships are much more valuable and to the point. For instance I have two ps that have been with me for years and years, never seem to give me any glitches or problems in any way. 1. EnerMax Whisper putting out 431 watts, running 24x7 2. EnerMax Model EG 475P-VE running 24x7 Both boxes are loaded with various and sundry hardware things, and the large output of the two ps's let's them run cool, cool, cool. Homer Whittaker Bryan J. Smith wrote: >Tom's Hardware has completed a 6 week test of 19 power supply units >(PSUs): > http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/200507111/index.html > >The candidates were priced from $95 for a 300W Fortron to $500 for the >Monster PC Power & Cooling 850W SSI: > http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/200507111/stresstest-06.html#prices_and_general_overview_of_tested_products > >In the end, the 300W Fortron took quiet honors while the 600W Seasonic >S12 took price/power honors. > >The Seasonic S12 is an interesting design with a 120mm outtake fan >mounted on the inside, no fan on the outside -- reducing audio noise >while still moving a lot of air. A nice design overall. Especially >considering the S12 series is ATX2.0 with dual +12V rails, 6-pin (2x3) >SSI WS (aka PCIe) connectors, and 8-pin (2x4) SSI Server connectors on >all models 430+W. NewEgg carries versions of 330W, 380W, 430W, 500W and >600W for $59 - $159: > http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=GO&Range=1&bop=and&description=seasonic+S12 > >You might find a better deal on Froogle with another reseller though. >from $36.50 - 185.99: > http://froogle.google.com/froogle?scoring=p&q=Seasonic+S12 > >In the new MicroATX cases I've been recommending, the full size ATX of a >little over 120mm depth should just barely fit with a standard DVD drive >(but not a removable drive bay like I have). The 120mm fan would be >just above the slots and pull air directly off of the slots, which would >be a nice bonus (in addition to the 120mm over the CPU on the case >itself). > > > > From jasonb at edseek.com Mon Sep 5 17:37:36 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Intel ICH7R and nVidia MCP-04 at RAID-5 = 15MBps (yes, it's FRAID) In-Reply-To: <1125943251.6310.107.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> References: <1125811028.4587.114.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> <431C7D47.3070707@mc-kenna.com> <1125943251.6310.107.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <200509051737.36433.jasonb@edseek.com> On Monday 05 September 2005 14:00, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > **NOTE: I have seen plenty of people buy 3Ware cards and then use > software RAID, only to complain about 3Ware. They buy the 3Ware cards > for hot-swap support, which doesn't always work correctly with software > RAID. I find it incomprehensible to buy a 3Ware card and not use its > hardware RAID functions. 9 times out of 10, these people have not even > attempted it, but believed the over-marketing non-sense of software RAID > bigots who say hardware RAID is slower -- typically based on their prior > use of i960 hardware RAID solutions that were not viable 10 years ago, > much less 5 years ago when StrongARM and ASICs started showing up. Well, if you buy a used 6xxx series card for ATA disks, you'd probably be better off with software RAID 5 if you can't afford enough disks to run RAID 1+0 in hardware. Certainly for any modern 3Ware card it's insanity not to use hardware RAID, though. -- Jason Boxman Perl Programmer / *NIX Systems Administrator Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing | University of Florida http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon Sep 5 23:47:20 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Intel ICH7R and nVidia MCP-04 at RAID-5 = 15MBps (yes, it's FRAID) In-Reply-To: <200509051737.36433.jasonb@edseek.com> References: <1125811028.4587.114.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> <431C7D47.3070707@mc-kenna.com> <1125943251.6310.107.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> <200509051737.36433.jasonb@edseek.com> Message-ID: <1125978441.4703.1.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Mon, 2005-09-05 at 17:37 -0400, Jason Boxman wrote: > Well, if you buy a used 6xxx series card for ATA disks, you'd probably be > better off with software RAID 5 That's because the 3Ware Escalade 6000 series was _never_ designed for RAID-5. It was retro-added, and a serious flaw was found that was addressed in the 7000 series. > if you can't afford enough disks to run RAID 1+0 in hardware. By "afford," I would actually differ with most. At 4 channels, it only "costs" 1 disk. And it RAID-10 can be much higher performing than RAID-5 in most operations. > Certainly for any modern 3Ware card it's insanity not to use hardware > RAID, though. I agree. The sad thing is that issues with reliability as well as hotplug of Linux's MD were being blamed on the 3Ware card. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From bigjohn at midwest.net Tue Sep 6 01:35:59 2005 From: bigjohn at midwest.net (JohnH) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] HD Defragmentation References: <1125811028.4587.114.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com><431C7D47.3070707@mc-kenna.com><1125943251.6310.107.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com><200509051737.36433.jasonb@edseek.com> <1125978441.4703.1.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <000301c5b2a4$dce764e0$6401a8c0@3a5ah6vqcd> Is it true that even if you backup or copy data from one HD to another HD, that the fragmentation patern still exists? I was told that it does by someone who is supposed to that kind of the knowledge. I am also under the depresion that backing up or copying also backs up the deleted files even though the recycle bin has been emptied. From b.j.smith at ieee.org Tue Sep 6 07:43:34 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] HD Defragmentation In-Reply-To: <000301c5b2a4$dce764e0$6401a8c0@3a5ah6vqcd> References: <1125811028.4587.114.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> <431C7D47.3070707@mc-kenna.com> <1125943251.6310.107.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> <200509051737.36433.jasonb@edseek.com> <1125978441.4703.1.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> <000301c5b2a4$dce764e0$6401a8c0@3a5ah6vqcd> Message-ID: <1126007014.4703.8.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Tue, 2005-09-06 at 00:35 -0500, JohnH wrote: > Is it true that even if you backup or copy data from one HD to another HD, > that the fragmentation patern still exists? Depends on how you copy the data. If you use a raw filesystem backup, yes, the backup is still fragmented. If you use a copy, no, the files are typically copied contiguously. > I was told that it does by someone who is supposed to that kind of the > knowledge. > I am also under the depresion that backing up or copying also backs up the > deleted files even though the recycle bin has been emptied. Again, if you use a raw filesystem backup, yes. If you use a copy, no. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Wed Sep 7 09:59:56 2005 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Vista hardware requirements - MS speaker full of it? Message-ID: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D18596E0@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> http://www.apcstart.com/teched/pivot/entry.php?id=6 "If you move from 32 to 64 bit, you basically need to at least double your memory. 2 gigs in 64 bit is the equivalent of a gig of RAM on a 32bit machine. That's because you're dealing with chunks that are twice the size..." My take on this is that the extra bloating is due to code inefficiency and not a 32bit vs 64bit thing. Am I correct? It just sounds strange. Does Linux have the same problem, its been 64bit-clean for, what, ten years? His comment on gfx card requirements pretty much follows BS's comments on Microsoft's graphics subsystem to a T. Basically because their code / subsystems are so bad it'll take a seriously high end system to do the graphical touches compared to the efficient systems in OSX and OSS (GLX, Looking Glass, etc) graphical environments which get much more results from much less resources. But the general public is used to having to upgrade their systems so won't think twice about it, meanwhile the PC manufacturers are kept happy because there's yet another reason to push people to upgrade. -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - Damien.McKenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From b.j.smith at ieee.org Wed Sep 7 10:56:13 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Vista hardware requirements - MS speaker full of it? (YES) In-Reply-To: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D18596E0@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> Message-ID: <20050907145613.50102.qmail@web34107.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Damien McKenna wrote: > http://www.apcstart.com/teched/pivot/entry.php?id=6 > "If you move from 32 to 64 bit, you basically need to at > least double your memory. 2 gigs in 64 bit is the equivalent > of a gig of RAM on a 32bit machine. That's because you're > dealing with chunks that are twice the size..." > My take on this is that the extra bloating is due to code > inefficiency and not a 32bit vs 64bit thing. Am I correct? Yes, for the most part. It's the same issue Microsoft has with Windows NT 3.1 and Win16 on Win32 (WoW), only now for NT5.1/6.0's Win32 on Win64 (WoW, again). But we'll get to that in a moment. To start, here's the FUD busting ... 1. Pointers are _still_ 48-bit Even in 32-bit and PAE 36-bit (what I call PAE36) memory models, pointers are _always_ 48-bit. Even if they are "normalized" into 32-bit physical values, or 3-level pages for PAE 36-bit, they are 48-bit. The PAE 52-bit (what I call PAE52, even though the CPU's addressing is fully PAE 36-bit compatible) memory model is known as "Long" mode for a reason -- the 16-bit segment + 32-bit offset registers do _not_ change. This is why AMD's current x86-64 model is limited to 48-bit/256TiB physical memory (which is a long story, but x86-64 basically adds a level-4 page for full 48-bit/PAE52 addressing). 