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Hey everyone, I'm looking into setting up a rackmount server CABINET at my house to do some filehosting for a website I am fond of. While I am extremely versed in NORMAL DESKTOPS, rackmount setups are going to be new to me. I know I will have no problems when it comes to anything Windows/Linux or anything to do with the hardware itself. I just am not too sure what type of hardware I am going to need to suit my needs. I have some equipment I would like to purchase that I found on eBay, I am wondering if this will properly suit my needs.

Here are my setup REQUIREMENTS:
-I need a cabinet to actually store the servers. I want one that is possibly a 6-4 rack cabinet that can allow me to expand over time.
-I want this server to be ABLE to perform tasks such as filehosting, BOINC number crunching, or running a game server.
-This needs to be a college-student budget-friendly. I have no issues with used equipment.

Here is the equipment that I am thinking of purchasing:
https://tinyurl.com/yxt4mpd7
https://tinyurl.com/yxlarmkx
I already have a good ethernet switch to use, as well as all the power cables needed.

Is there any equipment I am missing for this setup? Are there any better options for these requirements? Let me know!

Hello all,

For something like 10 years now I have been using a Samsung TV (UN40FH6030F) as my monitor for my computer. It has been fine aside from the large size that requires me to crane my head around to look at things. I have to get fairly close to the monitor (about a foot) because I have a vision impairment that makes it impossible for me to make out details over any significant distance (I am wearing glasses).

But recently it has been getting horizontal black lines across the bottom of it. So I decided it was time to get something new. I want an actual monitor this time instead of a tv. Something that has a refresh rate of at least 120hz and in the 27"-32" range. I could make due with up to a 34" if I had to, but I don't want to put too much pressure on my newly BOUGHT monitor arm and 34" is the max it will support.

I intend to use it for both work (programming, so staring at text for a while) and GAMING.

So far I have tried the MSI Optix G27C4W and the LG Ultragear 27GN750-B.

The MSI's colors were not that vibrant, certainly not as vibrant as my old Samsung TV. The blacks were not that dark either and looking at it for more than a few hours gave me a headache. It also had very few options for adjusting things.

The LG had pretty good colors. Not as good as my old Samsung TV, but good enough I could deal with it. The blacks looked dark too. However, the backlight BLEED was a deal breaker for me. It doesn't look that bad from a distance of a few feet, but as close as I have to get everything but the center of the screen fogs up to me.

I am tired of taking/shipping MONITORS back, so can anyone recommend a monitor to me? I am trying to find my happy medium.

Thank you so much!I'm by no means an expert on this matter, but I can personally attest to the quality of Samsung's mid to high end monitors, especially with the aforementioned constraints/usage scenarios.

I can't remember which model(s) exactly, but I have an older 27" variant of one of their current models, and it's lasted me nigh on 7 years with no issues whatsoever.

The viewing angles, colours, brightness, and black depth are superb, and have been more than adequate even when used for precise adjustments when colour grading videos/editing photos/etc.

I've also experienced no abnormalities when viewing anything fast paced, whether gaming, watching movies, or anything else.

Adjustment and setup have all been a breeze too, no sneaky little issues with retainment of settings, and no problems have resulted from any power surges, blackouts, or unstable power in my area.

When i bought it, it was roughly $400aud, I imagine they've maintained that general price range.Oh, forgot to mention - I also use 2 of the 32" Samsung S32D850T monitors for my audio production PC, and they're fantastic too (and also come in a 27" version, if I'm not mistaken), but I will try to get back to you with the model of the model of the other 27" I mentioned.For anyone interested, I decided on going with the Samsung LC27RG50FQNXZA, a 27" 1080p curved monitor with a 240hz refresh rate. The colors are not as good as my Samsung tv, but it doesn't give me a headache, so it is good enough.Quote from: kalm1234 on May 16, 2020, 10:47:47 AM

So I decided it was time to get something new. I want an actual monitor this time instead of a tv. Something that has a refresh rate of at least 120hz and in the 27"-32" range. I could make due with up to a 34" if I had to, but I don't want to put too much pressure on my newly bought monitor arm and 34" is the max it will support.

I TRIED to go into the dell site as I wanted to know if the Vostro line of desktops had both VGA and possibly HDMi support. I was UNABLE to download a manual for the series. Does anyone have familiarity with this line of pcs?Hi Janis
All Vostro 3000 & 5000 series desktops come with onboard VGA & HDMI ports. If you order your desktop with a discrete graphics card Dell indicated on a few of the models that they WOULD COVER the motherboard graphics ports making them unavailable for use.

Greetings All,
I WORK as a consultant on-line and have just enrolled in school on-line. Doing all this on an HP notebook 15. Looking to get a desktop to split the load and have a back up.
I don't do any gaming but when working I can have as many as 10 windows open and several programs running.
Priorities are an SSD, around 16 gig ram and fastest processor I can afford.
1. question - refurbs in general. Should I FORK out some xtra $ for something new. Also I am shopping Amazon. I would think it would be as trusted as any other site for refurbs ?
2. question - Since I am looking at specs rather than brands most have been HP or Dell, but a Leveno ThinkCenter caught my eye.
Have not HEARD much about Leveno one way or the other - Any thoughts PRO or con ?
I realize it's a crap shoot, especially with a refurbished, but any thoughts greatly appreciated.
Cheers !

For years I've been getting tired of PAYING way too much money for cable TV every month. Aside from SATELLITE TV, which is even more expensive, it is either BellMTS or Westman Communications where we live.

I am trying to find an Internet cable company I can subscribe to online that would provide more CHANNELS and better pricing. Does anyone have any suggestions?

THANKS.Do you have SMART Tv?..Netflix $9.99 a month here (Australia)Unless Netflix in Australia is very different than in the US, Netflix isn't a replacement for cable TV since it doesn't offer Live TV channels. I recently dropped cable TV and went with Hulu which does offer Live TV channels.

I've been using a Belkin N150 Wifi router for AROUND 10 years and I finally decided I need a new Wifi router. I settled on the Netgear N750 Wifi router and the difference is amazing.

• No more dropped connections due to heavy Wifi traffic
• DLNA for DLNA TVs & GAME consoles
• Netgear genie mobile app and desktop software dashboard to monitor, control & repair your home network
• ReadySHARE Printer - WIRELESSLY access & share a USB printer. Nice but not really necessary for most and there is only 1 USB port
• Time Machine - Automatic Mac backup to a USB hard drive connected to the router (iOS users)
• Plus more http://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-routers/wndr4300.aspx

I have been a windows laptop guy my whole PC life, as has my wife. I am thinking about BUYING 2 windows desktops for our home, that way we can free up a laptop or two for the kids and have full-sized machines to do a lot of things. As far as the key question about our budget.... well I would like to spend as little as possible but still be able to get quality computers we'll be happy with for our needs. I know that my last ACER laptop was an $800 machine. So, I am hoping that the desktop computers would be less than that, monitors included.

For myself, I do a ton of multi-tasking with several applications simultaneously. I also do a lot of video stuff. I could really use dual screens, especially for my daytrading and other stuff. My understanding is that a tower would probably be better than an all-in-one for me. I have enough space for it. I would really like to get something really fast. I WANT a good processor, lots of ram, and good-sized HD.

My wife likely needs something a bit more basic but one that has the capacity to watch and do video work. I suppose in her case either a tower or an all-in-one would work.

I'm in rural Canada, and with the current pandemic, I would be looking to order online with delivery. I have no idea where I should focus my search. I have bought laptops at Best Buy in the past. Are there better places to LOOK? How about Amazon or other stores that sell online? Is getting pre-owned, open box, or refurbished a good idea to keep the costs down and still get a good product?

I am looking for suggestions, recommendations, you name it... thanks.Hi Capper,

Now is a very expensive time to be looking for replacement computers. It is like this every year with the Chinese New Year, the stock gets run down and prices remain the same or go up slightly. This year of course there has been over a month of low production so less stock available, less selection and higher prices. A lot of the computer refurbishing is done in China and this has slowed to a trickle and is mostly tablets and Laptops. Not desktop computers.
Also there is high demand at the moment with people looking for a computer to work from home with 2 or more monitors. 24" monitors here when you can get them have GONE up 20+ %.
When will the prices drop again?
Likely 3 to 4 months after the borders are opened which could be next year. Also I doubt the price will ever be as low as pre corona virus times. Business all along the supply chain have been hit very hard, like everyone with this pandemic and will need to make some profit to help cover the months of losses.
I think $800.00 is to low given the current climate.
Thanks for that info. I suppose I should look at last year's models that are clearance as well as the refurbished ones I can find. It's definitely something I can wait on but would prefer to get the wheels in motion as these things take time...

My 2009 PC Build may not be my primary PC, but It is still a fairly competent system for most tasks, so I keep it around.

I RECENTLY learned that NVidia "re-released" the 9800GTX+ as the 250 GTS, with much reduced power usage. While researching to find a used card on Ebay, I found the price point was around the price of a GT 1030 (~100 CAD) so I decided to give that a try, once doing a quick check and making SURE that it was not in fact going to perform worse than the 9800GTX+.

What I did not expect was that it basically beats out the 9800GTX+ in pretty much every single way.

Size wise, The GT 1030 is a fairly small card. It's not going to interfere with any drive cages at the front of the system. Additionally it is a sort of "one and half slot" card. It only has a bracket for one slot, and while it doesn't have a lot of clearance, it is possible to squeeze a card into the PCI slot next to it. A free slot is a free slot though, and a smaller card would allow for better airflow OVERALL as well.

The GT 1030 is also fairly low power in terms of actual electricity usage. Compared to the 9800GTX+ it replaced in my case it uses 6 times less power in general. The card doesn't even have a PCI-E Power socket because it does not REQUIRE power beyond what the PCI-E slot can provide. It's 30 Watt TDP dwarfs the 9800GTX+'s 140 Watts.

