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  1. Mercutio

    Opinions on Google Chrome? APPS?

    I create a "skeleton" account to store shared contacts and export that information to each client and account as they are configured. I'm not really worried about privacy, given how much google knows about everyone anyway.
  2. Mercutio

    Something Random

    Nope. It's supposed to be painted Monday though. I might get it back Tuesday or Wednesday.
  3. Mercutio

    Backplane-Compatible 2.5" to 3.5" Mounting Adapters

    For my X25-Ms I cut holes for the power and SATA connectors in their shipping boxes and used tape and strips of cardboard to make the whole assembly into something I could screw in to a 3.5" bay.
  4. Mercutio

    Ceiling Hanging "U" Racks

    I think I missed the part of school where men learn what things like "joists" and "dadoes" are.
  5. Mercutio

    PC Gaming = World of Suck

    GhostBusters has really, really high production values and features almost all the original cast of the movies (except, I think, Rick Moranis). I'd like to tell you how great it is but I can't make it not crash. I even assembled a different rig in case it's a hardware issue, but it doesn't seem...
  6. Mercutio

    VMWare & memory

    It's kind of a difference between want and need. You're trying to balance the needs of the host OS vs. the needs of the guest. Remember that both Server 2003 and Linux run pretty well on 384 or 512MB when you aren't screwing around with a bunch of GUI stuff.
  7. Mercutio

    Portable media player

    Cowon S9
  8. Mercutio

    SSDs - State of the Product?

    Funny thing about Macbook Pros...
  9. Mercutio

    Decent wireless setup???$$$$?

    I've tried everything. I've tried multiples of everything. 3Com, Belkin, DLink, SMC, Buffalo, Microsoft (which was really SMC), Apple, Linksys, Netgear, TrendNet, Hawking and Zonet. They all break. They all break all the damned time.
  10. Mercutio

    Decent wireless setup???$$$$?

    It seems endemic to home routers, to me. I replace them all the damned time. APs seem a little better, but they don't have to actually DO as much, which might be the difference. At home I built my own. My office's internet access is run by the top-end Linksys model. I noticed that the high end...
  11. Mercutio

    Thinkpad SL series?

    Thinkpad T400 torture testing courtesy of Engadget.
  12. Mercutio

    Blu-ray and audio

    May just be what I'm used to but I've always liked Onkyo/Integra better than Denon. I'd probably start with something like this and move up the product line until I found all the features I need.
  13. Mercutio

    Decent wireless setup???$$$$?

    The problem there is more than likely that you got someone else's product return from Fry's. In my opinion there's no such thing as a robust consumer-level router. You can get closer on something that uses dd-WRT or Tomato firmware (VPN endpoint, multiple WLANs etc), but anything you can just...
  14. Mercutio

    Windows 7 nonsense

    Not a Win7 issue, but it's driving me insane and I'm sure Win7 will have something similar: In my kid classes, I'm seeing significant numbers of systems where Vista's Software Licensing Service dies and cannot be restarted. It may be a problem with the software load from Dell, but the thing is...
  15. Mercutio

    Windows 7 nonsense

    I shrug and work with whatever is put in front of me. Win7 isn't awful, but it's not what I want right now. If it's allowed to get as long in tooth as XP clearly did, I'm sure I'll grow to appreciate it, if only because my 32 core system with 256GB RAM and 16TB SSD will run it really, really...
  16. Mercutio

    Something Random

    I'm following the situation in Iran in threads on Fark.com. Fark is a place where professional journalists like to hang out. There's some crossposting of Tweets from people on the ground in Tehran along with some international members who are either Persian or Farsi-speaking. I am utterly...
  17. Mercutio

    20+" LCD

    Dell has an inexpensive 22" non-TN panel. I've bought dozens of them but the model name escapes me. 2208WS maybe?
  18. Mercutio

    Sprint Smartphone

    Apparently, there were some Android-based handsets at E3 running on 1.7GHz ARM CPUs. I can't imagine what a mobile phone would need with that kind of horsepower, but just as a tech demo, it suggests what a G3-type handset might be like.
  19. Mercutio

    Windows 7 nonsense

    I think the goal is to let OEMs bundle third party browsers with their systems. IE-less Windows is hardly crippled, just as Media Player-less XP isn't. The presumption is that the vendor will provide something, not the end user. Another thing I sorely hate about Win7 is the continuing tradition...
  20. Mercutio

    Sprint Smartphone

    I'd call tethering support fundamental to my needs for a mobile device. I would also say that the ability to multitask is critical. I absolutely want to be able to browse the web and compose an E-mail at the same time. That's important to me. I'd far rather have the core functionality of the...
  21. Mercutio

    Windows 7 nonsense

    I've seen a couple BSODs now from machines coming out of sleep (not even hibernate, sleep) in Windows 7. This dulls my enthusiasm for its release somewhat, as one of the complaints I have about Vista is that it's still crashy. Apparently they haven't fixed that yet. No one should use Windows...
  22. Mercutio

    network build questions/advice

    There are some special builds of Linux designed for k-12 use, like Edbuntu. I've been helping a woman through another forum whose school district was eaten by a virus back in January. No computer in the entire district can be legally cleaned, since they don't allow anyone but admins to install...
  23. Mercutio

    Simple burning app

    Also, I install Nero not for the burning component, but for Nero Vision and Recode.
  24. Mercutio

    Simple burning app

    I like BurnAware Free as well. Or ImgBurn.
  25. Mercutio

    Something Random

    Last week I was told my car would be done on last Friday. I called today and the chick told me they haven't done anything at all to my car, and that it might be done Friday after next. I'm thinking it's not going to do a damned bit of good to go down and yell at the shitheads holding my car...
  26. Mercutio

    Sprint Smartphone

    Re: Customer support/Billing with Sprint. I *am* on a SERO plan (500 talk minutes + truly unlimited data @ $35 a month) and getting my phone set up and my number ported was nightmare process that took about four hours total on hold after the initial internet-based order. And - I'm not sure how...
  27. Mercutio

    Sprint Smartphone

    Billing and customer service are awful. The only way I can successfully pay my bill (as in, with Sprint actually taking my money) is pay by phone from my cell phone. My calls have crystal clear quality and the data network at least around Chicago buries Verizon,AT&T or T-Mobile. My phone is...
  28. Mercutio

    Win7 x64 on ICH9R?