2. Registers can still be 32-bit There's _nothing_ forcing use of 64-bit registers. EAX, EBX, etc... still exist. Furthermore, IIRC, x86-64 4K paging is still optimized just as x86, on 4-bytes (32-bits). There are only 2 things that would use more memory: A. Greater use of stack space Events, interrupts, etc... will often cause the full 64-bit ALU registers to be saved, consuming more stack space. This adds much of the 10+% memory usage when a PAE52 kernel is executing. B. Poor compiler targetting, library standards The other issue is poor compiler targetting/usage. Compilers that change the default integer data type to 64-bit on an x86-64 target will, obviously, change usage. In the GNU world, portability guidelines typically force coders to want to use the int32[s|u], int64[s|u], etc..., endianness, byte order, etc... explicitly. In the x86-only Windows world, Microsoft itself writes generic C code based on assumptions in the 32-bit x86 architecture (which is why non-x86 NT died rather quickly), and that includes the massive history of win16/win32 that will _not_ be re-written. This, in fact, goes to the heart of why Win32 is not Win64 portable, and the resulting, new generation WoW subsystem. I.e., the clusterfsck is self-perpetuating into one massive circle-jerk. Which is where 80% of the problem comes from. The overhead of the WoW subsystem -- loading a WoW "virtual machine" (of sorts) for _every_single_ Win32 application that runs on Win64. And when I say "Win32 application," I mean about 90% of the libraries and applications that come with 64-bit editions of Windows itself! That's the problem. In GNU/Linux, distros are either shipping less than 10% of additional, 32-bit libraries under /lib, and all PAE52 libraries under /lib64 -- or they are shipping a "pure" PAE52 distro, with a chroot environment for a few 32-bit binaries/libraries. Because the OS is almost entirely "64-bit clean," it is not a self-clusterfsck'ing OS. > It just sounds strange. > Does Linux have the same problem, its been 64bit-clean for, > what, ten years? Exactomundo. Digital produced a 64-bit (40-bit physically) addressing version of Windows for Alpha 164A/264, but porting Win32 became a nightmare. > His comment on gfx card requirements pretty much follows > BS's comments on Microsoft's graphics subsystem to a T. > Basically because their code / subsystems are so bad it'll > take a seriously high end system to do the graphical touches > compared to the efficient systems in OSX and OSS (GLX, > Looking Glass, etc) graphical environments which get much > more results from much less resources. The NT Graphical Display Interface (GDI) and DirectX were _never_ supposed to co-exist. In fact, the GDI was designed with OpenGL in mind, complementary. It wasn't until DirectX 7 (1999) was integrated in NT5 (2000) that Microsoft could even do "hardware acceleration" of DirectX alongside GDI -- because Direct DOS Memory Map started on DOS 7.x (Win95/98). And even now, DirectX 9.1 for seemless 3D objects atop of the GDI is still _slower_ than OpenGL on Windows itself. Now you're going to have the Avalon subsystem, which will not only have an incomplete DirectX 9.1 in the Windows Graphics Foundations (WGF) 1.1, but the whole GDI/MultiWin atop of it for compatibility with the majority of applications -- even from Microsoft itself. Microsoft is going its best to come up with various "hacks" in WGF 1.1 to offset the overhead. One is what X11 did pre-Cairo/LookingGlass (can't remember the extension, is it Xv?), to just use video memory as "dumb memory" to store things, and map that as virtual memory. In other words, you're still _not_ using the graphics processor unit (GPU) to manage windows directly, which is the ultimate in performance -- not just 2D, but especially for 3D. But instead of using main memory to handle overlapping windows, which is what would normally happen, it uses memory on the video card. I.e., the X11 server fools the system so memory copies don't have to go back and forth over the AGP/PCIe bus to the video card -- drasically improving simple 2D window (e.g., GDI, standard X11, etc...) performance. It's a very simple hack that drastically cuts down on overhead, but it _requires_ a video card with a lot of memory. Meaning on a video card with little memory -- or worse yet, the "TurboCache" -- performance will actually be _reduced_ versus not using the hack. > But the general public is used to having to > upgrade their systems so won't think twice about it, Exactomundo. Most consumers believe when they upgrade just 1 of the 4: OS, applications, system or peripherals -- they have to upgrade _all_ 4 at the same time. And that's where the OEMs _and_ superstores come together. > meanwhile the PC manufacturers are kept happy because > there's yet another reason to push people to upgrade. Exactomundo. Sadly enough, what WGF 1.1 will do with a nVidia G70 (GeForce 7800GTX) can be _blown_away_ with an old NV11 (GeForce2 MX200) on MacOS X with QuartzExtreme, or FreeDesktop.ORG Cairo or Sun's LookingGlass. Hacks like Xv, which is basically what Microsoft is doing in WGF 1.1, are rather _pathetic_ in comparison to true GPU 2D/3D control of the framebuffer and 0 by the graphics server. -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From b.j.smith at ieee.org Wed Sep 7 11:03:34 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Vista hardware requirements - MS speaker full of it? (YES addendum) Message-ID: <20050907150334.19745.qmail@web34105.mail.mud.yahoo.com> "Bryan J. Smith" wrote: > Which is where 80% of the problem comes from. The overhead > of the WoW subsystem -- loading a WoW "virtual machine" (of > sorts) for _every_single_ Win32 application that runs on > Win64. Actually, that's _incomplete_. What I should have said is that not only does WoW get loaded anytime a Win32 application loads and uses a Win64 library, but it _also_ gets loaded anytime a Win64 binary uses a Win32 library. And since 90+% of libraries in NT5.1/6.0's 64-bit Editions are Win32, you're pretty much talking _regardless_ an application in Win32 or Win64 -- WoW is getting loaded for _every_single_application_. This is different than when NT 3.1 first came out. At least the OS itself was almost entirely Win32. Now with NT5.1/6.0 64-bit versions, 90% of the OS is _still_ Win32. This is why the 64-bit edition of UT ran _slower_ than the 32-bit edition, both on the 32-bit _and_ 64-bit editions of Windows. Because the 64-bit edition was making far more calls via the WoW subsystem than the 32-bit edition on the 64-bit edition of XP. -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From jasonb at edseek.com Wed Sep 7 11:03:16 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Vista hardware requirements - MS speaker full of it? (YES) In-Reply-To: <20050907145613.50102.qmail@web34107.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20050907145613.50102.qmail@web34107.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <200509071103.16905.jasonb@edseek.com> On Wednesday 07 September 2005 10:56, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > This, in fact, goes to the heart of why Win32 is not Win64 > portable, and the resulting, new generation WoW subsystem. > I.e., the clusterfsck is self-perpetuating into one massive > circle-jerk. ROFL. Nicely said. ;) From b.j.smith at ieee.org Wed Sep 7 12:01:55 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] AOpen F90GS 19" LCD on sale again ($289 - $50 rebate) ... Message-ID: <20050907160156.52718.qmail@web34109.mail.mud.yahoo.com> It's on-sale again: http://dealnews.com/deals/AOpen-F90-GS-19-LCD-display-for-240-after-rebate/95176.html Exact same model (DVI, 12ms) and price/rebate I bought it for. Not as "portable/sturdy" as my older Sceptre X9 (DVI, 25ms). But it's great for the price if you don't want to go with a more expensive Sceptre X9 series (like the Gamer or newer 8ms models that are $300+). -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From damien at mc-kenna.com Wed Sep 7 21:38:08 2005 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Details of Sun's next Opteron servers unravel Message-ID: <431F9600.4090003@mc-kenna.com> http://news.com.com/2300-1010-5845883.html http://news.com.com/Suns+Galaxy+servers+making+September+debut/2100-1010_3-5845879.html http://www.vmunix.com/mark/blog/archives/2005/09/02/new-sun-galaxy-servers/ http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/eric_boutilier http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/09/06/HNgalaxylaunch_1.html http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1856019,00.asp Highlights (rumored): * Darn nice looking case X-) * Two, four and eight dual-core CPU options. * 1U through 4U models. * Lots of PCI-X as standard. * Pushing into a software-focused business model, i.e. selling more than just the box. * They mark the return of Andy Bechtolsheim, an original co-founder of Sun who left in 1995; in 2004 Sun bought the company Kealia that he had started so have him back again. The full details are expected on the 12th. -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From b.j.smith at ieee.org Thu Sep 8 08:46:57 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Vista hardware requirements - MS speaker full of it? (YES) In-Reply-To: <200509071103.16905.jasonb@edseek.com> References: <20050907145613.50102.qmail@web34107.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <200509071103.16905.jasonb@edseek.com> Message-ID: <1126183617.4696.18.camel@bert64.mobile.smithconcepts.com> On Wednesday 07 September 2005 10:56, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > This, in fact, goes to the heart of why Win32 is not Win64 > portable, and the resulting, new generation WoW subsystem. > I.e., the clusterfsck is self-perpetuating into one massive > circle-jerk. On Wed, 2005-09-07 at 11:03 -0400, Jason Boxman wrote: > ROFL. Nicely said. ;) Yep. I don't "demonize" Microsoft. I like to explain, technically, what they do. And why do they do it? Because marketing is cheaper than redeveloping something proper. They already tried once with Win32. They have basically not even bothered with .NET. And the result is that nearly _all_ their major Win32/.NET architects now work at Google. Microsoft knows it has no R&D in the pot now, and has failed at all prior attempts to shift the company to newer, better APIs. So it's just marketing now. And let the buyer beware. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Thu Sep 8 13:51:00 2005 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Dual-boot OSX 10.3 and 10.4? Message-ID: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D185974E@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> Real quick question - is it possible to dual-boot OSX10.3 and 10.4? I've got a Mac at work I'd like to relegate to web browser testing. It has 10.3 on it and I intend getting 10.4 but I'd still like to keep 10.3 too. Failing that, are there any reliable devices out there for switching IDE cables? Say a 2-device cable that has a switch to choose which drive is active? Thanks. -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - Damien.McKenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From jasonb at edseek.com Sat Sep 10 01:26:54 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] 3MB/s Samba Performance? Message-ID: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> I can pull 10.5MB/s off the same machine via NFS, so I don't know what the deal is. Messes something awful with trying to burn DVDs off CIFS on Windows 2000 SP4 though. After a couple minutes of copying a DVD ISO from the server running Samba, the speed slows to about 400KB/s. The server is mostly idle with no other large transfers in progress. I'm at a loss. nebula:/etc/apache# uname -a Linux nebula 2.6.11ac6 #1 SMP Sat Apr 9 14:58:42 EDT 2005 i686 GNU/Linux # dpkg -l samba ii samba 3.0.14a-3 nebula:/etc/apache# mii-tool eth1: negotiated 100baseTx-FD flow-control, link ok # Global parameters [global] # Do something sensible when Samba crashes: mail the admin a backtrace panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d workgroup = BENEFITS_NET netbios name = NEBULA server string = Samba on Debian Linux interfaces = eth1 encrypt passwords = true passdb backend = smbpasswd guest hosts equiv = /etc/hosts.equiv passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u passwd chat = *New\spassword:* %n\n *Re-enter\snew\spassword:* %n\n *Password\schanged.* . passwd chat debug = Yes debug level = 0 socket options = TCP_NODELAY SO_SNDBUF=4096 SO_RCVBUF=4096 hosts allow = 192.168.0. 192.168.13. ; Enable WINS service so I NetBIOS names can be ; resolved across subnets ; Also enable master status so share lists can ; propogate amongst subnets correctly wins support = yes name resolve order = wins lmhosts hosts bcast domain master = yes remote announce = 192.168.13.255/BENEFITS_NET ; The following three lines will allow the available ; printers to be slurped from lpstat. printing = CUPS printcap name = lpstat load printers = yes [printers] comment = All Printers path = /tmp browseable = no public = yes writable = no printable = yes create mode = 0700 ; The raw option allows printing from Windows using the ; driver provided by Epson. ; The gs-stp package and a cups-o-matic driver ; for the Epson Stylus 740 are used for local printing. print command = /usr/bin/lpr -P %p -o raw %s lpq command = /usr/bin/lpstat -o %p lprm command = /usr/bin/cancel %p-%j available = yes [ps2pdf] comment = Basic PostScript to PDF Print Engine print ok = yes guest ok = yes path = /tmp print command = /usr/bin/ps2pdf %s; rm %s create mask = 0777 force create mode = 0777 [abyss] comment = Storage Abyss path = /home/shared valid users = xxx writeable = Yes guest ok = Yes volume = Abyss -- Jason Boxman Perl Programmer / *NIX Systems Administrator Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing | University of Florida http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com Sat Sep 10 14:46:42 2005 From: hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com (William Warren) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] 3MB/s Samba Performance? In-Reply-To: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> References: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> Message-ID: <43232A12.4080305@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> I have had this issue as well. it invariably has been the windows machine's fault. Either nic driver not doing well or windows just acting a fool. Jason Boxman wrote: > I can pull 10.5MB/s off the same machine via NFS, so I don't know what the > deal is. Messes something awful with trying to burn DVDs off CIFS on Windows > 2000 SP4 though. > > After a couple minutes of copying a DVD ISO from the server running Samba, the > speed slows to about 400KB/s. The server is mostly idle with no other large > transfers in progress. I'm at a loss. > > nebula:/etc/apache# uname -a > Linux nebula 2.6.11ac6 #1 SMP Sat Apr 9 14:58:42 EDT 2005 i686 GNU/Linux > > # dpkg -l samba > ii samba 3.0.14a-3 > > nebula:/etc/apache# mii-tool > eth1: negotiated 100baseTx-FD flow-control, link ok > > # Global parameters > [global] > > # Do something sensible when Samba crashes: mail the admin a backtrace > panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d > workgroup = BENEFITS_NET > netbios name = NEBULA > server string = Samba on Debian Linux > interfaces = eth1 > encrypt passwords = true > passdb backend = smbpasswd guest > hosts equiv = /etc/hosts.equiv > passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u > passwd chat = *New\spassword:* %n\n *Re-enter\snew\spassword:* %n\n > *Password\schanged.* . > passwd chat debug = Yes > debug level = 0 > socket options = TCP_NODELAY SO_SNDBUF=4096 SO_RCVBUF=4096 > hosts allow = 192.168.0. 192.168.13. > > ; Enable WINS service so I NetBIOS names can be > ; resolved across subnets > ; Also enable master status so share lists can > ; propogate amongst subnets correctly > > wins support = yes > name resolve order = wins lmhosts hosts bcast > domain master = yes > remote announce = 192.168.13.255/BENEFITS_NET > > ; The following three lines will allow the available > ; printers to be slurped from lpstat. > > printing = CUPS > printcap name = lpstat > load printers = yes > > [printers] > comment = All Printers > path = /tmp > browseable = no > public = yes > writable = no > printable = yes > create mode = 0700 > > ; The raw option allows printing from Windows using the > ; driver provided by Epson. > ; The gs-stp package and a cups-o-matic driver > ; for the Epson Stylus 740 are used for local printing. > > print command = /usr/bin/lpr -P %p -o raw %s > lpq command = /usr/bin/lpstat -o %p > lprm command = /usr/bin/cancel %p-%j > available = yes > > [ps2pdf] > comment = Basic PostScript to PDF Print Engine > print ok = yes > guest ok = yes > path = /tmp > print command = /usr/bin/ps2pdf %s; rm %s > create mask = 0777 > force create mode = 0777 > > [abyss] > comment = Storage Abyss > path = /home/shared > valid users = xxx > writeable = Yes > guest ok = Yes > volume = Abyss > > -- My "Foundation" verse: Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. -- carpe ductum -- "Grab the tape" CDTT (Certified Duct Tape Technician) Linux user #322099 Machines: 206822 256638 276825 http://counter.li.org/ From jasonb at edseek.com Sat Sep 10 19:43:07 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] 3MB/s Samba Performance? In-Reply-To: <43232A12.4080305@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> References: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> <43232A12.4080305@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> Message-ID: <200509101943.07775.jasonb@edseek.com> On Saturday 10 September 2005 14:46, William Warren wrote: > I have had this issue as well. it invariably has been the windows > machine's fault. Either nic driver not doing well or windows just > acting a fool. Oh well, just ordered a new DL NEC DVDRW from Newegg. I'll stick that in my Linux box so I can burn again over NFS. (I forgot I needed a DVD-ROM/DVD-RW for my gaming box to read game discs -- so used to CDs until now...) -- Jason Boxman Perl Programmer / *NIX Systems Administrator Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing | University of Florida http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sat Sep 10 20:35:07 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: 3MB/s Samba Performance? In-Reply-To: <200509101943.07775.jasonb@edseek.com> Message-ID: <20050911003508.44788.qmail@web34114.mail.mud.yahoo.com> On Saturday 10 September 2005 14:46, William Warren wrote: > I have had this issue as well. it invariably has been > the windows machine's fault. Either nic driver not doing > well or windows just acting a fool. Jason Boxman wrote: > Oh well, just ordered a new DL NEC DVDRW from Newegg. I'll > stick that in my Linux box so I can burn again over NFS. > (I forgot I needed a DVD-ROM/DVD-RW for my gaming box to > read game discs -- so used to CDs until now...) I have difficulty breaking 5MBps with SMB over 100Mbps. The most I've ever seen is 6MBps with large SRAM-enabled NICs. SMB is not NFS. It has a lot more overhead. -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 11 00:47:58 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] 3MB/s Samba Performance? In-Reply-To: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> References: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> Message-ID: <1126414078.4573.12.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sat, 2005-09-10 at 01:26 -0400, Jason Boxman wrote: > I can pull 10.5MB/s off the same machine via NFS, so I don't know what the > deal is. Messes something awful with trying to burn DVDs off CIFS on Windows > 2000 SP4 though. Again, SMB is _never_ going to give you NFS-level performance. > After a couple minutes of copying a DVD ISO from the server running Samba, the > speed slows to about 400KB/s. The server is mostly idle with no other large > transfers in progress. I'm at a loss. SMB is _horrendous_ when it comes to synchronizing the buffering between a slower (than hard disk) block device and the network. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 11 00:52:40 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: 3MB/s Samba Performance? -- LG GSA-4163 (or 4165)? In-Reply-To: <200509101943.07775.jasonb@edseek.com> References: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> <43232A12.4080305@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> <200509101943.07775.jasonb@edseek.com> Message-ID: <1126414360.4573.18.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sat, 2005-09-10 at 19:43 -0400, Jason Boxman wrote: > Oh well, just ordered a new DL NEC DVDRW from Newegg. I'll stick that in my > Linux box so I can burn again over NFS. (I forgot I needed a DVD-ROM/DVD-RW > for my gaming box to read game discs -- so used to CDs until now...) *CRINGE* Any reason you didn't go for the LG GSA-4163? http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=GO&Range=1&bop=and&description=GSA%2D4163 Universal format, best Linux compatibility, AnandTech review speed/reliability winner, etc... Also, there is now the LG GSA-4165 which adds 4x dual-layer DVD-R (the 4163 only had 4x dual-layer DVD+R). Ironically, it's available in black for $3 cheaper than the 4163. Go figure. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827136061 -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com Sun Sep 11 00:55:51 2005 From: hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com (William Warren) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: 3MB/s Samba Performance? In-Reply-To: <20050911003508.44788.qmail@web34114.