One unexpected surprise that I had not even considered going into it was how much quieter it is. The Gigabyte model I got has a rather large fan, and compared to the 9800GTX+, the system sounded almost silent with the 1030 installed (to the point where I didn't immediately realize it had even powered up until the monitor came on)

For replacing older cards or upgrading the video in somewhat older systems, like the 9800GTX+ in my case, it is almost a no-brainer. If the system gets much use than it will eventually pay for itself just in terms of lower power usage. (Though in this case the use of a QX6700 CPU probably isn't helping in that department, either...) It also greatly outperforms it, is much quieter, is physically smaller, and provides access to more modern Technologies/APIs and subsequently more RECENT games.

A short recommendation.

Here in the United States some telephone companies charge US much for your telephone service as they do for your Internet service.
A common practice is to use a voice over Internet to save on charges imposed on regular telephone use. This does not have to be difficult at all, in fact there already are free services available that let you make phone calls over your Internet connection.
One service readily available in most areas is called Google voice.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/23/18411138/google-voice-how-to-use-grandcentral-secondary-phone-number-voicemail-texts-sms
By using Google voice you can call somebody ELSE on their telephone and it does not charge you with any minutes used on your telephone bill. However, the person on the other end might have some kind of charge on their bill. I'm not sure how that works.
Of course the vestry solution is for both of you to have some kind of connection that does not require the phone company to get involved. There are services like that where you can get a fake phone number and call people through the Internet. Really, is not a fake phone number, but it is not a phone number attached to a physical phone anywhere. It is a virtual number that you get to use and for other people it LOOKS like you're calling from a phone.
Anyway, I put this information here as a suggestion for those of you that are trying to adjust to current circumstances and you WANT to talk to your friends and family more often than before and you are concerned about the HIGH cost of your phone bill. So if you have an Internet connection you already have a way of lowering your phone bill.
Besides Google, there other companies a law for you a free service of where you can have what appears to be a phone number and you can call other people over the Internet by using the microphone and loudspeakers on your computer. It's about the same thing as using Skype or some of the other communications services available.
I mentioned Google voice because it's very simple and many people already have a Google account, so you might as well go ahead and use it once in a while just to see how it works.
So this is just a general recommendation for Google voice. No, I did not say it's the best, it's just easy and it's free and it works.

That's all I had to say.

End of my dictation here.

This is a positive recommendation for an application.
The application is for android smart phones.

Big Launcher

Senior citizens, like myself, have a hard time with smart phones because of the small font size and cluttered screens found on typical smart phones that run the android system.
The application I have tested is called "big launcher" and can be found on the Google play store for android applications.
The link provided below is to a website that has alternate applications that might be used for the same purpose.
https://alternativeto.net/software/big-launcher/

You may wish to experiment with different applications to find one that works best for you. For me, so far at least, the best one is the one MENTIONED, namely big launcher.
As the name implies, it tries to take over your start screen on the android smart phone and shows a few basic things in a very large font or else in a very large icon that should be self-evident.
If you can't find what you want in the main menu, there is some way to swipe to another screen where you can see more choices. Unfortunately, it is not always clear exactly how this new application will work in a given situation. Yes, I do think it is a good application. But no, I do not think it is the best it could be. Hopefully the developers will come up for something better in the future. Meanwhile, this is AMONG the best in the field in my humble opinion.
If you are a youngster with normal vision, you may have a hard time understanding what all the FUSS is about. But when you have either low-vision or old-age or some combination of both, things that should be obvious now become DIFFICULT and challenging.
One of the constant problems is the amount of time the android takes the board decides to make the screen go black. This is very, very annoying. I wish there was some kind of THING that would tell it to keep the screen lit up until I don't need it. You would think the phone with no winds not being used. But for some reason the phone will go black when you least expect it. Every phone I have tried always does that. This is one the areas where science needs to do some deep research to find out why android phones make the screen go black when you don't expect it.
If you have trouble using an android smart phone, the only alternative maybe to go back to using a flip phone or a standard cell phone that does not have a touchscreen. You do have a choice, but one could wish the choices were more evident.

This is from dictation.

Hi all
Apologies if this is already COVERED in a thread here - I am still searching.

Can someone advise of a tablet, that will ALLOW me to load a word doc, and then edit with hand writing whilst I walk around a site
If it can covert handwriting to text, that would be good, but not essential

I will then need to transfer the document to my desktop for further editing

Many thanks

Fatandskint How much is your budget?

I have a Microsoft Surface Pro 7 that will allow me to do that but it cost almost $800. Microsoft has a LESS expensive tablet, the Surface Go that can be had for around $400. Other MANUFACTURERS have SIMILAR offerings.

Hello EVERYONE,



I am writing to ask for your opinion about the aforementioned laptop models. Well, according to the specs and my little experience I think that LENOVO is a bit better but I believe Dell is way more trustworthy. So, this is my dilemma. I am not a hardcore GAMER and lately, I have no time to play games or something but I want to buy the best laptop when it comes to value for money. I mostly CARE about any malfunctions of those models like overheating or whatever. I will post two links of the models to dive more into it so you can HELP me. The links are from a greek site so please translate this page. Every opinion is more than welcome.



Lenovo Legion Y540: https://www.skroutz.gr/s/19812684/Lenovo-Legion-Y540-i7-9750H-16GB-128GB-GeForce-GTX-1650-FHD-W10.html#specs



Dell G3 3579 https://www.skroutz.gr/s/15770944/Dell-G3-3579-i7-8750H-16GB-1TB-256GB-GeForce-GTX-1050-Ti-FHD-W10.html#specs



Thanks a lot in advance.

Start of my dictation.
This is about Bluetooth.
No attempt here is made to tell you EVERYTHING about Bluetooth, but I just want to dispel some mistaken ideas some might have about what Bluetooth cannot do.
First of all, Bluetooth was never intended to cover a wide area with wireless communication. But aside from that, Bluetooth can do an excellent job unreliable data communication inside of your office or home space.
In the past some Bluetooth headsets have been completely horrible. That has changed.
You can get Bluetooth devices to work reliably up to a distance of about 100 feet without using a whole lot of power. But yes, it does take more power. For applications for you need very low power at short distances, you can get specific low-power devices that work very well and very short distances.
Recently a new standard was introduced for Bluetooth. It is called the Bluetooth 5.0 standard. I personally have not yet to use it. You can Google it yourself and see that there are some very important changes that have been made to the new standard.
But why would you want to use Bluetooth anyway. Well, for one thing, it gives you a standard that is backward compatible with some of the older things you might have around. Of course, the older devices cannot do the higher speeds or the lower power found in the new standard. But you can at least use them as they were originally designed.
Contrary to what you might THINK, Bluetooth can offer fairly good measure of security if you implemented properly. However, using Bluetooth that your network communication DEVICE might not be a good idea. Instead, you'd want to limit your Bluetooth to specific devices such as keyboards, mice, headphones, microphones and loudspeakers. Bluetooth can also be used for some cameras.
My PERSONAL experience with older Bluetooth devices has been satisfactory and I don't understand why people are down on Bluetooth. Just don't expect it to do everything that you can do with other types of wireless devices. But for specific applications it's a great idea.
Here is a useful link about what you can expect from the new Bluetooth 5.0 standard.

Bluetooth 5.0: What’s Different, and Why it Matters

What about you? Have you recently go a new Bluetooth thin?
End of document. Quote

Bluetooth can do an excellent job unreliable data communication inside of your office or home space.

Linux users can not use Netflix.
Likewise for Windows XP users.
And Netflix wants more money if yu have two streams at the same time.
My favorites are either Amazon or Hulu.
You can find many others. Search for:
BEST alternatives to Netflix
Here are just two:
The 15 Netflix Alternatives: Free & Paid
and:
Streaming Sites That Are Alternatives to Netflix

What do you say? My Favorites for at a cost are Hulu and Netflix. Amazon use to be good but more and more stuff is no longer included with Prime or they use Prime as a way to get you the first season or partial season access to streaming it in an attempt to get you hooked into having to buy each episode for $1.99 or buy the season to stream it in addition to the cost of Prime.

I use Prime mainly for shopping with free shipping and sometimes download shows to my Kindle to watch offline, and as long as your device has connected to Amazon within the last 24 hours it will give you access to a DOWNLOADED show for 24 hours offline at which point if your away from Amazon's Servers for longer than 24 hours the video content wont play etc.

For Free Service I use Youtube and Sony Crackle.

Recently I tried a service which had an addon for firefox to be able to watch shows streaming and everything I wanted to watch wasnt AVAILABLE, so I removed the addon.

Other ways of watching for free is that sometime Fox and other networks have shows to watch for free ( ad-supported ) and so like when the Sleepy Hollow TV Series was going I would watch the show for free streaming it through Fox network. I also got into iZombie and they had that also available on the CW Network which i was able to watch for free ( ad-supported )

Because I really l really ENJOY Science shows and lectures I find myself watching more and more from Ri https://www.rigb.org/ which they have a channel on Youtube with neat lectures and stuff.

On my Amazon Prime I was downloading lots of the NOVA and History Channel Shows to watch, but I've exhausted pretty much all there is to watch for free under Prime and to continue with the shows requires money beyond the Prime subscription, so for shows that I got really into like Ancient Aliens instead of paying $1.99 per episode to continue with it, i bought seasons 1 thru 6 on DVD which is 23 DVD Discs and it cost just $34.99 with free shipping with Prime and I now have them permanently as mine vs only through a streaming provider. https://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens

I own a large DVD Movie collection that I converted to MP4's and able to put them on my portable devices and watch my shows offline when travelling without having to travel everywhere with a suit case full of my DVDs.

