At around 21/6/06 12:32 pm, Jim Devine wrote:
> does anyone know why a Compaq PC running Windows XP (service pack 2)
> would turn itself off (without permission) if left alone for a few
> hours?
>
Do you see it when it turns itself off? If so, any error messages? If it
is not an orderly shutdown or one with at least an error message, there
is probably some hardware error, typically bad memory, but could be your
hard disk. Your computer probably came with a diagnostics disk... see if
you can find it and run it and it may tell you if your memory or hard
disk have errors.
> yeah, Doug, I know I should get a Mac, but they're expensive and seem
> to change operating systems every year, rendering all old software
> obsolete.
Well, if you already have a keyboard/mouse and monitor, you can buy a
Mac Mini for $500. The OS obsolescence is a problem, but its not as bad
as you think. I am still on OS X Panther (about 3-4 years old now?), and
most apps I need continue to work on it.
The problem, I would say much to most people's surprise (I am sure),
with switching to a Mac is the complicated and counter-intuitive UI. And
I say counter-intuitive not relative to what you are used to in Windows,
but just not the thing that you would expect. But, its a small price to
pay for running FreeBSD with a GUI that's a bit more polished than KDE.
> The cute TV ads with the stuffy chubby guy representing the
> PC world and the cool skinny guy representing the Mac world haven't
> moved me...
Not surprising. One of the BoingBoing guys wrote yesterday (and I agree)
that the MS guy just looks like a friendly, lovable geeky suit, while
the Mac guy seems an annoying, smug creep.
--ravi
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