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20050911003508.44788.qmail@web34114.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4323B8D7.7080909@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> Bryan J. Smith wrote: > On Saturday 10 September 2005 14:46, William Warren wrote: > >>I have had this issue as well. it invariably has been >>the windows machine's fault. Either nic driver not doing >>well or windows just acting a fool. > > > Jason Boxman wrote: > >>Oh well, just ordered a new DL NEC DVDRW from Newegg. I'll >>stick that in my Linux box so I can burn again over NFS. >>(I forgot I needed a DVD-ROM/DVD-RW for my gaming box to >>read game discs -- so used to CDs until now...) > > > I have difficulty breaking 5MBps with SMB over 100Mbps. The > most I've ever seen is 6MBps with large SRAM-enabled NICs. > > SMB is not NFS. It has a lot more overhead. > > Really? I am doing 7.2 megabytes/sec right now with bursts up to 8.6 on SMB. I can usually sustain that indefinitely. -- My "Foundation" verse: Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. -- carpe ductum -- "Grab the tape" CDTT (Certified Duct Tape Technician) Linux user #322099 Machines: 206822 256638 276825 http://counter.li.org/ From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 11 01:10:05 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] WTS: GeForce 6800GT 256MB DDR3 for $250 (AGP or PCIe, your choice) -- WAS: XFX DoA Issues In-Reply-To: <20050816212401.40347.qmail@web34107.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20050816212401.40347.qmail@web34107.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1126415406.4573.39.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Tue, 2005-08-16 at 14:24 -0700, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > The GeForce 6800GT is typically still over $350 for PCIe Well, it appears the GeForce 6800GT is still commanding a good price. My system has an eVGA GeForce 6800GT 256MB DDR3 _PCIe_ and it's still up there in price: http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=eVGA+6800GT+PCIe&btnG=Search+Froogle&scoring=p My wife's system has an PNY GeForce 6800GT 256MB DDR3 _AGP_ and it too is about the same price (although NewEgg.COM does have it for $324.00, while all others are above $350): http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=PNY+6800GT+AGP&btnG=Search+Froogle&scoring=p With that said, I might have a buyer for one at the LEAP meeting this Thursday. If not, if anyone is interested in either for $250, let me know. If you want the PCIe, let me know by _Monday_ so I can order my GeForce 7800GTX and get it in time before Thursday. I don't have any other PCIe card to use "temporarily." If you want the AGP, just let me know by Wednesday, because I have plenty of spare AGP cards. I'll downgrade her to a GeForce4 Ti4400 128MB AGP for the next week or so it takes me to get her new, PCIe-based system. -- Bryan BTW, I just found out that eVGA has a "full purchase price trade-in program" for _all_ their video cards! But as luck would have it, it's only good for the first 90 days -- and that would mean I just missed the deadline in July. Oh well, 90 days is still "nice protection" against a new card coming out shortly afterwards. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From jasonb at edseek.com Sun Sep 11 01:59:13 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: 3MB/s Samba Performance? -- LG GSA-4163 (or 4165)? In-Reply-To: <1126414360.4573.18.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> <200509101943.07775.jasonb@edseek.com> <1126414360.4573.18.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <200509110159.13701.jasonb@edseek.com> On Sunday 11 September 2005 00:52, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > On Sat, 2005-09-10 at 19:43 -0400, Jason Boxman wrote: > > Oh well, just ordered a new DL NEC DVDRW from Newegg. I'll stick that in > > my Linux box so I can burn again over NFS. (I forgot I needed a > > DVD-ROM/DVD-RW for my gaming box to read game discs -- so used to CDs > > until now...) > > *CRINGE* Any reason you didn't go for the LG GSA-4163? Because I just needed something that would read and optionally write DVD-R. The DL is a bonus, but the media is probably too expensive for me to care just like the Spring before last when I got my first DVD-R. It's unlikely I'll ever use DVD-RAM, since I don't even burn backups to DVD-R as it stands. So, there wasn't much consideration for having support for that. -- Jason Boxman Perl Programmer / *NIX Systems Administrator Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing | University of Florida http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 11 05:23:41 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: 3MB/s Samba Performance? -- LG GSA-4163 (or 4165)? In-Reply-To: <200509110159.13701.jasonb@edseek.com> References: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> <200509101943.07775.jasonb@edseek.com> <1126414360.4573.18.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <200509110159.13701.jasonb@edseek.com> Message-ID: <1126430621.4573.94.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sun, 2005-09-11 at 01:59 -0400, Jason Boxman wrote: > Because I just needed something that would read and optionally write DVD-R. ??? I'm confused. NEC is clearly a Sony/Philips DVD+RW Consortium member, so the "laser/firmware base" is DVD+RW and _not_ Pioneer DVD-R. LG has sided with the DVD Consortium, so their "laser/firmware base" is Pioneer DVD-R (the Matshushita DVD-RAM support is just a "bonus"). > The DL is a bonus, but the media is probably too expensive for me to care > just like the Spring before last when I got my first DVD-R. And as I said, the LG GSA-4163 does 4xDL DVD+R, and the GSA-4165 adds 4xDL DVD-R. _All_ GSA-416x (from the 4160 on-ward) _do_ 16x DVD-R. > It's unlikely I'll ever use DVD-RAM, since I don't even burn backups to DVD-R > as it stands. So, there wasn't much consideration for having support for > that. Forget DVD-RAM, do you understand that DVD+RW "base" drives: 1. Can_not_ record in Disc-at-Once (DaO) mode 2. Do _not_ support cdrecord+DVDpatch (byte-by-byte record) at all 3. Produce less compatible/readable DVD-R than DVD Consortium drives Lack of #2 used to be a major PITA before kernel 2.6 came out with direct re-write support. I.e., Jorg has only added a preliminary hack that offers a way for programs to send a byte-by-byte record through DVD +RW firmware -- something it was _never_ designed for. Direct re-write support is a block operation. That's fine when you have DVD-RW, DVD+RW or DVD-RAM. But it's far less idea for DVD-R. In fact, it goes to the heart of the matter why DVD+R is less compatible than DVD-R. Which is why DVD+RW drives can't produce as compatible DVD-R discs as DVD Consortium drives. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From jasonb at edseek.com Sun Sep 11 13:14:25 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: 3MB/s Samba Performance? -- LG GSA-4163 (or 4165)? In-Reply-To: <1126430621.4573.94.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> <200509110159.13701.jasonb@edseek.com> <1126430621.4573.94.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <200509111314.25695.jasonb@edseek.com> On Sunday 11 September 2005 05:23, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > On Sun, 2005-09-11 at 01:59 -0400, Jason Boxman wrote: > > Because I just needed something that would read and optionally write > > DVD-R. > > ??? I'm confused. I know. You're familiar with all the technical standards, committees, and so forth. I wanted something that said 'DVD+/-RW' in its name and was cheap. So, I can understand your confusion on why I might have picked a 'problematic' burner. My old NEC 2500-A works well enough to use cdrecord-proDVD and doesn't coaster and I've been able to read its DVD-R discs in the few players I stick them in. That's enough for me, so I bought another because it was listed on dealnews and was cheap. Knowing nothing about compatibility issues and believing I had none, I went with the brand that I knew worked for me. > NEC is clearly a Sony/Philips DVD+RW Consortium member, so the > "laser/firmware base" is DVD+RW and _not_ Pioneer DVD-R. That doesn't mean much to me, but it would mean less if I didn't have a vague memory of your other posts on this. ;) > LG has sided with the DVD Consortium, so their "laser/firmware base" is > Pioneer DVD-R (the Matshushita DVD-RAM support is just a "bonus"). > > > The DL is a bonus, but the media is probably too expensive for me to care > > just like the Spring before last when I got my first DVD-R. > > And as I said, the LG GSA-4163 does 4xDL DVD+R, and the GSA-4165 adds > 4xDL DVD-R. I never really expected to actually use the DL stuff, unless discs get down below $0.25/disc. Even then I still have literally about 75 DVD-Rs of the 4x variety I haven't used and I've had for about 9 months now. > _All_ GSA-416x (from the 4160 on-ward) _do_ 16x DVD-R. > > > It's unlikely I'll ever use DVD-RAM, since I don't even burn backups to > > DVD-R as it stands. So, there wasn't much consideration for having > > support for that. > > Forget DVD-RAM, do you understand that DVD+RW "base" drives: > > 1. Can_not_ record in Disc-at-Once (DaO) mode > 2. Do _not_ support cdrecord+DVDpatch (byte-by-byte record) at all > 3. Produce less compatible/readable DVD-R than DVD Consortium drives No, I had no idea. Why would I want to do DaO? I've been using TaO/SaO and that's been fine for the past year. > Lack of #2 used to be a major PITA before kernel 2.6 came out with > direct re-write support. I.e., Jorg has only added a preliminary hack > that offers a way for programs to send a byte-by-byte record through DVD > +RW firmware -- something it was _never_ designed for. That I think I've actually noticed, as only cdrecord-proDVD (and DVDDecrypter in Windows) seem to burn discs without incident. I never found any alternative tools to the official cdrecord with DVD support that actually let me burn stuff successfully. > Direct re-write support is a block operation. That's fine when you have > DVD-RW, DVD+RW or DVD-RAM. But it's far less idea for DVD-R. In fact, > it goes to the heart of the matter why DVD+R is less compatible than > DVD-R. Which is why DVD+RW drives can't produce as compatible DVD-R > discs as DVD Consortium drives. I found the poor software support more troubling, actually, since that's the only problem with DVD-R using DVD+RW member drives I have encountered in week to week usage. So, what, should I cancel my order with Newegg and buy the other burner? ;) (Not sure it isn't too late at this point.) -- Jason Boxman Perl Programmer / *NIX Systems Administrator Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing | University of Florida http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 11 14:37:36 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: 3MB/s Samba Performance? -- LG GSA-4163 (or 4165)? In-Reply-To: <200509111314.25695.jasonb@edseek.com> References: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> <200509110159.13701.jasonb@edseek.com> <1126430621.4573.94.