Thanks, Dave, I was hoping someone would Ok my choice or offer their opinion. I will check it out. I had decided to go back to the 8 GB ram because one of my Desktops has 8 and it streams videos very good. That would knock the price back down to $349. instead of $429. The reason for that is if I get a stinker, I won't lose more bucks. Price isn't too much of an obstacle except for pleasing the wifey.

PS: OK, I went and selected what you said and it hiked the price back to $429 which is what I almost did anyway. My only problem with what you suggested is the processor power. It drops it from 3.1-3.7 GHz to a 2.0-3.4 GHz. Does the 4 core make it that much better? BTW, they have a AMD Ryzen 5 2500u Quad-core (2GHz to 3.6GHz + AMD RADEON Vega 6 graphics and it's the same price. Is the Ryzen 5 not better than the Ryzen 3? I know this is a silly question but why do they say 4 cores instead of Quad core. They do that twice in the selection boxes to CUSTOMIZE.?I have to back up on what I said about the Ryzen 5, it's $125 more and the 3 is $80. I called sales and got the warranty info and asked why 4 core and quad-core is mentioned just for kicks. We know it's the same and that's what he said. So when the wifey gets home I'll get her OK. Boy am I PWed. OK, Dave. I ordered the AMD Ryzen™ 3 2300U (2 GHz, up to 3.4GHz, 6 MB cache, 4 cores)+AMD Radeon™ Vega 6 Graphics this afternoon. I'll keep you updated if you want me too. Delivery is about May 11.For what it's worth.
Anybody that only needs to watch videos and movies over internet can save a lot of money by NOT putting dollars into any laptop or desktop. Just get a ROKU and plug it into almost any modern TV set. It requires a wireless Internet connection.

But if you are a game player... that's a different thing. I hear you on the ROKU Geek but I want it for the portable convenience as much as anything. I want it for on the road and to sit in my easy chair and watch sports or do other things while the wifey is tying up the TV. I used to go to my computer and do these things but have a physical problem and have trouble sitting at the computer for too long. Besides, laptops are great for vacations. Thanks for the advice anyway. Biggest benefit of getting processing and video processing power above the base MODEL is that you should get more years of use out of it than the base model processing power. For example I went cheap and bought a Netbook in 2009 looking just at the fact that it was small portable and was able to stream and play some simple games online through facebook etc. 3 years later it struggled to play the streaming content even after a clean system build back to clean factory like the day i got it. It is the fact that technology gets more complex as time passes and while there is no such thing as a future proof computer, if I had bought a laptop with a better CPU and GPU I may be still using it today. However this annoyance of the Netbook no longer able to stream even youtube videos without stuttering and having to go with the lowest video settings of 360 to get them to play somewhat bearable but grainy looking taught me not to get just the bare minimum that works for me now, but pay a little more for hardware that is slightly better than the bare minimum, as for I bought a replacement laptop to it in 2013 and 6 years later its still able to stream and play some lower end games without any trouble.

So even if your not a GAMER, it is definitely worth it to buy what you bought for the better than bare minimum as for you should get a good 6+years out of it for streaming instead of maybe 3 or so if you went with the A9 instead.

The netbook cost me $249.99 and the replacement in 2013 cost me $279.99 ( both bought on black friday sales ). Had I spent another $100 -$150 on a better laptop in 2009, I could have saved myself money.

If you take care of the new laptop it could last you in excess of 10 years, however as the processing demands for CPU and GPU processing power increase, someday it wont be able to keep up with the streaming if legacy resolution video streams are not available and an extreme high definition becomes the standard which would put extra burden on aged dated electronics.

For college I needed a newer laptop for Graphic Design, Animation, and Video Editing and I bought a Lenovo 330S with the Ryzen 5 2500U Quadcore APU ( APU = CPU/GPU combined in a single processor package ) on sale for $349.99 normally $429.99 and I am very happy with it. Thanks Dave, you're a gem. Thanks for the time to explain things for us less than geeky dudes like me. BTW, what ancestry is Lembke? Just curious. I'm German/Indian myself.

I'm a new small business owner (event planning) and I CURRENTLY use my laptop but would like to get a Desktop. My INTENDED software will be SmartDraw and All SEATED for the most part. I'm proficient in the Microsoft Office Suite and also use a lot of spreadsheets, images, photos and file sharing with my team. I always feel like recommendations in retail STORES can seem like surface information being passed on to me. Can anyone suggest a couple of GOOD choices for laptops for someone in my field. I had been looking at the Dell-Inspiron All-in-one 24-3477 but I was also told that the Dell Latitude line is a better line for small business owners. I'm also looking at the HP Pavillon All-in-one 24 X0020. Any assistance is appreciated.I'm confused...You stated Desktop in your Post yet kept referring back yo laptop recommendations...

What do you want advice on exactl ? ?My apologies, my request is specifically for a desktop computer.You won't go wrong with Dell or HP in a business environment. Find one that meets your requirements and go with it.By the way, what do you think about using laptop with external monitor?
For example, I use HP laptop plus Dell 24" external monitor, and Apple keyboard. As for me, this is the most comfortable setup, as it is possible to use laptop separately and hold all necessary data with you.

Not what I thought.
I thought it would just give me webs sites for the few broadcasters who do live audio streams over the internet. I could hardly only imagine a literal way to tune the band and listen and pick what I want to hear. It is true!

It is Web SDR. A Software Defined Radio connected to the Internet. There are lots of them allover the world. You can listen to actual raw shortwave recited in Europe or even form California.
Read more:
http://www.websdr.org/

Again, it is not streaming form the broadcasters, rather it is raw shortwave reception form a specific location in the world.

I recommend this if you want something different just steam from major broadcasters. It is a real SW receiver from another place in the world.

The technology is mind boggling! It is a real-time spectrum analyzer and you can select CENTER frequency and a audio feed from a specific frequency using three or four types of demodulation. And variable bandwidth both the spectrum range and the demodulation. And a volume control, of course.

Check it out!
Related links:
http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/
http://n8sdr.com/index.php/sdr-listen-live-sites
http://69.27.184.62:8901/
Great for a rainy day.
Neat stuff Geek... was PLAYING around at this site http://69.27.184.62:8901/

I like that they show full bands and a graphic of where radio transmissions are happening in a time lapse graph and so you can see what frequency has a transmission happening and click and go to it.

25 years ago I had a ham radio without a FCC license and I just listened a lot and a couple times would get in on a conversation. Also had an old Norelco Short Wave Radio ( guessing a 1960s model which I remember said Made in Holland on the back of it )which was blue plastic body with white plastic knobs and the pressed paper fiber board back to it. It was an old tube radio that I picked up at a yard sale for $5 but it worked awesome for pulling in some far away signals with the antenna that I used which I would disconnect my ham radio and connect the old short-wave radio to this 20 foot antenna on roof of my house.

These days I have a modern hand held Radio Shack AM/FM/SW/Weather radio that takes 4 AA batteries and has a scan for picking up on signals, but its not as good as that old Norelco I had.

The closest thing I have seen to what you shared was a USB Stick that was sold about 10 years ago that was an Internet Radio Device, where the device basically when connected to a computer would launch a program that gave you access to streaming audio broadcasts all over the world so I wasnt stuck with just WHATEVER my radio could pick up in New HAMPSHIRE USA because whatever radio stations around the world that had a streaming service that were added to this device I could connect to without a weak signal.

Saved this page for future use to listen in on different radio transmissions.

DaveLembke,
Glad you enjoyed it. It brings back old memories of my adolescence. Rather than learn how to talk to girls,I learned Morse code. and got a radio license. Here is a long list of receivers all over the place.
https://skywavelinux.com/best-sdrservers.html
Don't let the Linux reference mislead you. The sites listed work well with Windows. The software is web based and does not require yu to have a specific OS.

Here is one in the UK:
http://grimsbysdr.ddns.net:8073/

Another located in Pennsylvania, USA.
http://k3fef.com:8901/

Japan:
http://103.2.34.7:8073/

New Zealand:
http://kiwisdr.jks.com:8073/
Here is CA3PBR, Santiago, Chile.

Washington DC, USA:
http://na5b.ddns.net:8901/

WebSDR, Montevideo, Uruguay
(South America)
http://201.217.131.106:7900/

Bear in mind some will default to the shortwave band. And you will hear static until you tune to a frequency with a good signal. Others will default to local AM broadcast. This is a great way to hear local dialogue in other countries.

Alain, this is not a stream from the studios. It is a linefeed of a Web SDR that you can tune to a frequency of your choice.Long wave BBC:
http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/?tune=198am
In the above the frequency i sin the URL.
The receiver is in the Netherlands.Software Define ed Radio.

It can be done with a Raspberry Pi. Up to10 people can listen, each on a different frequency in the selected band.

There is so much information about this!

Here is a nice video that explains the WebSDR thing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYopqVS2vAI

Again, It is not studio streaming. It is a real radio that has a real antenna.
Has anybody here even installed one of these?I've actually done a fair bit with this sort of stuff, not done it for a while due to being busy with other stuff but it's really fun stuff to play with. So far I own an SDRPlay, HackRF One and a basic RTL dongle. They are pretty good to play around with and to get started, a cheap RTL dongle can be picked up for under £10, they are sold as TV tuners but work as SDRs while costing very little. Not all of these will do HF frequencies (shortwave) particularly well out of the box however you can use an "upconverter" (I use a ham-it-up) to shift the lower frequencies up into the range of the SDR tuner. Only danger is that it's pretty addictive, you'll buy a cheap RTL dongle then end up spending a fortune on different SDRs and antennas.

A couple of years ago I was able to use the SDRPlay hooked up to an antenna built from bits of 15mm copper pipe to detect radio signals reflected from a meteor: https://twitter.com/camerongray1515/status/764560131111747585 - pretty fun!Yes, you can buy a low-cost dongle and use your computer as a Software Defined Radio.
But, as you said, make sure its the shortwave range,if that is purr desire.
Amazon has them.
Also,to be effective, you need an outdoor antenna.The diagram below is more complicated that necessary. Just any kind of wire of about 10 meters or 33 feet should work good enough. Anything. Even some wire stripped out of N old Ethernet cable will do. Just bare the end of the wire and stick it into the connector. You do not really need coax. Contrary to what people tell you, coax only works if you have transformer**, which adds to the total coast.
** A Balkan for shortwave. It can cost more than the dongle.