    Windows 7, just like Vista, uses the .WIM packaging scheme to build an image based install. What you might try to do is update the package with a newer collection of Intel chipset drivers and install from your new image. For that matter, there may be Vista/Win7 driverpacks out there.
  29. Mercutio

    Drive storage box

    Yes, except that I'm getting people asking me to build $215 PCs these days.
  30. Mercutio

    Drive storage box

    Nope, but add a power supply and some SATA cables and it might be pretty handy. :D
  31. Mercutio

    Captcha Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...

    rzusz62
  32. Mercutio

    Netbook for the wife

    To me the biggest difference between netbooks is how the keyboards are set up. I hear the new Eees are better but man the old ones have teh suck.
  33. Mercutio

    Windows 7 Memory issue

    Yeah. I just looked on my i7 system and I don't see anything like that either. I've got Server 2008 on mine but only 6GB RAM, and that's fine.
  34. Mercutio

    Netbook for the wife

    Lifehacker had an article a couple days ago highlighting some of the best of breed models. I think if I bought one it would be an MSI Wind, since I could easily put a bigger battery in it, but the Samsung NC10 is also well loved. And then there were retards who liked Dell and Asus models.
  35. Mercutio

    Windows 7 Memory issue

    Have you dug around in your BIOS for settings related to memory, yet?
  36. Mercutio

    General Motors

    The big Japanese companies have a lot of their engineering done in the US, too.
  37. Mercutio

    USB Issues

    One of my PCs has issues like that, but only when my phone is charging on it. I figure the phone is drawing more power than it's supposed to.
  38. Mercutio

    Refurb dd-WRT compatible Netgear Router = $34

    No idea. Netgear has traditionally crappy range, but I'm more interested in that router as a cheap platform for QoS, VPN end point and the like. I bought two.
  39. Mercutio

    Something Random

    I might get my car back on Friday. Maybe. Unless they're lying. And, here's my random thought: Toothbrush technology is both amazing and useless. I go to buy a new toothbrush every three months. I can never find the same toothbrush twice. Every time I look, there's some new thing. I think...
  40. Mercutio

    Favourite TV series

    I just plopped down $245 for the Complete Battlestar Galactica on BD. I am looking forward to getting it.
  41. Mercutio

    Printing to PDF

    I do it with OpenOffice, myself. Most of my coworkers use PDF995.
  42. Mercutio

    Refurb dd-WRT compatible Netgear Router = $34

    Newegg has a dual band (2.4/5.8GHz) Netgear router that is dd-WRT compatible for $34, with coupon code EMCLTLN62. The equivalent in a new Linksys is $125.
  43. Mercutio

    Remote connections for maintenance?

    Crossloop is a bandwidth pig. Typical for VNC. But I can use it anyplace, and the setup is quick and even morons can handle the install and setup. If I could afford to use something like LogMeIn technician desktop, I would, gladly.
  44. Mercutio

    Remote connections for maintenance?

    If I need to look at someone's PC and haven't done anything else, I usually tell them to do Crossloop. I can walk them through the install and the connection process is painless. It's not cross platform, but it's free and it's easy. If I have to remote in to something else besides Windows...
  45. Mercutio

    General Motors

    My ex had three transmissions AFTER the original one put in her Ford Focus, in 175,000 miles. The AC died at 80k. The power steering went out at 87k. I bought that car new for her. It was never in an accident. It was just a POS. I don't even want to THINK of putting up with something like that...
  46. Mercutio

    General Motors

    GM needs to make cars people want. It's just that simple. They need to make a Civic and an Accord, in at least the associated level of quality. People talk all day long about the "cars Americans want" with their big engines and enormous interiors. But Americans buy Civics and Accords. They would...
  47. Mercutio

    Official recommendations thread

    Well, the last two posts really hit it, but if you read my security articles, it's like this: 1. Never connect a Windows PC directly to the internet. Put a home router (at least) between your internet connection and Windows. Even a basic NAT setup is going to be a hindrance to internet worms...
  48. Mercutio

    Where is the next CPU?

    Doesn't matter at this point. My game PC has just two drives in it at this point, both X-25Ms, and since I just did a wholesale hardware change it'll probably be a year before I revisit that machine. At which point, it will be replaced with a case I like better.
  49. Mercutio

    Addonics Storage Towers? Good/Bad?

    I don't exactly recall any more. I've marked the brand away as junk hardware at this point and I've tried to avoid it since having a number of bad experiences. To elaborate slightly, I had difficulties using inexpensive 4-port Sil controllers as straight-up SATA controllers while running...
  50. Mercutio

    Where is the next CPU?

    The P180s that I have (I have two) have a solid metal shelf between the chamber where the power supply chamber meets the motherboard chamber. There's a ~1.5" hole which can optionally be made smaller with a sliding piece of plastic, but cannot be made larger without some quality time with a...
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