Hi holygeek, Speaka de geeky?
http://www.pbs.org/opb/nerds2.0.1/geek_glossary/ How to upgrade your hardware Don't - buy a laptop or PDA instead . . . - the chances are that your existing hardware is faster than you are making use of - New systems are fast (initially) and then after a few months slow down because People do not defragment Clean the registry Uninstall unused programs (my system is taking a minute to boot up - that is aprox a 3X increase from a few weeks ago - ahem- bin testing a lotta of software lately) Most people put up with this . . . and eventually buy a new machine (I think they may believe their computer is wearing out . . . ) Recently I was running my old machine AND because it worked and was efficient it WAS FAST ENOUGH - machines not working properly are real slow . . . (no more clues) Use XP, Windows 2000, Win 98SE, Linux or Panther (Win 98SE is about twice as fast as XP - but XP is more convenient - ah well) I keep an eye on Linux for example there is a new distro called YOPER that is optimised for faster processors (most modern ones) Knoppix that I have been praising for ages is now taken very seriously Yoper is likely to do just as well . . . Joyce likes Fedora - Desi Mandrake (I could not burn the ISO images to test mandrake) Virus checkers and other programs in memory can slow a system down (they are taking up CPU time) Most viruses come from e-mail - so if you are set to only receive text and do not automatically open .SCR .pif and all the other potential viruses you are OK So if you do a virus check each day ideally you do not absolutely require a virus checker in memory - So do you feel lucky geek? :-) If you are unsure it is safer but slower to have a virus checker in memory Linux users do not have this situation . . . More memory If you hear your computer constantly addressing the hard drive you need more memory - cheap and cheerful upgrade 128 meg is underpowered 256 meg is minimum (yes I know people run with less - you are the patient) Graphics card If you scroll through a text document with graphics or a web page and it is slow a new graphics card is good If you get a new motherboard get one with EVERYTHING built in (it is designed to work together) However here are some guides for getting an add on PCI cards are the oldest technology AGP is now the standard and watch out that your motherboard can cope with the different speeds of AGP x1 x2 x4 x8 (I recently got this but my motherboard only goes up to X4 - the amount of data that can be pumped in and out) So I am using an old voodoo 16 meg PCI accelerator - great for all but very intense video work . . . ray tracing A new graphic system known as PCI Express is emerging - probably about 1-2 years away for most users Unless you are playing games (or using POV-ray like ts) the most useful part of a graphic card is the amount of memory - you do not need �300 leading edge graphics generic is good enough If possible buy a machine with EVERYTHING on the motherboard. The processor is not that important as most are sufficient Desi earlier this year bought second hand and I know Joyce does AND part of old machines is the vibe . . . Someone gave me their old printer (the family needed a new one) - it works fine - as does Open Office for Word Processing (Abi Word crashed on me - it crashed once too often - ONCE is once too often with a WP) You know my previous system motherboard (that was working so well) was bought at a show - I went around NOT looking for the cheapest but looking for the person most on the spiritual path I eventually found a Moslem guy . . . and sure enough it worked best at the unusual but symbolic speed of 333mhz My eventual aim is to move to Linux but for now I try and use 'also on Linux' products Linux users � Windows and Linux are slowly beginning to merge � WinX as much as possible we try and use software that runs on Linux and Windows so that our skills will have long term security Mac users � Your strength is graphics and using OS X (Panther) I love the Mac - it looks good - it feels good - kind of a minority thing LOL - a very secure OS called FREE BSD (A type of Linux/Unix) makes it a great choice but for the non-geeky occasional user The memory and support chips for the the CPU (presently on the motherboard) will all be integrated, networking, graphics etc The CPU will become increasingly configurable from the onboard software and web resources. The integration of software and hardware will have begun with Quantum computer languages and Quantum processors eventually. We need to prepare for this now or is that too far in the future? :-) - oh one more tip on speeding up your computer - use faster software . . . and as usual fast software (like fast hardware - as in overclocking) that is so fast it crashes is not fast . . . OK enough ranting :-) Best regards, Lobster [EMAIL PROTECTED] 2004-08-25 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/_bWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HolyGeek/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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