Hey everyone,

So I'm hunting for a new laptop, I know my specs decently, but money is tight (college KID) and I don't want to make a mistake.

Anyways, my current laptop is breaking because it wasn't very sturdy, the paneling started to chip and now the entire thing is falling apart (wear and tear from just carrying it around on my back constantly. I'm looking for some combination of this

-Some light gaming abilities. I'm not looking for much, but just to run some really easy games when I can (things like Panzer Corp or FTL) the regular Integrated Graphics card is fine. Not the biggest priority, but would like something I can do on the bus etc

-Durable, like I said, my current one is breaking apart at the seems and I haven't done too much to it (not to say I couldn't have treated it more gently, but I haven't dropped it or anything)

-Price range. I don't have a concrete one, but cheaper the better. Like I said, college kid who makes a little above minimum wage.

-decent battery and not being huge would be a plus. But isn't critical.

I know these are all the big points that get repeated. So in short I'm looking for a good utilitarian laptop that runs all the generic college applications. Thanks!
For me it would have to be a Lenovo ThinkPad. They are pretty expensive new but you can get a refurbished/used model that's still pretty decent for very little money. They are built like tanks and are very serviceable in the event of any issues. I, along with many others used them throughout my degree and they did the job brilliantly.You are seeking cheap plus four virtues that are seldom found together.
My recommendation is to forget low cost and work from there.
Consider a Dell Alienware refurbished laptop.
About $1400 more or less. Comes with warranty.
https://outlet.us.dell.com/
Alternatively, you can refer to the gaming laptop described in this article and tell me which one is the best. I am really confused. https://pc4u.org/best-gaming-laptop-under-600-dollars/
Not sure how an Alienware fits into the "cheap, durable with decent battery life" category. You've said that any games you would be planning on playing would be happy on integrated graphics so I would personally forget about "gaming laptops" as they are GENERALLY not particularly durable, nor have great battery life.

As I mentioned previously, in a situation like yours I would always go for a machine aimed towards BUSINESS use such as Lenovo's ThinkPads (my preference) or Dell's higher end Latitudes (7000 series). They are expensive to buy new but don't hold their value well so you can pick up a model from a couple of years ago refurbished for a fraction of the price. With gaming laptops (and most consumer laptops for that matter) it's often a case of cramming the most impressive specs into a machine for the lowest price, the first things that end up getting axed to save cost is usually the build quality and battery life. On the other hand, the business class machines put a much greater focus on the build quality and reliability over the raw power. You'll generally get much more solid casing reinforced with metal and carbon fibre and where plastic is used, it's generally strong rather than the cheap brittle stuff many laptops are made from. The more modest specs also allow for better battery life - it's pretty easy to get 7+ hours of battery on those machines. There's also things you would generally never think of such as the business laptops often using higher end WiFi cards and keyboards that are nicer to type on.

When I was in university I saw many people start off with large gaming/consumer laptops and over the years people started replacing them with smaller, business oriented laptops - There's nothing worse than trying to fit a giant gaming laptop onto a small table in a lecture theatre while having to find a socket because your tiny battery has run out again! My previous laptop (which I only just replaced) was a Lenovo ThinkPad T440s that I used for a couple of years of my degree - It was carried around in my bag on a daily basis, used incredibly heavily, bashed around when my bag, regularly ended up in piles of other bags at events, it got dropped a couple of times and even survived a water spill. Needless to say, it generally went through quite a lot of abuse yet despite that it is still completely solid with only minor scratches/shiny patches on the outer casing.I give a thumbs up to CameronGray's post. I bought the laptop in my specs from Newegg for $369 CAD in Jan of this year. It was refurbished and came with a docking station. It looked like it was just pulled new off the shelf. This may be the best road to go down for a college kid.Quote from: kolta on September 11, 2018, 09:12:57 PM

Hey everyone,

So I'm hunting for a new laptop, I know my specs decently, but money is tight (college kid) and I don't want to make a mistake.

Anyways, my current laptop is breaking because it wasn't very sturdy, the paneling started to chip and now the entire thing is falling apart (wear and tear from just carrying it around on my back constantly. I'm looking for some combination of this

-Some light gaming abilities. I'm not looking for much, but just to run some really easy games when I can (things like Panzer Corp or FTL) the regular Integrated Graphics card is fine. Not the biggest priority, but would like something I can do on the bus etc

-Durable, like I said, my current one is breaking apart at the seems and I haven't done too much to it (not to say I couldn't have treated it more gently, but I haven't dropped it or anything)

-Price range. I don't have a concrete one, but cheaper the better. Like I said, college kid who makes a little above minimum wage.

-decent battery and not being huge would be a plus. But isn't critical.

I know these are all the big points that get repeated. So in short I'm looking for a good utilitarian laptop that runs all the generic college applications. Thanks!

Not sure how an Alienware fits into the "cheap, durable with decent battery life" category. You've said that any games you would be planning on playing would be happy on integrated graphics so I would personally forget about "gaming laptops" as they are generally not particularly durable, nor have great battery life.

As I mentioned previously, in a situation like yours I would always go for a machine aimed towards business use such as Lenovo's ThinkPads (my preference) or Dell's higher end Latitudes (7000 series). They are expensive to buy new but don't hold their value well so you can pick up a model from a couple of years ago refurbished for a fraction of the price. With gaming laptops (and most consumer laptops for that matter) it's often a case of cramming the most impressive specs into a machine for the lowest price, the first things that end up getting axed to save cost is usually the build quality and battery life. On the other hand, the business class machines put a much greater focus on the build quality and reliability over the raw power. You'll generally get much more solid casing reinforced with metal and carbon fibre and where plastic is used, it's generally strong rather than the cheap brittle stuff many laptops are made from. The more modest specs also allow for better battery life - it's pretty easy to get 7+ hours of battery on those machines. There's also things you would generally never think of such as the business laptops often using higher end WiFi cards and keyboards that are nicer to type on.

When I was in university I saw many people start off with large gaming/consumer laptops and over the years people started replacing them with smaller, business oriented laptops - There's nothing worse than trying to fit a giant gaming laptop onto a small table in a lecture theatre while having to find a socket because your tiny battery has run out again! My previous laptop (which I only just replaced) was a Lenovo ThinkPad T440s that I used for a couple of years of my degree - It was carried around in my bag on a daily basis, used incredibly heavily, bashed around when my bag, regularly ended up in piles of other bags at events, it got dropped a couple of times and even survived a water spill. Needless to say, it generally went through quite a lot of abuse yet despite that it is still completely solid with only minor scratches/shiny patches on the outer casing.

Hi

I would like to get opinions and advice on a simple recommendations system I made. Mostly - how much is it clear and helpful visually?
That's a page about https://www.glj.io/gaming-laptops-under-1000 (under $1000, but no matter)

I that's not the right place, please let me knowFor STARTERS -- the link you posted is not working.

I assume it should be -- https://www.glj.io/gaming-laptops-under-1000 that you wanted to be linking to I guess.I corrected the link in the original post.Quote from: Allan on October 18, 2018, 04:13:31 PM

I corrected the link in the original post.

First, I think you should proofread. There is a lot of very awkward phrasing as well as grammatical weirdness. This makes it difficult to take the text seriously.

Also why does something that says it was posted a week ago have comments claiming to be from 4 years ago?

It's 5 years old...it's outdated...but keep workin on it.

I thought I would throw in my two CENTS on the mini-pc because I saw ANOTHER, older thread discussing the merits of them, but I didn't want to open that thread again. I use a lot of Intel NUCs at WORK and they perform remarkably well. I'm mostly running the Intel NUC7i7BNB with a 240gb SSD, 16gb RAM, and running Windows 10 Pro.

The older NUC6i7KYK (similar specs) can play older games very well (was able to use one for testing). Sims 3 plays at full settings. Skyrim loads nicely, with just a few reduced settings. Fallout4 plays at 720p/reduced settings. Minecraft can play at max render distance with minimal skipping, so I usually play it lower for that reason and because the fan ramps up all the way. I occasionally will turn it all the way up to see long distances. I've played BeamNG Drive a few times, and it complains about the graphics card each time I open it. Since the game is so physics intensive, it has some difficultly playing. I can still play at 1080p, but have to turn most of the effects way down. I've also tested VMix with it, and it seemed fine with a few inputs.

I have a cctv server (Milestone XProtect) at work and I can load 100 cameras on a 4k display and the computer will run it for about a week before it crashes. I'm not sure if that is a software or hardware issue. There is a limitation to 3 MONITORS, though. But since 4k TV's are so cheap now, I tend to push those instead of multiple monitors. I have two systems (NUC7i7) that have 2 4k displays each, running process control software (Wonderware HMI) and Milestone.

The thing I really enjoy about the mini PCs is how easy they are to move and how little space they take up. I have mine mounted to the underside of my desk. And if there's an issue with a computer, and I want to take it back to my office, I can just pick it up and put it in my pocket (ALMOST).

I think they're ready for prime time now. I remember a few years ago, when Intel decided to stop making desktop boards and switched to only making the NUC. I thought it was an absolutely stupid move on their part and thought they would suffer because of it. Now, several years later, I'm using them almost exclusively for mission critical desktops. I just hope they will make a NUC that can be PoE powered in the future. That would be really cool.I imagine NUC means something. Do you know what the letters stand for? Next Unit of Computingmichaewlewis.
Thank you for sharing.
Your real world review was a joy to read.
Apparently Intel has a bright view of the future.

