Computer diedShit, I'

[johnlee1933]

My computer died this AM right in the middle of a post (just in time for Christmas). I got the laptop up and running and I hate it! (Slower than molasses in January and a tiny keyboard.) But, it's still running XP and I like that. The dead computer is running Win 7 and just as I was getting up to speed with it they bring out Win 8. Shit I just can't keep up.

So I'm off shopping for a new computer -- John

 

[notcrack]

I used to run a service building computers while I was in university. If you let me know your budget I could whip something up on newegg for you. I hate windows 8 though lol.

 

[Michibacy]

Let us know how WIN8 is, I hear it's set up like a POS terminal (point of sale, not point of $h1T)

 

[notcrack]

It's completely different to the previous versions. You have to use the corners of the screen to get menus up and it's not as intuitive as the last few versions. It's easier if you have a compatible mouse and keyboard, but I haven't bothered, but I'm using it on my side computer in my office. It runs netflix nicely so I get to watch a lot of crap while working now.

 

[FmGrowit]

Windows 8 isn't for pc or laptops...it's for tablets and smart phones. It you install it on your computer, you'll hate it.

John, try to do a system restore. If it's too dead to do that. Take it to a geek and tell him to wipe the hard drive and install windows 7.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Another option is Lenovo outlet. Hell I build computers and for all my family I recommend them. Inventory is constantly changing, sometimes it's a decent deal, sometimes it's amazing. I bought my laptop and wife's pc from them.

 

[Knucklehead]

Guys, don't forget who you're talking to. johnlee was finally weaned off the abacus and slide rule about two years ago.

 

[notcrack]

Another option is Lenovo outlet. Hell I build computers and for all my family I recommend them. Inventory is constantly changing, sometimes it's a decent deal, sometimes it's amazing. I bought my laptop and wife's pc from them.

I'd agree with this. There are a few small, compact sizes computers out there today that do everything one would ever need. I use a small revo 3700 in my bedroom as a media center and lenovo in my office as a media center. You can have them for around $300 all in. I'll have a check on a few site to see if there is anything going at the moment.

 

[johnlee1933]

Guys, don't forget who you're talking to. johnlee was finally weaned off the abacus and slide rule about two years ago.

Whaddya mean weaned. I still use a slide rule when necessary (no batteries required. all you have to do is carry the powers of ten in your head.) . You might understand I also used one of the worlds early (vacuum tube) computers when I worked at Bell Labs. For you historians the I/O was IBM cards and the language was Fortran 1. I was there when they converted to Teletype I/O. Any of you smart alecs know the early meaning of the word "debugging?" -- John

 

[Knucklehead]

Of course I know the early meaning of "debugging." You think I'm some kind of Knucklehead or something? I sent the answer in a PM to your slide rule so these other jaspers couldn't see it.

 

[marksctm]

Any of you smart alecs know the early meaning of the word "debugging?" -- John

Smart alecs, are their any dumb alecs?
Here's to being a smart alec.

There is some controversy over the origin of the term "debugging".The terms "bug" and "debugging" are both popularly attributed toAdmiral Grace Hopper in the 1940s.[SUP][1][/SUP] While she was working on a Mark II Computer at Harvard University, her associates discovered a moth stuck in a relay and thereby impeding operation, whereupon she remarked that they were "debugging" the system. However the term "bug" in the meaning of technical error dates back at least to 1878 and Thomas Edison (seesoftware bug for a full discussion), and "debugging" seems to have been used as a term in aeronautics before entering the world of computers. Indeed, in an interview Grace Hopper remarked that she was not coining the term. The moth fit the already existing terminology, so it was saved.
The Oxford English Dictionary entry for "debug" quotes the term "debugging" used in reference to airplane engine testing in a 1945 article in the Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Hopper's bug was found on September 9, 1947. The term was not adopted by computer programmers until the early 1950s. The seminal article by Gill [SUP][2][/SUP] in 1951 is the earliest in-depth discussion of programming errors, but it does not use the term "bug" or "debugging". In the ACM's digital library, the term "debugging" is first used in three papers from 1952 ACM National Meetings.[SUP][3][/SUP][SUP][4][/SUP][SUP][5][/SUP] Two of the three use the term in quotation marks. By 1963, "debugging" was a common enough term to be mentioned in passing without explanation on page 1 of the CTSS manual.[SUP][6][/SUP]
Kidwell's article Stalking the Elusive Computer Bug[SUP][7][/SUP] discusses the etymology of "bug" and "debug" in greater detail..

 

[notcrack]

Can anyone say Wikipedia copy and paste job. Lol.

 

[marksctm]

Can anyone say Wikipedia copy and paste job. Lol.

Well obviously, I wasn't trying! to fool anybody, What are you getting at? He said any smart alec,
I was being a smart alec!
There's a difference between a smart alec and smart ass!
Oh! lol

 

[johnlee1933]

Well obviously, I wasn't trying! to fool anybody, What are you getting at? He said any smart alec,
I was being a smart alec!There's a difference between a smart alec and smart as#!Oh! lol

And you succeeded. My experience in the 50's was having to go into the computer room and vacuum once a week. By then vacuum tube diodes, were being used as they were faster and more reliable than relays. The hi voltage (B+) for the tubes was plenty to fry any insect unlucky enough to get inside. In spite of heavy air conditioning they did get in. Their carbonized bodies did bad things to the machine and had to be vacuumed out. -- John

 

[johnlee1933]

I used to run a service building computers while I was in university. If you let me know your budget I could whip something up on newegg for you. I hate windows 8 though lol.

Thanks for the offer. I use a computer like a tool. I want it to work when I want it. I don't enjoy playing with, setting up , repairing them. I am looking at an ASUS 6830. It is attractive on two levels. I has a NVIDIA GT630 game card that will run a flight sim I'm considering. It comes with a service contract where somebody else will keep the tool working. It is a little more than I want to pay but that is always the case. LOL -- john

 

[gracebowen]

hey johnlee you can send your old computer my way. It would be a perfect training puter for the kids. LOL JK. I just got a new laptop last month. Wal-Mart had a pricing error and I got a 379 dollar laptop for 250. I wish I had had the money to buy 2 or 3.

 

[Michibacy]

I know they're expensive. But I tend to abuse electrical equipment (phones, computer etc) I bought a Mac Book Pro 5 years ago and have had no complaints about it, not a lot of games for it but then again I don't have a lot of time for games so I'm not missing much.

I wouldn't suggest ACER (Asus is different), I have had nothing but bad luck with HP laptops as well (hardware issues not even abuse on my part)

Hope you find a good computer!