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  1. Mercutio

    Noise Cancellation

    I have a cheap pair of Sennheiser in-ear monitors that I use when I'm in server rooms and high noise areas. I think they're CX-500s. Cost about $35. They work very well as hearing protection even if I'm not listening to anything.
  2. Mercutio

    Online backup

    Several of my customers would love to do off-site online backups for their servers, but at $.50/GB/month, that is not a very sane option.
  3. Mercutio

    D-link DIR-655 = Garbage / Don't Buy One! (v. DNS problems)

    There have been several different versions of WRT54G, but more than that, it's going to depend on your expectations for how much torrenting you're actually doing and how fast your intertubes are.
  4. Mercutio

    Android Tablets

    It's probably reasonably simple to port linux software for handling the format but I'll bet there isn't anything in the Android Marketplace that will do .raw.
  5. Mercutio

    Something Random

    My mini-keyboard has a vastly more reliable connection than my bluetooth keyboards. I don't find myself having to reconnect it every couple weeks, which is a way of life with Bluetooth. Unfortunately, it doesn't have great range. 15 feet, maybe. That works for my needs most of the time but if I...
  6. Mercutio

    D-link DIR-655 = Garbage / Don't Buy One! (v. DNS problems)

    Torrents kill lots of cheap routers. That's not a problem unique to DLink.
  7. Mercutio

    Android Tablets

    My mom needs something to read email and use Pandora, so I went looking at Android tablets. Almost all the models I can find under $250 are Android 1.5 or 2.1. At this point I might just be better off getting her a cell phone that can handle 802.11.
  8. Mercutio

    question Junking traditional TV for streaming only

    It doesn't. The piracy tracking services have memberships on them, too. A lot of the people who have gotten hit for downloading Daredorm.com and Hustler stuff were on Private trackers, too.
  9. Mercutio

    Something Random

    When I paid off my Element, the quote BofA gave me for the amount to put on the check was apparently only valid for some tiny amount of time, like eight hours. So I mailed my check in and thought I'd get my title in the mail inthe next short while. Nope. Three months later I got a call asking...
  10. Mercutio

    question Storage for light video editing

    Vegas might not have been. If I still had the source file I'd try it again.
  11. Mercutio

    Android Tablets

    Windows Mobile and Palm devices can use them. I'm sure Android will run on them, too. They tend to be clocked a lot lower than ARM but it's a respectable architecture.
  12. Mercutio

    question Storage for light video editing

    I noticed a subjective difference for AVCHD to MPEG2 conversion going from a Samsung "green" drive as the location for the source file to doing the same work on an internal 7200rpm model on the same machine. Maybe 15% faster? Not huge, but noticeable.
  13. Mercutio

    D-link DIR-655 = Garbage / Don't Buy One! (v. DNS problems)

    I just bought a couple Asus multifunction devices. I'll be interested in seeing how horrible these things are.
  14. Mercutio

    question Storage for light video editing

    If I might make a suggestion, Hitachi's 5-platter, 7200rpm 2TB drives are hovering around $115. Tons of space, high STR, not a WD. All the qualities you should be looking for. "Green" 5400rpm drives actually do pretty OK for a lot of stuff; they're great for backups and bulk storage, but from...
  15. Mercutio

    Android Tablets

    They're ARM or MIPS CPUs, Coug. The nicest ones you can get are dual core and operate at speeds in excess of 1GHz, but the ones in less expensive tablets are more likely 300 - 500MHz, just like most smartphones.
  16. Mercutio

    WEBCAM

    If you purchased from an online retailer this would not be an issue.
  17. Mercutio

    WEBCAM

    I've not known webcams to need drivers either.
  18. Mercutio

    Windows Home Server / Home Server OS

    It is? It's the same driver model that XP uses.
  19. Mercutio

    Android Tablets

    I don't think Android tablets are ready yet. The low cost models have pretty serious drawbacks; slow CPUs, running older versions of Android, no access to the standard App download service, shitty battery life etc. What I want to see is a full 1080-wide touch screen. I don't care how big the...
  20. Mercutio

    D-link DIR-655 = Garbage / Don't Buy One! (v. DNS problems)

    I believe that if you go through old threads about AP/router recommendations, I've said several times that DLink tends to have crummy firmware. I'm kind of surprised that it hasn't gotten any better, but it seems like the long-term status quo.
  21. Mercutio

    D-link DIR-655 = Garbage / Don't Buy One! (v. DNS problems)

    Is this a wide problem with that model or just with the one you have?
  22. Mercutio

    question Junking traditional TV for streaming only

    I use Btguard. I still don't download movies or popular music on my connection, either.
  23. Mercutio

    question Junking traditional TV for streaming only

    Not at all. I have no need at all.
  24. Mercutio

    question Junking traditional TV for streaming only

    Why would I need it?
  25. Mercutio

    WEBCAM

    Server 2008 is pretty solid for file/database stuff, but I have yet to meet an application server that didn't need to be administered into a bloody pulp on a fairly regular basis.
  26. Mercutio

    Something Random

    Important cards from from Etsy, and I buy a lot of blank inside cards that I pick up from Barnes and Noble or Borders.
  27. Mercutio