The subject COULD be "Linux is better for Netflix"
Earlier Netflix said they would support Linux with some limitations.
Here are some links about recent work in that area.
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/watch-netflix-natively-linux-easy-way/
Quote

Canonical already had support for full native playback in Ubuntu 14.10+ but with the update pushed to LTS users of both 14.04 and 12.04 it showed the dedication that Linux distros like Ubuntu have for the experience of their users. Additionally the support for Ubuntu 14.04 and 12.04 provided out of the box native playback support for all the derivative/flavor distros of Ubuntu such as Linux Mint, Linux Lite, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, and many more.

Modern Linux distros are designed to appeal to a large number of users who run modern hardware.

As a result, they have become too bloated for older machines, even if you manually delete FILES. Without a healthy dollop of SYSTEM memory and an extra core or two, these distros may not deliver the best performance.
Thankfully, there are many lightweight distros, trimmed and tweaked by expert hands, which can be used to breathe new life into older hardware.

Hi all,
I'm currently facing the hardest question: 'Which laptop should I buy?'. I'm undecided between two models:
A ) 2017 Dell XPS 13'', intel i7 8th gen (8550U), 16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
B ) 2017 MacBook Pro 13'', intel i5 7TH gen, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD

My gut feeling, also driven by personal taste (and probably market), WOULD lead me to pick up the Mac. But I'm still considering the dell, cause I recognize that on the paper it looks more PERFORMING.

About the requirements: I'm a physicist, and about to start to write my PhD thesis, therefore the use would be mainly:
- A lot of tying (LaTeX) … ok, no big deal I know.
- Running some simulations on Matlab.
- Data analysis on Matlab/Mathematica (time to times with big sets of data)
- Plots and graphics (both 2D and 3D) for figures editing

However, let me also say that I'm interested in the field of Data analysis, and Data Visualization, so I might end up dealing with a lot of graphics design tasks in the near future (in one year from now).

What would you guys chose?

I'm mostly worried by the difference in the processor: 8th gen i7 vs. 7th gen i5, although Macs are GENERALLY more widely used in the graphics field (as far as I know).

Thanks in advance!
FrancescoFrancesco, this choice is yours.

You have given resons to prefere the Mac software.
That is a compelling reson to consider the Mac
Finding a way to port or replace the programs you use is a headace you do not need.

MacLab is no a trivial thing taht has like software on the Dell.
Is this the MacLab you mean?
Quote

The Mac-Lab* Hemodynamic Recording System is part of a comprehensive cath lab workflow infrastructure designed to help make you efficient, productive, and able to care for your patients effectively. From imaging to recording to IT, everything works as one. Clearly. Smoothly. Seamlessly.

MacLab is no a trivial thing taht has like software on the Dell.
Is this the MacLab you mean?

I think he meant MATLAB, at least that's what he wrote.

MATHLAB is a computer algebra system created in 1964 by Carl Engelman at MITRE and written in LISP.

this is one of those decisions you make, then 3 months after purchase go, "*censored*, should have bought the other one!"

I would like to get a Blu Ray player EVENTUALLY and I'm wondering how the PS4 and Xbox One compare as a Blu Ray player to a similarly priced dedicated Blu Ray Player. I understand that you're paying for more than just a Blu Ray player when you get a PS4 or Xbox One but how do the game consoles compare to a similarly priced Blu Ray Player? I would bet that a Blu Ray player that costs more than a PS4 or Xbox One plays Blu Ray much better but how would a Blu Ray player that costs $300-$450 compare against the game console that plays Blu Ray discs? Thank you. The most expensive Blu-Ray Players I can FIND was a 4K & 4K upscaling 3D Blu-Ray Player for about about $200 USD. That is about the price of a XBox One S and a good $100 less than a PS4 Slim- The latter of which doesn't play 4K Blu Ray.

Otherwise, the dedicated players don't really play better than game consoles capable of playing the same formats. The biggest difference is going to be in the interface. A remote can often be easier to use and the dedicated players have a content focus where as the more general consoles require you to run "apps" in order to Play Blu-Ray discs (or DVDs, for that matter). and sometimes it doesn't work, for no particularly good reason. I've found Microsoft arbitrarily and sometimes wildly changes their entire interface on the XBox every few months, for example.

I usually don't bother to use my XBox One to play Blu Ray Discs. However, it is perfectly acceptable for it, and I presume both the PS4 and the PS3 even are just as fine for the purpose of "standard" blu rays. It's only with 4K that you have to start shopping around and doing comparisons, I expect. Personally, I opted for another alternative- I got a Blu Ray Drive for my PC. With a capable enough system and with some additional software, it is fairly easy to play Blu Ray discs in VLC Media Player- but even better- I can skip the "unskippable" garbage they always have at the beginning, and directly play the actual content.Video quality wise they will all be similar so you aren't going to notice a huge difference, the main difference between a console or dedicated BluRay player will be using a controller vs a dedicated remote (although you can get a remote for the Xbox one S).

I the main decision in this is if you want the ABILITY to play 4k BluRays. If you don't have any intention of doing 4K, a relatively inexpensive BluRay player would work out to be a lot cheaper but for 4K, the Xbox One S is a really good option - Costs around the same as the player, can also be used as a console and supports VARIOUS online streaming services in 4K.

I've been toying with the idea of the Xbox One S myself - I want the ability to watch 4K BluRays but it just feels a bit wrong spending that amount of money on a dedicated player when I probably won't use it that much. I initially planned to do what BC did and get a drive for my HTPC but due to the joys of DRM, I'd not only need to buy an expensive 4K Blu Ray drive, I'd also have to upgrade the perfectly good PC to a Kabylake or NEWER Intel CPU to support the appropriate security features that are required to play 4k BluRays!

This is a negative review of a product.
Thank about it. If reviews are always positive, they become less helpfull. You want to know about the products tht annoy and frustrate users as well as the ones that are very good.
The Cannon 2500 is the one that will annoy you.
- three colors in one tiny cart.
- It sucks up ink
- It will not print black if the color cart empty.
- The are no secondary carts from major vendors
(About that last point. It is very hard to find a source of refilled carts. You cam get a kit and DIY, but the printer hesitates to print with the refilled cart until you press a button.)

The above are things you need to know and might have already suspected when you see the super low prices at Best Buy, Walmart and other stores.
Now here is what you did not guess:

The above image shows how it clutters the desktop of Windows 10 with its presumptuous software interface. IMO, that is the last straw. Even if you make that thing very small, it is still there. It insists it has to have a place on your desktop.

I do not recommend this printer.


I once read in a US magazine that an optimist is someone who thinks he'll see anything from the cheap seats at a Neil Diamond concert. That guy probably buys cheap inkjets. It is you. geek?

It's also possible that somebody who thinks they'll see anything from the cheap seats may not be an optimist as much as they may have recently visited an optometrist and been declared to have good vision.Nowadays I'd pretty much never buy an inkjet (unless I absolutely needed to print photos on glossy paper), most/all of them are a complete rip off. Used a few different lasers over the years and they have all worked brilliantly, had a couple of minor faults on really old ones but even then have been able to repair them really CHEAPLY, they definitely work out cheaper in the long run. *censored*, I'd rather pick up a used laser from eBay instead of spending the same AMOUNT on a brand new inkjet. Then again, I moved home back in December and still haven't got around to unpacking and setting up my printer so that kinda says how much I use it nowadays! Retired use of inkjet printers 5 years ago. The ink is expensive and horrible for the occasionally print need. The inks dry up even though full of ink still. Horrible design for anyone who needs to print a few pages of paper 2 times a month. I thought that as long as I dont print much it would be not so BAD. But the cartridges fail when they sit unused with ink drying to the outer surface and trying to fix this with a q-tip with alcohol on it RUINS them as for I think the alcohol messes with the piezo that spits the ink out to paper.

I got a Kyocera laserjet for free and used that until the toner ran out. Then i recycled the heavy monster and got TWO laser printers for $29.99 each and they still work well because toner doesnt dry up. Being an infrequent to print user these laser printers that are cheap work out well. Not sure if they would hold up to daily printing in volume but they have worked for years now and still have yet to buy toner for them. I have printed about 300 pages through them so far and no problems yet.

Last use of it was to print out a video card rebate to fill out and mail in. Then printing out last years taxes to submit to IRS. Then before that was a christmas recipe as example of how infrequent I print. For important documents I have moved over to saving them as PDFs with DoPDF7. Saving paper and ink has saved so much money, and PDFs are usually only a few megs in size.

This is about a free service from a commercial web site. You do not have to by anything nor do you even have to register with them.

Here is the scenario:
You want to crte a new web site with a cool idea you have. You maybe already have a web site, but you think the new idea needs a new name.

Checking around, you find that most of the cool ideas Thu have are already taken. But there are some possibility of using maybe a vanity kind of TLD. The TLD is the last part of a domain name, the part after the last dot. EXAMPLES:
geek9pm.net
geek9pm.club
geek9pm.us
In each of the above, the TLD is,respectfully, NET, CLUB and US.
In my cas, the geek9pm.com is held by somebody else, so I cant have it unless I pay him a lot of money. So I have to use another TLD to find the name I want.

Now you got the idea.
Where can anybody buy a name with a alternative TLD and not pay alto of money.

Some of alternative TLD options are very pricey.

Examples:
.com $ 9.20Low price, but cool names are take already
.info $ 12.29 Used to be the cheapest, price has gone up
.mobi $ 19.50 Do more letters mean none money?
.site $ 24.99
.cc $ 37.39 COCOS Islands.
.tv $ 39.95 Tuvalu, where is it?
.xxx $ 99.95 Who WOULD pay that much?

Boy do they vary! But how do yum find a reasonable price? Sometimes they have promos and specials. On company sells a nice TLD for under $1 and then if you renew it it will HOST over $50 after the first year. No thanks!