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <200509111314.25695.jasonb@edseek.com> Message-ID: <1126463856.4573.255.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sun, 2005-09-11 at 13:14 -0400, Jason Boxman wrote: > I know. You're familiar with all the technical standards, committees, and so > forth. I wanted something that said 'DVD+/-RW' in its name and was cheap. > So, I can understand your confusion on why I might have picked a > 'problematic' burner. I continue to recommend the LG's for a reason. $40 gets me 0 worries, with an extra $10 anyday. But that's just me. How much did the NEC cost you? > No, I had no idea. Why would I want to do DaO? I've been using TaO/SaO and > that's been fine for the past year. Yep. Most 2004 players support the differences in physical organization. > So, what, should I cancel my order with Newegg and buy the other burner? ;) > (Not sure it isn't too late at this point.) I can't make that decision for you. Again, how much did the NEC cost you? -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From jasonb at edseek.com Sun Sep 11 14:36:59 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: 3MB/s Samba Performance? -- LG GSA-4163 (or 4165)? In-Reply-To: <1126463856.4573.255.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> <200509111314.25695.jasonb@edseek.com> <1126463856.4573.255.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <200509111436.59712.jasonb@edseek.com> On Sunday 11 September 2005 14:37, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > On Sun, 2005-09-11 at 13:14 -0400, Jason Boxman wrote: > > I know. You're familiar with all the technical standards, committees, > > and so forth. I wanted something that said 'DVD+/-RW' in its name and > > was cheap. So, I can understand your confusion on why I might have picked > > a 'problematic' burner. > > I continue to recommend the LG's for a reason. > $40 gets me 0 worries, with an extra $10 anyday. > But that's just me. > > How much did the NEC cost you? 37.99 > > No, I had no idea. Why would I want to do DaO? I've been using TaO/SaO > > and that's been fine for the past year. > > Yep. Most 2004 players support the differences in physical > organization. > > > So, what, should I cancel my order with Newegg and buy the other burner? > > ;) (Not sure it isn't too late at this point.) > > I can't make that decision for you. > Again, how much did the NEC cost you? I only said it jokingly. There's no way to cancel the order online and I don't really feel it's worth the bother. My existing NEC with support for the lesser 'standard' works 'good enough' as far as I can tell. -- Jason Boxman Perl Programmer / *NIX Systems Administrator Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing | University of Florida http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 11 14:51:43 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: 3MB/s Samba Performance? -- LG GSA-4163 (or 4165)? In-Reply-To: <200509111436.59712.jasonb@edseek.com> References: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> <200509111314.25695.jasonb@edseek.com> <1126463856.4573.255.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <200509111436.59712.jasonb@edseek.com> Message-ID: <1126464703.4573.268.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sun, 2005-09-11 at 14:36 -0400, Jason Boxman wrote: > 37.99 Well, I'm sure I've come off as trying to "tell you what to do." But I don't really such much in saving $5 over all the LG GSA-408x and 416x product compatibility, history and reliability I've had (other than the only refurb I bought -- I should never buy a refurbed optical drive). > I only said it jokingly. There's no way to cancel the order online and I > don't really feel it's worth the bother. My existing NEC with support for > the lesser 'standard' works 'good enough' as far as I can tell. Let us know. If the product is solid, I'll add it to my recommendations. Especially if you can use the stock "cdrecord +DVDpatch" in many distros, instead of having to grab Jorg's "cdrecord- ProDVD". -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From jasonb at edseek.com Sun Sep 11 14:50:46 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: 3MB/s Samba Performance? -- LG GSA-4163 (or 4165)? In-Reply-To: <1126464703.4573.268.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <200509100126.55048.jasonb@edseek.com> <200509111436.59712.jasonb@edseek.com> <1126464703.4573.268.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <200509111450.46309.jasonb@edseek.com> On Sunday 11 September 2005 14:51, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > On Sun, 2005-09-11 at 14:36 -0400, Jason Boxman wrote: > > 37.99 > > Well, I'm sure I've come off as trying to "tell you what to do." > But I don't really such much in saving $5 over all the LG GSA-408x and > 416x product compatibility, history and reliability I've had (other than > the only refurb I bought -- I should never buy a refurbed optical > drive). I agree, but Newegg is so quick I don't know that I could cancel it before it ships. Oops. Oh well. > Let us know. If the product is solid, I'll add it to my > recommendations. Especially if you can use the stock "cdrecord > +DVDpatch" in many distros, instead of having to grab Jorg's "cdrecord- > ProDVD". Based on your earlier posts isn't it reasonable to assume it won't? -- Jason Boxman Perl Programmer / *NIX Systems Administrator Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing | University of Florida http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon Sep 12 01:26:39 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Bought a GeForce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 -- WTS: GeForce 6800GT 256MB DDR3 for $250 In-Reply-To: <1126415406.4573.39.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <20050816212401.40347.qmail@web34107.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <1126415406.4573.39.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <1126502799.4573.431.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sun, 2005-09-11 at 00:10 -0500, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > If you want the PCIe, let me know by _Monday_ so I can order my GeForce > 7800GTX and get it in time before Thursday. I don't have any other PCIe > card to use "temporarily." Okay, I just confirmed my sale of my PCIe for $250, and I went ahead and ordered the AOpen 7800GTX-DVD256 (GeForce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814135187 It's $479.00 - $50 rebate. I finally went back and forth on the benchmarks and it seems well worth the extra $50-75 versus the GeForce 7800GT. Now my 300W ATX 2.0 power supply (which is _better_ than most 400W PSes I've seen) _might_ be able to take the load, but I didn't want to push it. So I've also ordered the Seasonic S12 500W from eWiz for $97.00 (search from Froogle to get this price, otherwise it's $124.00): http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=PS-S12-500 I was debating back and forth whether to save $18 and get just the Seasonic S12 430W instead. But the 500W (as well as 600W) has dual SSI WS aka "PCIe" (2x3 6-pin) connectors, as well as the SSI Server (2x4 8- pin) connector for maximum expandability. The 430W (as well 330W and 380W) only has a single SSI WS connector, and no SSI Server. >From what I've read, the Seasonics are tight units, although the cabling is short too. But for my MicroATX case, it should do well. I don't think my ATA bay will fit, and it might have to protrude out the front a bit. Or I might just remove it altogether instead, not sure yet. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon Sep 12 10:03:14 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Tom's Hardware on building a BertPE USB device Message-ID: <20050912140314.88516.qmail@web34102.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Tom's Hardware on building a BertPE USB device: http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20050909/index.html With that said, has anyone build a CFlash device using BertPE? I'm considering doing such instead of Windows XPe (XP Embedded). I'm still somewhat new to BertPE, and only had limited Embedded NT experience in the past. Anyone see any pros/cons? -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Mon Sep 12 10:24:20 2005 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Sun launches new server range, AnandTech gets an exclusive Message-ID: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D18597AE@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=2530 -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - Damien.McKenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon Sep 12 10:27:28 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Sun launches new server range, AnandTech gets an exclusive In-Reply-To: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D18597AE@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> Message-ID: <20050912142729.30738.qmail@web34101.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Damien McKenna wrote: > http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=2530 Yep, saw it too. I was disappointed that they used the CK8-04 (nForce4) with only PCIe channels. I would love to see an AMD8131 instead with a PCI-X channel. But I'm sure Sun is looking forward to the future of PCIe x4 and x8 storage controllers with a PCIe x8 slot. -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From ae4ko at amsat.org Mon Sep 12 13:46:44 2005 From: ae4ko at amsat.org (Aaron Morrison) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Tom's Hardware on building a BertPE USB device In-Reply-To: <20050912140314.88516.qmail@web34102.