    Samsung 2 TB, eco-5400 rpm

    I was working with a drive that I've used to boot before and I was working with an Intel branded board. Booting from pen drives is definitely inconsistent. My ancient-ass Thinkpad 560 can boot from USB but I've found Gateway desktops that won't detect my TrueImage boot drive.
  28. Mercutio

    Windows Home Server / Home Server OS

    My overall argument has been in favor of softRAID rather than the drive extender all along, but there's a certain appeal to being able to stick a random combination of 1.5, 2 and 3TB drives in a system and use that space as contiguous storage. I'm not going to look at anything on a WHS system as...
  29. Mercutio

    question Junking traditional TV for streaming only

    I asked very specifically and was told in no uncertain terms: Comcast business customers have no bandwidth caps. I pay $115 a month, I think, but I have two tiers of service upgrades. $90 or $100 is what most of my customers pay.
  30. Mercutio

    question Junking traditional TV for streaming only

    Well, yeah. But I've always been that. timwhit, there may very well be a regional component? If they're going off top 10% for people who live in high-rises around the Loop you probably aren't even on their radar.
  31. Mercutio

    Samsung 2 TB, eco-5400 rpm

    As I recall, that didn't work when I tried it. As I recall the PC acted like there was no drive present and when straight on to trying a network boot.
  32. Mercutio

    Samsung 2 TB, eco-5400 rpm

    I have a FreeDOS boot CD but I haven't had any luck making a working pen drive boot to DOS. Hiren's Boot Disk has a pen drive version, but I don't know if that's clean enough to use for BIOS flashing purposes. I do have a USB floppy drive, but every time I plug the thing in I feel like I'm...
  33. Mercutio

    question Junking traditional TV for streaming only

    Both. According to my students, they call and tell you even if you only went over by a tiny bit, like 3GB. Comcast says it only flags the top 10% of people who exceed the cap. I'm not sure which is true, but there's a reason I'm not on consumer service.
  34. Mercutio

    question Junking traditional TV for streaming only

    It depends a lot on how much stuff you feel you need. Personally a normal weekday for me is around 20GB. On a boring Sunday I might very well jump up to 50GB transferred. My router says I used 1391GB last month. I'm probably a bit of an outlier though.
  35. Mercutio

    Samsung 2 TB, eco-5400 rpm

    They don't. It's sad but I can't fix their attitudes.
  36. Mercutio

    Weird free space problem with 2TB drive

    Smaller cluster sizes are also going to increase the potential for fragmentation and the amount of seeking the drive will be doing. The default is the default because it represents a happy medium between storage capacity and performance. And yes, journaling by itself is a compelling argument...
  37. Mercutio

    Dead SCSI Drive

    SCSI drives have all kinds of internal error control going on. If those bad sectors aren't moving there probably aren't any reserve sectors left to re-map. It's a shame but she's probably toast.
  38. Mercutio

    Samsung 2 TB, eco-5400 rpm

    Can I just say how completely freaking obnoxious it is that so many flash utilities still need DOS. Most of my students, people taking classes to obtain Microsoft Professional Certifications, would buy a new drive before they'd do something in DOS.
  39. Mercutio

    Why must TV forsake me?

    The side effect of ongoing production of reality shows is that great TV is showing up in non-traditional places. If we didn't have American Idol and Survivor taking up broadcast TV timeslots, we might not have The Walking Dead or Mad Men or the Shield or Battlestar Galactia showing up on basic...
  40. Mercutio

    Something Random

    I'll probably put up my stuff next week.
  41. Mercutio

    Why must TV forsake me?

    One of my fellow TotalFark.com members is currently a contestant on that show. I believe he's lost around 200lbs. since the beginning of the year. Reality shows are pretty much the worst bullshit ever invented but on the other hand, there has been a pretty remarkable difference in that guy's...
  42. Mercutio

    Bay Multi Device

    Amazon uses whatever carrier is cheapest to get packages where they're going. For me it's mostly UPS or USPS. Fedex is on my shitlist.
  43. Mercutio

    Nifty Windows Network Monitoring tool

    Linkage.
  44. Mercutio

    question Gigabit networking cable

    Possibly relevant to some peoples' interests. I'll put this link over in Tools as well.
  45. Mercutio

    question Gigabit networking cable

    If it's connecting at all, it should connect at the highest speed it is capable of using.
  46. Mercutio

    Bay Multi Device

    Try Amazon.
  47. Mercutio

    Samsung 2 TB, eco-5400 rpm

    Sell them to me so I can fill them up with movies of naked chicks who are making out and, uh, stuff.
  48. Mercutio

    Electrickery

  49. Mercutio

    Samsung 2 TB, eco-5400 rpm

    That might have been the issue that people were complaining about when I was looking in to buying a bunch of 5400rpm 1.5 or 2TB drives. I have 3x 2TB and 4x 1.5TB Samsung drives sitting around, and 2x Seagate 2TB. I want to do something with them but somehow that collection of drives does not...
  50. Mercutio

    Something Random

    Kind of related to SD's "Why did I buy that new router?" story: One of my Thinkpads' wireless NIC is misbehaving. Not only does it drop connection regularly (every two minutes or so is a best-case, followed by 20 seconds for it to re-acquire the signal), but I'm told that when it is active...
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