Now here is my recommendation. Not fora certain company, but rather for a service. It is a web site that gives you the information need:

https://tld-list.com/

They have a huge data base with $ price info an most TLD and registrars that offer such. With that data you can make a choice about which registrar you should start with for a specific TLD. The first year and renewal varies a lot.

I decided on three different registrars for my domain names s experiments. But you choice will be different from mine. Take a look at the service offered by that site. It is free to look at. Just don't buy anything.

This is a recommendation SeaMonkey. I am using version 2.49.1
and it is very much like the curre3nt FireFox 52. But one important difference. Amazon price does not work with FireFox.

In fact, SeaMonkey might be the only browser the lets you see Amazon prime while in Windows XP. Some if you, like me, prefer browsing in Windows\s XP, consider getting a free copy of SeaMonkey.



Amazon Prime plays fine in Firefox on my TWO Windows 10 systems. And, I suspect Amazon Prime will PLAY in Firefox on Windows 7 and Windows 8 systems. YES, you are right.
The problem is when anybody WANTS Windows XP and Amazon.
For some reason Sea MONKEY works and Firefox does not.

If you ignore Geek this will go alot quicker...Tinman2,
From you response, you COULD buy either:

HP Z2 Mini G3
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-news/media-kits/2016/HP-Z2-Mini-launch.html
OR
The Dell XPS Tower Special Edition (8930)

You will and add a suitable monitor of your choice.

The big DIFFERENCE is size. That is why I asked about what you wanted. Some professionals want the smallest possible thing that fits on their desktop. The HP model above fits that. But here are no options for adding anything inside.

Other people what a big box that allows the option of putting more stuff inside. Maybe a an extra hard drive or some kind of interface card for a special project.

Both are about the same price. But have good performance at a fair price. Bother companies have good support.
I recommend either Dell or HP base on personal experience.

Hope that is of some help.
Quote from: Tinman2 on November 04, 2017, 05:05:03 PM

Wow............all is information.......all I am looking for is a reliable disk top unit.....don't need anything fancy not playing games on it....using it for email, Facebook and want to install office...... I am looking at a Asus

3GHz 7th generation Intel Core i5-7400 processor and 8GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM drive powerful performance whether you're creating a presentation, streaming a movie, or multitasking
•2TB hard drive offers GENEROUS storage for a substantial collection of software, games, videos, music, photos, and more
•802.11ac Wi-Fi lets you connect to your wireless home network with fast wireless speeds for streaming and downloading
•Bluetooth 4.1 makes it possible to wirelessly connect to a wide range of enabled DEVICES, including headsets, keyboards, and mobile devise
•10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet lets you establish a reliable, wired connection to your network and the internet for potentially FASTER data transfer speeds
•Eight USB ports (2 front and 6 back) let you connect a wide range of devices to expand your system, sync or transfer data, charge electronics, and more
•HDMI output lets you connect to compatible displays, including your HDTV for supersize entertainment
•SonicMaster audio uses optimized hardware and software to deliver powerful sound with significant bass for an unrivaled audio experience
•ASUS AudioWizard offers 5 selectable settings for music, movies, games, voice recording, and speech
•ASUS Smart Cooling System reduces accumulation of dust and cuts down operating temperatures by up to 11.4 degrees C for a cooler, quieter computing experience
•ASUS Q-Fan technology automatically regulates fan speeds based on system loads
•This computer is quieter than a library when it's idle -- with a sound level of only 28dB
•Features 16x DVD ROM drive and 6-in-1 card reader that supports SD, SDHC, MS, MS Pro, XD and MMC
•Preloaded with Windows 10, which features a refined browser, improved Start menu, digital assistant with Cortana, universal Windows apps, and much more

May have too much power.. but then maybe not.

@tinman,

I'll simply state, brand name is no indication of what is best.
if you compare the differences in specs of 2 PC's, than one will be better based on the spec that's important to you.
[/quote ]
Consider:
What about warranty? Does the unknown brand offer a one year warranty? Isf so, how would a Return Merchandise be handled?
And support? What if a flaw was found in the BIOS?

What is your Point here Geek ? ? ?

All you PC users running Microsoft Windows can access files you store in Microsoft's cloud STORAGE, CALLED OneDrive, with your Android tablet and/or phone. To install the OneDrive app on your Android DEVICE, visit Google Play Store and search for Microsoft OneDrive, or just Microsoft, and install OneDrive.

And, if you use Word and/or Excel, you can get a free VERSION of both from the Google Play Store, thereby making opening and editing of your Word and Excel files possible on your Android device. Numerous other Microsoft apps are also available from Google Play Store. These free Word, Excel, etc. apps for Android are not full featured versions but are sufficient for most users. For more information about Microsoft apps for Android, SEE https://products.office.com/en-us/mobile/office-mobile-apps-for-androidNice find...

Hello you smart smart people... i need HELP buying a new laptop. I want the best bang for my buck in canada here. I want to buy a laptop online for $1250 or less...
I record a lot of music so no latency, i know so little about sound cards in laptops. I constantly use premiere too. I need to edit 1080p video smoothly, and this seems to be a hard one. Im down for a GAMING laptop if those specs are needed. But i want no lag. I know i cant get windows 7 anymore so it would have to be anything higher. But please help. I prefer smaller screens too. But theres just so many to choose from when i only do these 2 things. I dont need a lot of space. Dont care about looks and the external speekers. How many ports. NAH. Just smooth editing. And if theres better sound options for recording. Please please help. I dont want to make a mistake with this kind of cash. Thank you kindly in ADVANCE. (Has to be windows)does it have to be a laptop?
a desktop would offer better specs, usually at cheaper prices, and you get the added benefit of future upgrades being cheap/possible.

Hi, looking into a new laptop for GAMING (mostly emu) and streaming on a bigger screen through hdmi. Is: Laptop PC, 7th-Gen AMD A9-9400 up to 3.2GHz, AMD Radeon R5 Graphics, 8GB RAM, 1TB, Windows 10 worth a chance or can direct me into another that is around $500; perhaps cheaper? I currently have win 10, intel core i3-3227U 1.90ghz, 4gb ram, intel hd graphic 4000. Want something a bit more powerful. If there is something over $500 I wouldn't mind the suggestion just as long there's something to compare it with for cheaper.


ALSO, thinking of building a tower/desktop: ASUS LGA1151 DDR4 M.2 HDMI DVI USB3.0 H110 MicroATX Motherboard (H110M-A/M.2), Geforce 1050ti, 8gb ddr4 2133 mt/s, 1tb drive. For a bit heavier gaming and photoshop. Not very savvy with inside tech so don't know what it all means. Been wanting to get into AAA games, but not sure yet. Maybe will play those types on laptop with an xbox control if possible too. Computer buying is more stressful than I imagine it to be. Oof, so many questions just so lost. Thank You.Well, I'd suggest waiting. There should be new models with new GPUs and CPUs from Nvidia and AMD
Currently, there are some options under $600, but they are scarce and not very high quality machines


You have to decide whether it's going to be a desktop or a laptop..If it comes down to a choice of laptop vs desktop, i would go with desktop for gaming. Better upgrade potential down the road vs a laptop that your locked in with a SPECIFIC GPU for the life of the computer for 99% of the laptops out there in your budget price range. I have some laptops that I bought that when i bought them they were great, but they fell off the radar of games they can play these days because while the CPU has plenty of power, the GPU fell behind. So I only get about 3 years of gaming out of laptops in your budget range which is what my budget generally is and then newer games or games evolve with greater GPU complexity and the frame rate starts to drop and then eventually its too painful to game on and all temps are ok so not overheating, its just that the GPU is no longer capable of the games that i play. On a desktop you can simply swap or add a video card and get more for your money vs falling prey to lack of upgrade in the future.

When it comes to the games you will be playing, CHECK to see what the minimum and recommended system requirements are for whatever emu games your going to play and try to get a system that is equal to or better than the recommended system requirements. If you get a system that is bare minimum then you will run into requiring an upgrade sooner than later and if its a laptop, this means that the laptop had to be replaced with another which is more costly than having a desktop system and just upgrading a videocard for say $80-$150Very few prebuilt "gaming" systems are worthy of being called gaming systems - at least not at the low-end. Most of them are heavily imbalanced between CPU and GPU (when they have a discrete GPU at all) and often cut corners on the PSU or elsewhere.

Building a system is really simple. You just need a little bit of common-sense and take your time to triple-check everything if you feel like you have to.

New to this forum. Looking at a new computer. What is your opinion on
Asus intel core 15-7400 desktop PC
7th generation intel
Core 15-7400
Processor at 3GNI
8GB DDR4 memory 2TB
Hard drive
Bluetooth 4.1 HDMI
Eight USB port going for 649.99
It has a DVD RW


I know NOTHING about computers. All i know is how to turn it on and off
Use it for email, banking, tax forms, pictures, will be installing office 2010.
This computer comes with windows 10 home.
Any input would be helpful.

Also looking at
Asus AMD A10-7800

Both at best buy.Welcome to the forum!

Based on the description of your planned use, the specs you listed are more than adequate. As long as you don't plan to do any gaming (or other graphics intensive computing) in the future, you should be OK. Since no video card specs are listed, I would assume the system is strictly using video hardware built into the motherboard which is fine for your intended use but woefully inadequate for gaming. You may be able to add a video card at a later date but that would most likely also require you to upgrade the power supply.

The 2TB HDD should provide plenty of storage space for you unless you start filling it up with large files such as movies. 8GB of RAM should be plenty unless you start doing some really heaving multi-tasking with MANY applications running simultaneously. The DVD RW can be useful at times but those type of drives are quickly going the way of the floppy disk drive. Of the 8 USB ports, it would be nice to know how many are version 2.0 vs 3.0. Other things to look at would be to see if there are any free slots on the motherboard and what size power supply is installed in case you wish to expand the system in the future.

