Posted 01/04/2009 at 10:05:32am

I agree that a majority of PC users only use the internet, office utilities, and media playing utilities, but disagree that "Linux is going to smoke Windows."

Linux may be becoming more 'mainstream' with the introduction of netbooks, but is, in my opinion, still far away from being much in the way of 'mainstream'. Consider car companies like Kia, Hyundai, Saturn, Daewoo, etc. in America. There are many more well-established manufacturers' cars on the road. Sure, the cheaper alternatives get folks from A to B with ease just like more popular manufacturers' cars but it's a mental thing with the customer. Windows has been around a long time for 'popular computing'. I think it'll take big steps like someone throwing millions of dollars in advertising along with the technical advancements such as the native ability to play modern games in all their glory to give Linux an edge. I know it's possible to use WINE and other programs to mimic Windows environments, but it's not as easy as say 'putting a game disc into your Windows PC and it installs/runs right away'.

Posted 01/04/2009 at 09:57:41am

*Duplicate*

Posted 01/04/2009 at 09:36:40am

I appreciate companies like Dell and HP offering to build customized netbooks but it's still hard to get the right combination of parts for a cheap system that will be good enough for basic internet, office activities, and some media. I think netbooks should cost the same as the cheapest PC's you can buy but maybe a hair more because they're portable. My ideal netbook is sub $400 with an 8"+ screen, atom processor, 1gb ddr2, 8gb+ SSD, and 5+ hrs battery life. It's possible to build a better performing PC for about $200 so, to me, a netbook like that shouldn't cost much more.

Posted 09/27/2008 at 11:41:10am

9400 GT < 9500 GT < 9600 GT < 9600 GSO (basically rebadged 8800 GS) < 9800 GT (basically rebadged 8800 GT) < 9800 GTX < 9800 GTX+ (die-shrunk GTX with faster clocks) < GTX 260 < GTX 260 Core 216 (only 24 more stream processors) < GTX 280

That doesn't even include the flavors of 8XXX cards. Is that really too difficult for the average consumer...? Hah.

Posted 08/28/2008 at 07:11:30pm

It sure will... but it's completely not worth it. For $40 more you'd get a card that folds five units before this 9400 GT does one.

Posted 08/13/2008 at 11:11:31pm

If you leave your computer on 24/7/365 anyway, it may only add $10 a year in extra power cost. We've run down the numbers numerous times and for the slightest increase in cost you're adding significant science to stanford. It's not about winning a "point per day" contest... it's about finding cures.