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <432586C4.12360.123E31C@ae4ko.amsat.org> On 12 Sep 2005 at 7:03, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Tom's Hardware on building a BertPE USB device: > http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20050909/index.html > > With that said, has anyone build a CFlash device using > BertPE? > I'm considering doing such instead of Windows XPe (XP > Embedded). > > I'm still somewhat new to BertPE, and only had limited > Embedded NT experience in the past. Anyone see any > pros/cons? > > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support (It's BartPE, BTW) I've used it. Nice tool for the toolbag -- think LiveCD for windows. Other people have integrated a lot of stuff that make it even more useful. There are plugins for antivirus scanning, cdrecording, etc (in some cases, you must have a copy of the program in question -- e.g. Nero). Full read/write capability for NTFS, too! I've got a disk that includes the Novell Netware client so that I can connect to our older netware servers, if needed. Very handy. Definitely worth looking into. Already saved me a lot of work on a couple of occasions. --am From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon Sep 12 14:56:18 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Fwd: DEALNEWS ALERT: Battlefield 2 for $40 shipped Message-ID: <20050912185618.8127.qmail@web34109.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Since it came up on the list prior. I should get my GeForce 7800GTX later this week, so I'll let you'all know how it runs at 1280x1024 with all the settings (FSAA, isotropic, etc...) jacked up. BTW, I've been reading that 2GiB of RAM is highly recommended. I only have 1GiB, but I read others that saw good performance with 1GiB too. dealnews alerts wrote: > > Battlefield 2 for $40 shipped > ----------------------------- > Matched on subscription to category "computer games" > > Electronic Arts' Battlefield 2 for PC costs $39.99 at > Amazon.com. With free shipping, it's the lowest total price > we've seen for this title since mid-July. > > Click here for updates or to snap up this deal now: > http://dealnews.com/deals/95479.html?ref=alert -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon Sep 12 15:15:31 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Tom's Hardware on building a BertPE USB device -- BertPE from Compact Flash In-Reply-To: <432586C4.12360.123E31C@ae4ko.amsat.org> Message-ID: <20050912191531.63534.qmail@web34105.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Aaron Morrison wrote: > (It's BartPE, BTW) Yep. I'm just getting old. I've been catching myself doing that more and more. > I've used it. Nice tool for the toolbag -- think LiveCD > for windows. Other people have integrated a lot of stuff > that make it even more useful. There are plugins for > antivirus scanning, cdrecording, etc (in some cases, you > must have a copy of the program in question -- e.g. Nero). Right. And I'm currently using it as a LiveCD myself. But that's not what I'm interested in it for. > Full read/write capability for NTFS, too! > Yep, hence our prior thread weeks ago -- when I first heard of it (man, I was just so oblivious). > I've got a disk that includes the Novell Netware client so > that I can connect to our older netware servers, if needed. > Very handy. Definitely worth looking into. Already saved > me a lot of work on a couple of occasions. What I want it for is a "prototyping" solution for an embedded system -- booting from Compact Flash. BertPE is able to not only load read-only (kernel /minint), but it can establish a ramdisk to run out of (or at least portions). In the end, I'm going to go with Windows XP Embedded (XPe) -- which will be officially licensed and cheaper per unit. But right now I need to show off what can be done from Compact Flash with our Mea wireless cards on a Transmeta tablet. I was hoping BertPE was such a solution -- especially since the 800x600 resolution exactly matches the tablet's. I've got 2GiB of Compact Flash to work from which shows up as an ATA master (2 x 1GiB in an adapter). E.g., under Fedora Core 1, it is /dev/hda. But I don't want read/write access, that will wear out the EEPROM in no-time. I want to build a BertPE FAT16 image that I can put into a CFlash, have it boot read-only (which it can), and establish a Ramdisk. It won't be quite "end-user" but it will do the job for demoing with our card, and a few applications. If I can generate the BertPE FAT16 image, I'm sure I can dd it into the CFlash -- along with the MS MBR sector --- under a Fedora Core 1 boot to the device. It's how I'm currently yanking different images up and down to the CF-ATA device right now. -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From jasonb at edseek.com Mon Sep 12 15:45:53 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:15 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Fwd: DEALNEWS ALERT: Battlefield 2 for $40 shipped In-Reply-To: <20050912185618.8127.qmail@web34109.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20050912185618.8127.qmail@web34109.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <200509121545.53887.jasonb@edseek.com> On Monday 12 September 2005 14:56, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > dealnews alerts wrote: > > Battlefield 2 for $40 shipped > > ----------------------------- > > Matched on subscription to category "computer games" > > > > Electronic Arts' Battlefield 2 for PC costs $39.99 at > > Amazon.com. With free shipping, it's the lowest total price > > we've seen for this title since mid-July. > > > > Click here for updates or to snap up this deal now: > > http://dealnews.com/deals/95479.html?ref=alert ROFL. I hadn't looked today, but I was waiting for a sub $50 price before ordering. I guess I'm in for da win on this one. Free shipping too. Thanks. From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Mon Sep 12 16:12:26 2005 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Fwd: DEALNEWS ALERT: Battlefield 2 for $40 shipped Message-ID: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D18597D9@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> > BTW, I've been reading that 2GiB of RAM is highly recommended. Its pretty frightening when a *game* is recommending 2GiB of RAM. -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - Damien.McKenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From jasonb at edseek.com Mon Sep 12 16:19:57 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Fwd: DEALNEWS ALERT: Battlefield 2 for $40 shipped In-Reply-To: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D18597D9@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> References: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D18597D9@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> Message-ID: <200509121619.57560.jasonb@edseek.com> On Monday 12 September 2005 16:12, Damien McKenna wrote: > > BTW, I've been reading that 2GiB of RAM is highly recommended. > > Its pretty frightening when a *game* is recommending 2GiB of RAM. Not so much. http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=23973 I run it fine with 1GiB on a Socket 754 Sempron 64-bit 2800. I'm stuck at the medium settings and run at 800x600 (or is it 1024, I forget) though. The high settings screw with my 6600GT. The only noticeable issue I have is when firing shoulder held anti-tank missiles, the game will visually lagout from the missile flame exhaust and the framerate seems to drop substantially for about 1 second. It's enough to get you dead. Not sure why that is, exactly. Probably my 6600GT can't handle it. I haven't tried messing with the AA and AF settings, so they're at whatever the game default is. From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon Sep 12 17:14:46 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Fwd: DEALNEWS ALERT: Battlefield 2 for $40 shipped In-Reply-To: <200509121619.57560.jasonb@edseek.com> Message-ID: <20050912211446.57278.qmail@web34107.mail.mud.yahoo.com> On Monday 12 September 2005 16:12, Damien McKenna wrote: > Its pretty frightening when a *game* is recommending 2GiB > of RAM. Not really. The real problem is when the OS can't handle the amount of memory required. I think Win32 compatibility is going to finally kill the Windows PC as a gaming platform, which is why XBox 360 is Microsoft's future where they can be "64-bit clean" (without compatibility issues). Jason Boxman wrote: > Not so much. > http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=23973 > I run it fine with 1GiB on a Socket 754 Sempron 64-bit > 2800. I'm stuck at the medium settings and run at 800x600 > (or is it 1024, I forget) though. The high settings screw > with my 6600GT ... Jason Boxman wrote: > ROFL. I hadn't looked today, but I was waiting for a sub > $50 price before ordering. I guess I'm in for da win on > this one. Free shipping too. Thanks. Wasn't sure I should post it, but I'm glad I did. BTW, I assume you're running the demo then? Let me know when you get BF2 so we can play. In fact, I'd love to call you up while we play. Because it'll be seconds after my Athlon64 3200+ and GeForce 7800GTX and I have already frag'd your punk-bitch ass before your Simpleton 2800+ and 6600GoeTee finishes updating your (soon to be) bloody screen. @-ppp Just kidding. ;-> -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From jasonb at edseek.com Tue Sep 13 00:08:42 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Fwd: DEALNEWS ALERT: Battlefield 2 for $40 shipped In-Reply-To: <20050912211446.57278.qmail@web34107.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20050912211446.57278.qmail@web34107.