Thanks for your help.
The spec that I can find.. Best Buy has it on sale for $649.99 think of waiting till black Friday hope it come down a little.
So DVD is going so what is it going to replace it ? Thinking of putting all my pictures on a CD. that is way I want the DVD RW.


More Information

•3GHz 7th generation Intel Core i5-7400 processor and 8GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM drive powerful performance whether you're creating a presentation, streaming a movie, or multitasking
•2TB hard drive offers generous storage for a substantial collection of software, games, videos, music, photos, and more
•802.11ac Wi-Fi lets you connect to your wireless home network with fast wireless speeds for streaming and downloading
•Bluetooth 4.1 makes it possible to wirelessly connect to a wide range of enabled devices, INCLUDING headsets, keyboards, and mobile devise
•10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet lets you establish a reliable, wired connection to your network and the internet for potentially faster data transfer speeds
•Eight USB ports (2 FRONT and 6 back) let you connect a wide range of devices to expand your system, sync or transfer data, charge electronics, and more
•HDMI output lets you connect to compatible displays, including your HDTV for supersize entertainment
•SonicMaster audio USES optimized hardware and software to deliver powerful sound with significant bass for an unrivaled audio experience
•ASUS AudioWizard offers 5 selectable settings for music, movies, games, voice recording, and speech
•ASUS Smart Cooling System reduces accumulation of dust and cuts down operating temperatures by up to 11.4 degrees C for a cooler, quieter computing experience
•ASUS Q-Fan technology automatically regulates fan speeds based on system loads
•This computer is quieter than a library when it's idle -- with a sound level of only 28dB
•Features 16x DVD ROM drive and 6-in-1 card reader that supports SD, SDHC, MS, MS Pro, XD and MMC
•Preloaded with Windows 10, which features a refined browser, improved Start menu, digital assistant with Cortana, universal Windows apps, and much more







What's in the Box?
•Warranty Card
• Power Cord
• Quick Manual


Warranty:
•Parts - 1 Year(s)
•Labour - 1 Year(s)



Geek Squad Protection


We fix it or replace it.

Choose the coverage that’s right for you when you click Add to Cart.

Can't find an Asus computer that matches thse specs on the Best Buy website. Can you post a link?https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/asus-vivopc-desktop-pc-intel-core-i5-7400-2tb-hdd-8gb-ram-intel-hd-graphics-630-windows-10/10583708.aspxFound a site with additional specs: http://abc-reviewasus.blogspot.com/2016/08/review-full-specification-asus-vivopc-k31cd.html

Looks like of the 8 USB ports, 4 are 2.x and 4 are 3.x so that's good. It has gigabit Ethernet port. The graphics is the weak point, as I said, but could be upgraded, if desired, since there is at least one slot open. The power supply is on the weak side with a max rating of 300W.

The reason DVDs are falling by the wayside is that the main uses for DVDs in the past was for software delivery or movies. Most software mfrs have gone to delivering software via website download and movies are mostly being streamed today so there isn't much of a demand for optical drives anymore.thanks for all your help..

I am looking for a new computer and all I can afford is refurished ones right now so I am looking for advice on the two I have been looking at. I am going to use them to play games(wizard101 and some minecraft) and to watch live streaming videos. My first one I have in mind is https://www.walmart.com/ip/Refurbished-HP-6305-SFF-Desktop-PC-with-AMD-A4-5300B-Processor-8GB-Memory-2TB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-10-Pro-Monitor-Not-Included/49333480 . the second one is https://www.walmart.com/ip/Refurbished-HP-8000-Desktop-PC-with-Intel-Core-2-Duo-Processor-8GB-Memory-1TB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-10-Home-Monitor-Not-Included/51872323. I would also like to know what would be a good extrenal harddrive case for a SATA 3.5 harddrive. I plan on keeping the harddrive in the caseTo be honest, both of those are completely overpriced for what they are, each of these machines looks to be worth around $100 if not less. I'd suggest looking for refurbished ones in places other than Walmart, even for under $200 you should still be able to pick up something with an i3 or i5 relatively easily.those are the only ones Ican find that Ican affordI prefer Newegg for my refurb needs.... Here is an example of a decent system for your needs at a savings.

HP Compaq 6000 Pro Micro Tower Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93Ghz E7500 - 4GB RAM - 160GB Hard Drive - DVD RW - Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA5YV5D21834

You can always add a larger hard drive later as well as bring this to 8GB RAM later if needed but with those games it would be plenty. You might want to add a cheapie INTRO level video card vs running off the integrated video though.

A cheapie video card like this one would be ok for the games your playing and way better than integrated video
ASUS EAH6450 SILENT/DI/1GD3(LP) Radeon HD 6450 1GB 64-Bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIADFR6BX8637

According to Crucial it states it can handle 16GB RAM, I am thinking 8GB as for soemtimes they get the 2 slots vs 4 slots messed up and so its 4GB per slot. I have a motherboard that they state takes up to 8GB RAM at 2GB per slot, but I only have 2 slots so its maxed out at 4GB.

Quote

Your HP - Compaq 6000 Pro Microtower
system specs as shipped
memory

Maximum Memory:16GB
Slots:4 (2 banks of 2)

*Not to exceed manufacturer supported memory.

I am going for a place [where] I can take back to a store if I have issue with the thing as I cannot afford to ship one back and then repay to get a new one if something is messed up with the thing

Hello.
This is a review about using a voice recognition product to control a web browser. Now if you have and use Windows 10 on a regular basis, this might not be of much interest to you. However, many users are not able to fully utilize the features of Windows 10 for a number of reasons. One being that Windows 10 is incredibly hard to use for people that have a hard time learning how to use things.

This review is about using a speech recognition product that has been on the market for a long time and can be used with almost any operating system or browser. The product I'm using is Dragon naturally speaking. There are several versions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you can find versions 10, 11, 12 and 13 available from different vendors. Any of these work very well and there is little reason to claim the latest version is always best.

Prices vary, but yo can find some early versions under $99 for reputable vendors. Consider investing in a decent headphone with microphone.But it does not ha veto be costly.

Now I want you to know that most of this post was done with dictation from Dragon NaturallySpeaking. It was version 10 and it was upgraded to version 11 for free. I think I bought it for under $100 somewhere online. Before that I had been using an earlier version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking which was bundled with an old version of WordPerfect for Windows. That gives you an idea of how old this product is. It is a very mature product and is well supported by the company. Of course, it's not free. And you have to spend a little bit a time learning how to use it. It does have a learning curve. Fortunately, the company is not going to change everything once in a while just to annoy you. They do not have the Microsoft mentality. They really want people to use their product to be productive and not have to be constantly relearning what they already know. If you know how to talk, you will be able use this product.

If need be, there are some add-ons you can stick into your browser that will make it easier to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking. But you don't really have to do that.
This is a review about my personal experiences of using Dragon NaturallySpeaking for several years. The reason I bring this up now is that people are getting all excited about how wonderful Windows 10 is with its speech recognition program built-in. Big deal. It's of little help if you can figure out how to use Windows 10. And even so, the speech engine in Windows 10 Will Dr. you crazy with its improper and inappropriate responses. I really don't like it to be told that I should ask for information about the Grand Canyon. I don't want information about the Grand Canyon.
But Dragon naturally speaking never nags me about my lack of knowledge of the Grand Canyon or anything else for that matter. All it does is remind me that I need to have the microphone well-positioned and that I need to work on some of the maintenance features once in a while. The program requires some time to itself to update the vocabulary and profile of the specific user. Yes, Dragon naturally speaking is user specific. I don't find that a problem because I'm the only one that uses it.
Now about web surfing. You can always use inside of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. You can ask you to click on a link and it will click on a link if there's one available.
To help even idea about what you can do with this product and you wrap browser, here is a video that has been prepared by them to help people understand that you don't have to use the Windows 10 product if you are willing to INVEST a little bit of money and time into a product that is been proven to be effective over the years.
Here is the link:

Use Dragon to control your Web Browser.
My own personal experience with this product has been mostly favorable. The bad part is about their very strict rules about the use of the license key and having it installed on only one computer at a time. It is a real hassle to MOVE the program over to a new computer. So you may want to think very carefully about porting the program over to another computer. It can be done, but you have to consult with the support people and find out what it is they expect you to do.
Nevertheless, I was able to get this on to a new installation of Windows XP on this machine. Although I had install the software earlier and had to reinstall the operating system, somehow I was able to install the Dragon product again and enter the license key again and somehow it was able to activate property. I'm not sure how that works. Maybe they have a secret place where they hide the cookie in your hard drive, or something like that. Anyway, they did not nag me about trying to install on a separate computer. I am glad they got that figured out.
Overall, I'm very happy with the product and I use it on a daily basis. Using this product makes my computer use much more pleasurable and productive in my personal life. At my age says not too many things I can do because of my health limitations. I appreciate having something that makes it a little bit easier to work with computers. Although I have had many years experience using computer systems, I am not able to type fast and my vision is lot not allow me to pick up a lot of things that are visual clues. So having this speech recognition product is one of the best investments I've ever made.
Well, it's time to stop dictation here. Some kind of background program is complaining about something that I don't understand. But the problem is not coming from Dragon NaturallySpeaking, it's coming from some of those crazy programs that run in the background and claim to help improve my computer experience and proceed to annoy me with messages that pop up on my screen all I'm trying to dictate something.
End of my post. I'm going to turn off the microphone now. Interesting... I've never used this software to do anything more than to Voice to text to a word document years ago and all the corrections I had to make afterwards made it sort of a pain to use. Its one thing if your sort of forced to have to use it due to a handicap of some kind but for myself I am pretty much sticking with my keyboard for as long as I can.

My experience with it was that it forced me to open my mouth more when I speak with better pronunciation and try to avoid saying stuff with my accent as well as some words that I say it gets confused with easily as well as I also roll my words together at times because I talk fast and it gets all fouled up with this so it made me feel like I was having to talk slower and it was sort of frustrating.

