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You really don't want to go down the halogen downlight path. It's highly inefficient, the bulbs are short-lived unless you buy the really expensive ones, and you have to clear insulation above and around each light fitting. Halogens are good for accent lighting. Otherwise, they suck.

jtr1962: On a different note, I have a 2-level Romisen here that's failed after a few months - it dimms down to nothing in about a second. Is it even worth thinking about repair, or should I just bin it (another one of the same model is fine). The pill looks kinda small and well-sealed (don't...

What Stereo said. The Romisens are conservatively driven and fairly well heatsinked, so LED degradation isn't at all likely. How much dimmer is it? Could it be running in a 'moon' mode? What failed in the first one, the switch or the pill? You could try changing it to direct drive, i.e. just...

I can't find a decent photo online to illustrate what DSE looks like now, so you'll have to use your imagination with this: And you're right, Tandy stores were actually 'rebranded' as DSE stores. Look, it's a loose analogy, okay? :) The relatively high number of DSE stores tells you how...

I've been watching that forum closely since the original post. It's the only other forum that I can find where Darshin has actually engaged with people. This despite the fact that Google shows he spammed as many as 100 sites (some canned his ass straight away). He's been in direct contact with...

It's a similar picture here, in that virtually all of the wholesalers I used to buy from have gone broke. The couple remaining offer prices above what I can buy retail.

I can't think of any big box retailers in Oz. I guess that's a significant difference.

For starters, I can't think of an equivalent to Best Buy at all! On the other hand, the closest to Fry's is probably the DSE (Dick Smith Electronics) chain, with about 350 stores (433 total in Australia and New Zealand). They only sell some computer components, eg. no CPUs. Harris Technology...

Hmmm. I just checked and I can buy the same drive for US$71. That's over the counter - I haven't had an HDD shipped for years now. Have Newegg et al put shopfronts out of business in the US? Because they don't seem to be so cheap anymore ...

I don't understand this. People have been complaining about Newegg drive packaging for years. Can't you just buy them elsewhere? It's only a $75 item ...

Thanks Bozo. Under XP, it's Network Connections - Advanced - Advanced Settings. When I tried this on an XP laptop, the wireless connection always authenticated first after login, leaving the wired connection in limbo. So it was still necessary to disable the wireless adapter to get the wired...

Doug, the laptop is an ultraportable (1.5kg), so there's not much scope for additional drive capacity. Yet another application for USB3, perhaps? As it happens, I *am* using an online backup service with this laptop, but for other, logistical reasons it's a lot more sophisticated than Mozy...

There's a demo on the web of a barcode scanning program six lines long (it uses an existing library that someone wrote). Contrast this to *anything* from Microsoft. :roll: The barcode scanning works extremely well with the 5MP autofocus camera. I've easily been able to scan just from the...

The problem with the 90% rule is that while strictly correct, you never know which 90% ... In the past, I've attempted to foist simple word processors on people who I thought would never need to do anything other than type memos, but ended up with egg on my face.

I used to say that too, but my daughters have set me straight in no uncertain terms: OO Writer sucks. You can type a memo okay but anything much more complex is a problem. I've also given up on OO because their claims of MS compatibility are just lies and they've made no real effort to improve...

Sechs, I've had vaguely similar problems with an MSDN-sourced copy of Office 2007 Pro. Try to print certain documents, and it crashes with a particular target printer. Obviously I've tried different printer drivers, reinstalling Office and installing the latest patches. No problems with other...

Home theater? I thought he was just putting in another phone.

Yes, sorry, typed the model number from memory. Actually, given the existence of the GA-H57M-USB3 with 2 crossfire slots, I don't know why 99.9% of people need anything bigger. I don't mean to seem ungrateful, but IMO that really is a stinker of a case. It actually takes up more desk real...

Coug, that may be puny to you, but 2 AA batteries says that mouse is a contender in the heavyweight division. Anything a little more petite?

Heh, I wonder how long it will take him to google that?

If only that was hyperbole ...

I've spent the last hour checking up on these guys, and yes, it does appear to be an elaborate scam. They also appear to offer a "mentoring" program for Indian grads, that is in fact the opportunity to work for nothing for six months, with the possibility of remuneration for a further six...

So I take it this is actually spam?

Same purpose as Ddrueding's at the start of this thread, except they need to have a design life of 5 years, and there are two variants. Configuration A Gigabyte GA-H55-USB3 mboard Intel i3 540 3.06GHz CPU Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3-1333 Corsair Force 80GB SSD Inwin BK623 tiny tower with 300W 80+...

At the risk of upsetting Sechs ... Greg, stop mucking about and install Foxit Reader 4.1.1. It not only has a typewriter tool like Acrobat (select tool, click to start typing, drag to align), but the form detection seems pretty good to me. Just be aware when installing Foxit, that you only...