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <200509130008.42611.jasonb@edseek.com> On Monday 12 September 2005 17:14, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > > Wasn't sure I should post it, but I'm glad I did. > BTW, I assume you're running the demo then? Yep. I'm just pwning some nubs. ;) It's too bad MEC is completely unbalanced in the demo and US has the advantage. Plus the servers don't seem to autobalance correctly, always moving people to US and never to MEC when it's short a few (I've seen as much as 2 to 1) people. > Let me know when you get BF2 so we can play. > In fact, I'd love to call you up while we play. Okay. ;) > Because it'll be seconds after my Athlon64 3200+ and GeForce > 7800GTX and I have already frag'd your punk-bitch ass before > your Simpleton 2800+ and 6600GoeTee finishes updating your > (soon to be) bloody screen. @-ppp > > Just kidding. ;-> ROFL. Bring it baby. -- Jason Boxman Perl Programmer / *NIX Systems Administrator Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing | University of Florida http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From dsimmons at powersmiths.com Tue Sep 13 09:53:02 2005 From: dsimmons at powersmiths.com (David Simmons) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] eth0:0 on CentOS Message-ID: <1126619582.6685.13.camel@suse.something.com> Guys, I have a system that used to have two IP address' running on a CentOS system (it's a server, so it's only running command-line, no gui - that's important, as the CentOS Docs only show GUI). It did this by having an alias file eth0:0 in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0:0 Want to change this system, so that it now only has one IP address.....so I erased the above mentioned ifcfg-eth0:0 file and rebooted...but I got: [root@mail root]# ifconfig -a eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:50:DA:80:72:42 UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:2047 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:2098 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:100 RX bytes:319114 (311.6 Kb) TX bytes:851785 (831.8 Kb) Interrupt:10 Base address:0xc800 eth0:0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:50:DA:80:72:42 inet addr:67.14.219.111 Bcast:67.14.219.255 Mask:255.255.255.248 UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 Interrupt:10 Base address:0xc800 so I did: [root@mail /]# find / -name "*eth0*" -print /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth0 /proc/sys/net/ipv4/neigh/eth0 /var/lib/dhcp/dhclient-eth0.leases /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ORIGINAL_ifcfg-eth0 /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/WAS_NS2_ifcfg-eth0 /etc/sysconfig/networking/devices/ifcfg-eth0 /etc/sysconfig/networking/devices/ifcfg-eth0:0 /etc/sysconfig/networking/profiles/default/ifcfg-eth0 /etc/sysconfig/networking/profiles/default/ifcfg-eth0:0 and erased all of these other ifcfg-eth0:0 files....and rebooted...but still continue to have the second eth0:0 appearing and my main 'eth0' now doesn't have an IP address. HELP...any way, from command-line, to get rid of this? What am I missing? Thanks in advance - Dave From dsimmons at powersmiths.com Tue Sep 13 11:27:14 2005 From: dsimmons at powersmiths.com (David Simmons) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] eth0:0 on CentOS In-Reply-To: <1126619582.6685.13.camel@suse.something.com> References: <1126619582.6685.13.camel@suse.something.com> Message-ID: <1126625234.8522.5.camel@suse.something.com> On Tue, 2005-09-13 at 09:37 -0500, Burton Strauss wrote: Check inside ifcfg-eth0 ... If the device there is eth0:0, that would cause > what you are seeing. > Welp, slap my behind and call me silly....that's it! The device was being referenced as DEVICE=ETH0:0 and not it's proper name...changed it and a /etc/init.d/network restart did the trick. Thanks! dave From b.j.smith at ieee.org Tue Sep 13 18:34:33 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Fwd: Tivo 7.2 OS -adds content-protection, blocks transfers, auto-deletes. -- 3 THUMBS DOWN BOYCOTT Message-ID: <20050913223433.41971.qmail@web34102.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Per: http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2005/09/tivo_72_os_adds.html I wrote this ... "Bryan J. Smith" wrote: > Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 15:03:53 -0700 (PDT) > From: "Bryan J. Smith" > Subject: [DISCUSS] Re: Tivo 7.2 OS -adds > content-protection, blocks transfers, auto-deletes. > -- 3 THUMBS DOWN BOYCOTT!!! > To: discuss@sluug.org, discuss@mail.sluug.org > CC: "gary j. meyer" > > > "gary j. meyer" wrote: > > One of the local StarTrek fans just reported this. > > > (Fred Smith and others have been working with PC-based > > PVRs. Fred has reported some disappointments with going > > from the 2.4 kernel to 2.6.) > > We are consumers and we have the power. From what I've > seen, > it's not a TiVO issue, but a broadcaster/station issue with > the copyright holders. In fact, we can help TiVO justify > reversal with a simple solution. > > When someone notes a show prevents them from "save until I > delete" they should report it to a site. Everyone should > check that site so they know what programs to _boycott_ > recording. It's easy with a TiVO -- 3 THUMBS DOWN! > > Best of all, that information gets reported to TiVO. Not > just the lack of viewership, but the EXPLICIT 3 THUMBS > DOWN! > That will get the message across loud and clear to the > copyright holders who are most likely forcing > broadcasters/stations on this. > > Especially when their advertisers pull out -- that's > something that will quickly get the broadcasters/stations > on > our side. ;-> > > We are the consumers and we can affect change in our > viewership -- especially those of us with a TiVO where the > statistics cannot be disputed. > > > > -- > Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail > mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any > http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) > ------- > St. Louis Unix Users Group - http://www.sluug.org/ > To unsubscribe from the SLUUG discussion mailing list, send > a message to > discuss-request@sluug.org with the word 'unsubscribe' as > the body > > -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From jasonb at edseek.com Tue Sep 13 19:39:40 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Fwd: Tivo 7.2 OS -adds content-protection, blocks transfers, auto-deletes. -- 3 THUMBS DOWN BOYCOTT In-Reply-To: <20050913223433.41971.qmail@web34102.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20050913223433.41971.qmail@web34102.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <200509131939.40522.jasonb@edseek.com> On Tuesday 13 September 2005 18:34, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Per: > http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2005/09/tivo_72_os_adds.html > > I wrote this ... That's pretty sad. That kind of nonsense is why I don't think I'd ever buy a TiVo. If I get service that comes with a PVR, fine, I might use that for convenience, but I see no reason to pony money up front and then monthly to TiVo if they're going to screw me; even if it's the only way they can stay alive. I'll build my own PVR or Usenet is your friend. -- Jason Boxman Perl Programmer / *NIX Systems Administrator Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing | University of Florida http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From b.j.smith at ieee.org Tue Sep 13 23:57:24 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Fwd: Tivo 7.2 OS -adds content-protection, blocks transfers, auto-deletes. -- 3 THUMBS DOWN BOYCOTT In-Reply-To: <200509131939.40522.jasonb@edseek.com> References: <20050913223433.41971.qmail@web34102.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <200509131939.40522.jasonb@edseek.com> Message-ID: <1126670244.4704.36.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Tue, 2005-09-13 at 19:39 -0400, Jason Boxman wrote: > On Tuesday 13 September 2005 18:34, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > > Per: > > http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2005/09/tivo_72_os_adds.html > > > > I wrote this ... > That's pretty sad. That kind of nonsense is why I don't think I'd ever buy a > TiVo. If I get service that comes with a PVR, fine, I might use that for > convenience, but I see no reason to pony money up front and then monthly to > TiVo if they're going to screw me; even if it's the only way they can stay > alive. I'll build my own PVR or Usenet is your friend. It goes _beyond_ TiVO. It makes sense to send the signal "loud and clear" _through_ TiVO. Let's do something that _will_ affect people's pocketbooks _directly_. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From jasonb at edseek.com Wed Sep 14 00:01:30 2005 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Fwd: Tivo 7.2 OS -adds content-protection, blocks transfers, auto-deletes. -- 3 THUMBS DOWN BOYCOTT In-Reply-To: <1126670244.4704.36.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <20050913223433.41971.qmail@web34102.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <200509131939.40522.jasonb@edseek.com> <1126670244.4704.36.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <200509140001.30486.jasonb@edseek.com> On Tuesday 13 September 2005 23:57, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > It goes _beyond_ TiVO. > It makes sense to send the signal "loud and clear" _through_ TiVO. > Let's do something that _will_ affect people's pocketbooks _directly_. Okay; I don't have Cable TV and don't watch broadcast. ;) -- Jason Boxman Perl Programmer / *NIX Systems Administrator Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing | University of Florida http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From b.j.smith at ieee.org Wed Sep 14 16:35:42 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] eWeek attempts to dissect Sun Fire X2100, 4100 and 4200 ... Message-ID: <20050914203542.96831.qmail@web34103.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Sometimes it just sickens me to read Ziff-Davis articles: http://www.realworldtech.com/page.cfm?ArticleID=RWT042405213553 "The X4100's chip sets come with AMD's HyperTransport memory bus links that have been bumped up to 1GHz." Note "HyperTransport memory bus links." HyperTransport is not a memory bus, it's a system interconnect for CPUs and I/O in Opteron. And there is _no_ "memory bus" in Opteron, it's direct, glueless, trace-for-trace 2 x 184-pin DDR channels. "The X4100 is a 1U (1.75-inch) single- or dual-socket system armed with the AMD-8000 Series chip set." This additional commentary and confusion is on the use of the AMD8000 ICs. It actually appears the new X series are nForce PCIe, and Ziff-Davis is too ignorant to detail it. Anand found the X2100 is a nForce4, with a NIC attached to one (1) PCIe x1 channel (in addition to the chipset). SATA is standard, from the nForce4 itself. There is a PCIe x8 slot for forthcoming/early-generation storage/network controllers that are PCIe x1, x4 or x8. >From what I've seen, the X4100 and X4200 seem to be nForce Pro 2200 and 2200+2050, respectively -- with the X4100 having one (1) AMD813x added and the X4200 having two (2) AMD813x's added (not sure if its the AMD8131 or AMD8132). This is what really gets to me about Ziff-Davis, these types of omissions. Given the processor, memory, slot and peripheral specifications, these are safe assumptions -- especially at the price-point. I'm personally interested in what SAS controller is being used, and if it offers hardware RAID-0, 1, 1e and/or 10 natively. Would not surprise me if it's the LSI ASIC, which does have that in hardware, and LSI Logic has specialized in Solaris support in the past. -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From b.j.smith at ieee.org Wed Sep 14 17:12:10 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I'm way too much of a Windows Noob ... Message-ID: <20050914211210.90675.qmail@web34108.