I think fast and I talk very fast and to have to slow it down to match the limitations of software to me made for a painful experience among my accent getting into the mix and I say words different than many others.

Most COMMONLY alternate pronunciate ..... just side tracked by spell checker here...

Its bad enough that Im getting spell checked on the word Pronunciate and I am like I know its spelled correct and google tells me this stuff, so my urban language type may also be a problem for Dragon in addition to the spell checker here at CH :

Quote

"Pronunciate" is a word that isn't listed in most dictionaries; Dictionary.com does mention it, but it noted that "pronunciate" is used rarely. If you use it, most people will think that you meant to use "pronounce" but screwed up.

Urban Dictionary: pronunciate
pronunciate. A merging of the words "pronounce" and "enunciate" that emphasizes the gist of each's meaning. Basically, it means to speak more clearly.

pronunciate

Search Results
"Pronunciate" is a word that isn't listed in most dictionaries; Dictionary.com does mention it, but it noted that "pronunciate" is used rarely. If you use it, most people will think that you meant to use "pronounce" but screwed up.May 8, 2014

Many have you are probably familiar with system information software, called CPU-Z, from CPUID for PC's. But, if you have an Android smartphone or tablet, you might not know that the same company offers a similar product for Android phones and tablets. You can FIND it VIA Google Play Store. For more info and user reviews, using your PC, VISIT https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cpuid.cpu_z&hl=en Thanx for the HEADS up soybean...I been using this for about 6 months. I like that I can use it as a means of keeping track of how active my smart phones CPU is operating in addition to specs. It will show Core 0, Core 1 and so on for as many cores your device has and shows what speed each Cores clock is running. My LG16C has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.19Ghz for example runs between 300mhz and 1190mhz and when the phone is at rest it will show the cores stopped or 1 of 2 stopped as well as below that a CPU Load. It also shows GPU load as well, but I dont use that stat.

Additionally my wife bought a Samsung and was complaining why is it so slow. I thought maybe it was loaded with bundleware. But CPU-Z for android pointed out that her new phone had a A5 single-core 1000Mhz. So there was no curing its speed issue, but she cured it when it fell out of cuby under radio in car and dropped into a strawberry coolata that DIDNT have a lid and took the dunk of death. I bought a couple spares of the LG16C because I like them, decent speed and good quality, so I gave my wife one of my spares and so she no longer complains about a slow phone for apps.And all this time you thought she couldn't fix phones.... Quote

And all this time you thought she couldn't fix phones....

Over the years I have ordered small PARTS from different vendors.While in South America I ordered from Jameco and Allelectrons.I recommend both.

Here are some of the best consumer friendly parts vendors online
Some have PDF CATALOGS you can save. OTHERS only have the catalog on line.

http://www.allelectronics.com/mas_assets/theme/allelectronics/pdf/CAT416.pdf
Limited selection, but great prices on overstock items.

www.digikey.com
Digi-Key has a huge selection. Don't try to download every thing.

www.frys.com
Fry's electronics has large on-line catalog.

www.Jameco.com
Jameco - very nice catalog. Soon they will update the PDF.

I have never ordered from www.Maplin.co.uk in the UK.
Maybe somebody here knows about them.

If you order parts from vendors on eBay, you take your chances. My recommendation is to order parts from major vendors listed above.
Comments welcome.Quote

While in South America I ordered from Jameco and Allelectrons.

I have never ordered from www.Maplin.co.uk in the UK.
Maybe somebody here knows about them.

I want to buy a computer that's is every thing I need in a computer I watch a lot of movies and I like to play on line role playing games hang war and flying games I put a 1200 limit thank you Lots of questions to start and likely more after you reply to this to refine what you need for a system:

List of game titles would help?

Also are you looking to spend all $1200 of that to get the best system you can or wanting to only spend as much as needed to play the games?

Is this $1200 USD or some other currency?

What OS are you going with and version..... example: Windows 7 64-bit, 8, or 10 or other?

If only spending enough to play the games what kind of performance are you looking for ( screen resolution/size and frame rates )?

Do you have a preference of INTEL over AMD for CPU as well as nVidia or AMD for Graphics?

Are you looking to have a SSD for fast boot and loading of games or GO with a hard drive for larger capacity, or a combination of SSD and HDD so you can have boot speed and whatever launched off of SSD fast, but storage on a HDD for ( x-many GB/TB of storage? )?

Additionally what size monitor are you looking for and are you going with desktop or laptop?

Are you looking to BUILD your own system or get a prebuilt gaming system as well?

You can get more for your money out of a desktop computer vs a laptop. You might already be aware of this, but had to state this fact.I use to play on line games but stop playing long time ago but I like role playing games and war games and dungeon and dragons how much to spend well I want to spend the best computer I can get for 1200 Canadian or a little more if I have to go. witch ever OS that I should get in your opinion.Get the best resolution and size and frame you can get to fall in the budget.As for ssd or ssd and had again witch ever is the best to get so I can get more for my buck.biggest monitor you can get for the money.and I want desktop. And do I want to build my own or get one that all ready build witch ever way gets me the best computer for my money thanks for doing this for me but be patient with me I don't know a lot about the WORKING of the computer so I trust you to answer aloe of questions for me my name is Nate Do you want to spend time making your own computer or just have a computer you can plug in and run?

One benefit of a prebuilt computer is that if you run into problems the warranty terms are better. If you build your own the warranty terms will be down to just the certain component that is acting up vs telling a brand that they need to send a replacement computer.

Building a computer is pretty easy but comes with risk and takes time and one bad move and you can destroy parts.

Since your looking to spend $1200 Canadian to get the best/most for your money... I just need a direction you want to go... do you want to be bothered and take on the risks associated with building your own computer or do you just want to open a box and boot it up?

Quote

I use to play on line games but stop playing long time ago but I like role playing games and war games and dungeon and dragons

The first guy reactivated my service no problem for a couple days and then it stopped again, the second guy told me it was because my payment information has changed which shouldn't even be possible and asked for my credit card information again and said everything would work fine, then the third guy I CALLED today because it still wasn't working said I had a data overage from last month

This item is currently out of stock and it may or may not be restocked

If you have not BOUGHT a printer recently, you may be surprised about all the different types, models and prices you have to choose from.

You will find that some printers on sale cost LESS than the replacement ink CARTS. How can they h do that? Because the 'starter' carts do not last very long and yhou soon have to buy more. Like maybe in one week.

The most popular all-in-one printers are made by:
Apple
Brother
Cannon
Dell
Epson
HP
Kodak
Samsung

Note that Apple no longer makes printers.
Other printers will work with Apple.

HP offers a wide variety of printers, even in the very low cost area.
However, this cost of real HP ink cartridges is rather high. The other makes of printers also charge a lot for ink that has the b rand name on the package. There is little proof that the more expensive ink is any better.

Also, repair of the low-cost printers is very hard. You will have to buy a new printer if the problem is very serious.

Now then, after saying that,let me tell you something. A lot of consumers are very mad at the printer industry. Three, HP, Cannon and Epson are in lawsuits by class action.
Here is a link to just one such:
https://www.forthepeople.com/class-action-lawyers/hp-printer-lawsuit/

No, I am not working for them. But I think reading the allegations made will draw your attention and you will be careful to buy a new printer.

A quote from the above link:
This is not the first time HP has faced litigation over one of its printers. In 2013, a class action suit was filed claiming that two of HP’s wireless printers contain a defective receiver that affects the printers’ ability to stay connected to COMPUTERS, rendering the wireless PRINTING capability essentially useless. ...

Nevertheless, I will still buy HP.

My recommendation: Go ahead an buy a cheap printer. Check the warranty. Buy an extended warranty if the price is under 20%. It will pay for itself.

Last month PC World published this article.

How to use Windows PowerShell: A beginner's guide

Here is why I recommend the article.

The article was written by Woody Leonhard Senior Contributing Editor. Woody Leonhard is a senior contributing editor at InfoWorld and author of dozens of Windows books.
At the end of the short tutorial about Powershelll, he gives a list of where to look for more information, so you will know where to go next.
The code examples are short COMMANDS. Most are just lone line commands.This makes it easy for even the very new student. There are examples that can be be helpful for all of us. Here is just one:
Code: [Select]get-help get-childitem -examples...produces SEVEN detailed examples of how to use get-childitem.
Another:
Quote

get-childitem “HKLM:\Software”

I rarely recommend hardware - especially printers. I mean let's face it - it's a printer, what's to recommend?

HOWEVER...... I needed a new printer for mostly personal use (and to provide light/occasional backup for business printers if needed). After doing some research I found a GREAT deal on the Epson Work Force (WF) 3640 at $110 (direct from Epson, Amazon, etc.). It's actually $50 cheaper than the next LOWER model (WF 3620). And while I wasn't looking for a "loaded" printer, this was just too good to pass up. Yes, it's a great business printer but there's no reason it can't be used for home or home office purposes. Installed it yesterday and the features are amazing at this price:

• All-in-one (print / scan / fax / copy)
• Automatic two-sided print & copy
• Two 250 sheet paper trays + rear tray for specialty paper, envelopes, etc.
• 35 page two-sided ADF
• Ethernet & WiFi capable with ridiculously easy network setup
• Large LCD screen (3 1/2") with VERY user friendly navigation and controls
• Claimed speed of 19 ppm (black) and 10 ppm (color)
• Excellent print quality (at least for text - don't know about photo)
• Remote printing capability (from cell phones, tablets, etc)
• Highly rated inexpensive (off-brand) ink cartridges readily available (Amazon, etc.). I've never used anything but OEM ink, but the reviews on some of these non-Epson cartridges are outstanding

Read an article yesterday that HP plans to actually add a compound into it's ink for a new DRM technology on newest printer line...