Took me a while (because you often come up with useful stuff that we haven't heard of), but you mean Mozy, the online backup service, don't you? Thanks, that was my point. You wouldn't think so in this day and age, but it can be remarkably difficult to achieve that. If you lose your HDD, you...

No, I'm not. But there was at least 20GB of known files missing in the data recovery, and some were more than 1GB in size. Perhaps it's due to the wear-levelling nature of SSDs? On a spinning disk, the installation would start back at the outermost tracks. There was at least one minor flaky...

I went to great lengths some time back to organize a high-speed USB flash drive for her (Voyager GT I think, big and colorful). Last time I asked after it, it had been lost somewhere. But in any case, you didn't answer the second challenge, which is what could a user do in the field, even if...

I knew about the pack, but had assumed that it only allowed you to view 2007/2010 documents. Thanks for that, I think I'll now start channeling Stereodude: They'll pry Office 2003 out of my cold dead hands.

Is something eating you Timwhit? 1. The laptop isn't mine 2. It's a laptop, not a desktop 3. It's on the move, exact country unknown 4. It's currently on the other side of the world from me. When it isn't, it's still in another country. So feel free to describe how you would implement your...

2003 was a significant improvement over 2000, particularly in terms of stability. I wouldn't suggest anyone keep using Office 2000. Unfortunately, there are too many people creating documents in the incompatible Office 2007 format to keep using 2003 forever. I agree with Mercutio and others...

The reliability aspect has me spooked. I doubt that Mercutio has used that many SSDs? And the Intel failure is a timely reminder for those of us with blind faith in Intel. I've just had a nasty experience with a Samsung SSD in a one-year-old Lenovo laptop. Apparently, the BIOS couldn't find an...

How about 234MB/s reads and 161MB/s writes? Review here measured 245MB/s and 98MB/s. The cheaper Express model, while slower, still blows away the Voyager GTR.

See post #8 in this thread.

My memory failed, the maximum available now is Class 10. Otherwise, I think what I wrote is clear enough. For instance, I've seen someone claim 14MB/s write for a Sandisk 8GB Class 4 card, which is considerably faster than most Class 6 cards on the market. Unfortunately, I was only able to buy...

That would be pretty silly. MicroSDHC guaranteed minimum write speed is defined in the 'Class' descriptor and the fastest is 8x, i.e. 8MB/s. Some exceed this comfortably, but good luck getting your hands on one.

We had this discussion last year: http://www.storageforum.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7757 I picked up another Verbatim 4GB for $US10, but whereas the older one peaked at 15.4MBs writes, the new one can only manage 11.6MB/s. :( Reads are slightly trimmed as well, dropping from 27.7MB/s to...

Thanks Dave, next time I'll remember to be more obvious. :roll:

Ah yes, that was it. You might need to add an "F" for forgetful. I think that comes out as OLDFT.

:o

Dynamic Older & Larger Tech-head.

What does it do to the humans that work there?

Bedroom? Ceiling? You're trying to soundproof your bedroom? :erm:

There's no use sugar-coating it: flat 8' ceilings suck acoustically, you've got a guaranteed resonance around 125Hz that's really hard to suppress (2nd harmonic of low C on a bass guitar). Certainly, thick carpet on the floor is a must. I had this in mind when I built my last house, so made...

Thermal insulation like fiberglass or expanded foam work by trapping as much air as possible. Obviously, this isn't so good for sound insulation, although sticking anything between the walls - even expanded foam - is better than air by itself. I think there's too much emphasis on trying to...

That TechDirt thread you linked to is an eye-opener. There's some really solid posts in there, unlike the vast majority of the interwebs. I think it's safe to say that any site that tries to 'trap' your browser unless you agree to pay them money is a scam, i.e. evil. That and the 3,000 fake...

So, a year later, the largest SSD in 2.5" form factor from NewEgg is 512GB and costs $1400. A 500GB 2.5" spinning-platter drive costs $60. :smile:

Sieving the available info, this is my theory: The WD7500KPVT is a cut-down WD10TPVT terabyte drive, i.e. three platters and a thickness of 12.5mm. Whether it's short-stroked or lower density, I can't tell - WD quotes a single transfer rate regardless of capacity or model. WD's nomenclature...

The HP ZR24W is the runaway star in the non-graphics-pro stakes. I tried to confirm availability in India, but I'm still unsure. It's a 24" IPS panel with 1920x1200 pixels, adjustable height stand with the ability to rotate between landscape and portrait, and a DisplayPort connector. Having...

You mean like an SUV? :p Seriously, go and look at a double-deck train, or for that matter a double-decker bus, or maybe even a 747? It's not an F1 car, the center of gravity could be near the roof (clearly, it isn't - where do you think the running gear is?) and it would still be usable. It...