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Please explain XPPro SP2 Internet Connection Sharing to me coming from a CCDP/RHCE standpoint. Seriously, I'm pulling my hair out on this so-called "bridging" (which it is _not_) and "Sharing." I have 2 interfaces. - Local Area Connection (LAN1) Network Connections: Connected This is a 10/100 LAN NIC - Local Area Connection 2 (LAN2) Network Connections: Connected, Shared, Firewalled This is what we'll call a "specialized broadband interface" This connects to the Internet. I have to use Windows because the Linux drivers aren't available yet. Eventually I'll use Windows XP Embedded or another Microsoft solution that actually has some basic routing capabilities. Until then, I have to do this. I used the stupid wizard to set this up -- hence the "Shared" on LAN2. I also removed firewalling from LAN1. But I still can't get connectivity. Is there an "experts mode" for this? "ipconfig /all" isn't showing me any so-called "bridging" or "shared" information. "route print" is rather useless as well. Any "noob-level" things I need to know? -- Bryan P.S. If there is a better, 3rd party NAT/DHCP package for Windows XP Professional than the one that is built-in, please let me know. We're more than willing to pay for it right now. -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From b.j.smith at ieee.org Wed Sep 14 18:27:26 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: I'm way too much of a Windows Noob ... In-Reply-To: <20050914211210.90675.qmail@web34108.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20050914222726.19836.qmail@web34101.mail.mud.yahoo.com> "Bryan J. Smith" wrote: > Please explain XPPro SP2 Internet Connection Sharing to me > coming from a CCDP/RHCE standpoint. Seriously, I'm pulling > my hair out on this so-called "bridging" (which it is > _not_) and "Sharing." Okay, I figured it out. I just really _hate_ the Microsoft naming crap (like "Layer 3 bridging"). It is much, much _easier_ to do this stuff with the terminology of RRAS in NT4/200x than the IFW/ICS of XP IMHO. Long story short, I _did_ have everything configured correctly on the Windows side. The problem was a combination of switch (VLANs were setup on some ports), cabling (one was absolute crap) and the Windows XP SP2 drivers _not_ working with the ViA Rhine driver correctly. But now everything is good on the hardware/driver side. In fact, I'm going through the 6MBps wireless broadband interface right now to send this. -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From damien at mc-kenna.com Wed Sep 14 20:15:00 2005 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I'm way too much of a Windows Noob ... In-Reply-To: <20050914211210.90675.qmail@web34108.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20050914211210.90675.qmail@web34108.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4328BD04.8060406@mc-kenna.com> Bryan J. Smith wrote: >I have to use Windows because the Linux drivers aren't >available yet. > /me dons asbestos suit You've got the source code, write them :-P -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From b.j.smith at ieee.org Wed Sep 14 21:17:15 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I'm way too much of a Windows Noob ... In-Reply-To: <4328BD04.8060406@mc-kenna.com> References: <20050914211210.90675.qmail@web34108.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <4328BD04.8060406@mc-kenna.com> Message-ID: <1126747036.4604.4.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Wed, 2005-09-14 at 20:15 -0400, Damien McKenna wrote: > /me dons asbestos suit > You've got the source code, write them :-P Nope, that's not entirely true. And I can't talk about it, long story. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman From b.j.smith at ieee.org Thu Sep 15 15:08:21 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] eWeek says this is first time Microsoft will use Open Source ... WTF? Message-ID: <20050915190821.45226.qmail@web34111.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Is Peter _really_ this clueless, or did someone else write this? http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1859439,00.asp There has been countless Open Source (let alone UNIX) code used in Windows projects. More recently in the last decade or so have been the 4.2BSD IP stack, zlib (LZ77 compressor), MIT Kerberos, OpenSSL and literally _dozens_ of other, open source projects. And that's _not_ looking at Interix either (or POSIX compatibility for that matter), I'm talking about the _core_ Windows libraries and subsystems that Win32 program suse. Microsoft continues to ship Windows with not only the legacy code, but even _updates_ to various open source libraries and other codbases. And those were clearly "embrace, extend, extinguish" moves. Noting from the article .. 'Asked by eWEEK what Microsoft will give back to the open-source community for the MPI component, which is licensed under the BSD and not the GNU General Public License (GPL), Faenov said all fixes will be given back, while "we'll probably give the changes back as well."' Is eWeek this NAIVE?!?!?! Anyone remember what happened with MIT-licensed (BSD-like) Kerberos? Microsoft _promised_ exactly that, even in writing with copyright holders, and it was held up *2* years (not until almost 2001, 2 years after Windows 2000's release in early 1999). And when it was _finally_ released 2 years late, it no longer bore the MIT license, but a MS EULA forbidding use for many things. That finally changed because Microsoft was legally bound by an agreement with the copyright holders, but not before years of stalling (by a large company with lawyers -- not ideal for the other side ;-). This has got to be the absolute largely chunk of *SPIN* I have ever read. It's an insult to those of us technical, and clearly written for the CIO who eWeek wants to portray Microsoft as a "friendly face." I hate people who demonize Microsoft. I personally and professionally _defend_ Microsoft regularly. But this is media/PR junk that is _wholly_incorrect_, _untruthful_ and as a published, technical author myself, is pure _marketing_ disgused as an article! -- Bryan J. Smith | Sent from Yahoo Mail mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org | (please excuse any http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ | missing headers) From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Thu Sep 15 16:47:04 2005 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] eWeek says this is first time Microsoft will use OpenSource ... WTF? Message-ID: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D185993E@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> > Is Peter _really_ this clueless, or did someone else write > this? http://www.osnews.com/comment.php?news_id=11877 :-\ -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - Damien.McKenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From damien at mc-kenna.com Fri Sep 16 00:12:03 2005 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] LG Electronics has two new new DVD burners! Message-ID: <432A4613.5010204@mc-kenna.com> The GSA-4166B now also supports Lightscribe for burning a label on the disc. Pretty neat! http://us.lge.com/Product/proddetail.do?actCategory=computer&archivedYn=&actType=search&categoryId=0000020206&prodId=1000000735&parentId=0000000202&parent2levelId=0000000002&category_level=4&totalItem=5¤tPage=1&perPage=10 The GSA-4167B seems to be an updated 4163 with faster DVD-DL speeds. http://us.lge.com/Product/proddetail.do?actCategory=computer&archivedYn=&actType=search&categoryId=0000020206&prodId=1000000736&parentId=0000000202&parent2levelId=0000000002&category_level=4&totalItem=5¤tPage=1&perPage=10 No idea on pricing. -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From jvsmith at digitalmatter.us Fri Sep 16 04:23:38 2005 From: jvsmith at digitalmatter.us (Jason Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] LG Electronics has two new new DVD burners! In-Reply-To: <432A4613.5010204@mc-kenna.com> References: <432A4613.5010204@mc-kenna.com> Message-ID: <1126859018.15883.4.camel@athlon.bedroom.lan> On Fri, 2005-09-16 at 00:12 -0400, Damien McKenna wrote: > The GSA-4166B now also supports Lightscribe for burning a label on the > disc. Pretty neat! > http://us.lge.com/Product/proddetail.do?actCategory=computer&archivedYn=&actType=search&categoryId=0000020206&prodId=1000000735&parentId=0000000202&parent2levelId=0000000002&category_level=4&totalItem=5¤tPage=1&perPage=10 Any idea if Linux supports Lightscribe for burning a label on the disc? That's a pretty cool idea if you ask me. Jason -- Jason Smith jvsmith at digitalmatter dot us http://www.digitalmatter.us From pberry2 at cfl.rr.com Fri Sep 16 14:25:04 2005 From: pberry2 at cfl.rr.com (Wise Linux User Patrick) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] eWeek says this is first time Microsoft will use OpenSource ... WTF? In-Reply-To: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D185993E@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> References: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D185993E@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> Message-ID: <200509161425.04961.pberry2@cfl.rr.com> On Thursday 15 September 2005 04:47 pm, Damien McKenna wrote: > > Is Peter _really_ this clueless, or did someone else write > > this? > > http://www.osnews.com/comment.php?news_id=11877 > > :-\ Gotta watch those Ghost Writers! -- Check these out: http://knopper.net/knoppix http://livecdlist.com http://distrowatch.com http://yolinux.com http://safeharbordome.com From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sat Sep 17 10:35:05 2005 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:16 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] New $73 ASRock 939DUAL-SATA2 has both true AGPx8 and PCIx16 slots .. Message-ID: <1126967705.5917.44.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Unlike a lot of "hack" mainboards that use ViA or other chipsets and merely connect the AGP to the shared PCI bus, the ULI M1695 chipset has both _true_ AGPx8 and PCIe slots: http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2489 The ASRock 939DUAL-SATA2 at $72 has this combination: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157081 I'm not a huge fan of ALI/ULI chipsets -- although that was largely based back in the Socket-7 days -- but they have had their moments. This appears to be one of