chaosdsm
Maximum PC Member Since: July 22, 2005
Total Posted Comments: 15 Comments on 15 Articles
Maximum PC Member Since: July 22, 2005Total Posted Comments: 15 Comments on 15 Articles
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THIS MONTH's ISSUE 
FEATURE Windows Tips: Find out what works and what doesn't as we test the most commonly prescribed Windows tipsHOW TO Customize and streamline your Windows desktop Core i7 Check out Intel's next-gen chip, up close and personal The Reactor We preview the first production-ready oil-immersed PC
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Microsoft Gives XP Owners First Look at Mojave
Posted 07/25/2008 at 10:07:54pm
I've downgraded 2 PC's from Vista to XP Pro in the past 3 months for clients, in both cases Vista was causing issues that XP fixed on "built for Vista" desktops & notebooks. I have 2 more clients looking to go back to XP on several machines due to various networking issues, i.e. network printers appearing & dissapearing, loosing wireless signal using a Wireless N Router & Wireless N Adapter, from 10 feet away... computers appearing & dissapearing from the network... notebook not finding the network at all... all of which is only happening on Vista machines, some with & some without SP1.
For one of the clients I was able to demonstrate that it was indeed Vista & not hardware by temporarily installing XP on a spare hard drive on each of 3 seperate machines. Once all the drivers were installed, everything worked as expected. Went back to Vista, checked to make sure all the drivers were current & updated those that weren't & the problems returned. Microsoft should have just named Vista "Millenium Edition: Redux" ;)
On personal machines, I've had less trouble from XP 64bit than I've had with Vista 32bit Ultimate, though to be fair, I haven't tried Vista at home since SP1.
Smooth Sailing for Blu-ray?
Posted 02/22/2008 at 12:55:01pm
I for one will never buy a digital download of a movie that I want to see. Music is one thing, but movies are a different critter all-together.
For one, think of just the hard drive storage space that would be require to store your purchased library of HD encoded movies. I have nearly 300 movies on DVD (which are encoded at 480p resolution), even at just 4GB per movie, that's 1.2TB of drive space required. For music, compression is not a big deal, but for me, the only way I would EVER consider a digital movie download is if it were in full 1080p, anything less might as well just be standard DVD content... i.e. not worth purchasing.
Download speeds are also problematic even at 15Mbps, you're talking hours to download a single 1080p uncompressed movie.
Cutting a Circular Window: Part Deux
Posted 10/22/2007 at 07:40:37pm
Considering that a circle cutter was not used, that's one heck of a job Manta!!! Finished product looks pretty cool too!
Corsair Flash Survivor GT
Posted 10/04/2007 at 04:15:42pm
And one trip through a washer/dryer cycle & that PNY - Attaché Flash Drive will be toast, or at least the two that went through my washer & dryer were.
The DIY Window Etch
Posted 09/23/2007 at 12:17:45am
Nice write-up!!!
Not as cheap, but a whole lot faster & easier... get a tabletop sandblasting cabinet (can be found for as low as $70) & a small, portable air compressor. Technique is the same except you replace the sandpaper / rotary tool with the sandblasting cabinet. There are hundreds of different types & grades of grits you can use depending on material you're etching (glass, plexi, lexan, acrylic, etc..) & what look you want to achieve. But as mentioned, you will want some small/disposable test pieces of the materila you want to use to practice on before tackling your big project!
BTW.. you can add a 3D effect using any etching/engraving method by etching both sides of the glass/plastic :)
Free Hotmail and Windows Live Mail, Meet Microsoft Outlook
Posted 08/21/2007 at 12:02:41am
Some of us have had free access with MS Outlook (not Outlook Express) for years, but that's because we had accounts prior to the point that MS started charging people to get their hotmail through Outlook.
My big question is will it affect those of us who already have free access to our Hotmail accounts through MS Outlook???
PC Proves Fatal
Posted 08/02/2007 at 11:54:55am
Whether running 110V or 220V doesn't matter. Neither voltage is enough to kill you without some amperage running through it. It's the Amps that kill, not the volts. The human body can withstand more than 200,000 Volts, which is how people can live through being struck by lightning, but 10Amps at 0.1V can kill you.
Also, the Wattage is the same for both 110 & 220 volt systems, meaning that at 220 Volts, only half of the amperage is used (Amps times Volts = Watts), making it LESS likely to kill you.
Take my gaming PC for example, it pulls 280Watts from the wall outlet, at 110V, that's 2.545 Amps, in Europe, at 220V, it still requires just 280Watts to run, but at 220V it only needs 1.273 Amps to supply that 280 Watts of power.
I'm guessing that there was more involved than what we are seeing in that story.
How to Build a Media Room
Posted 06/12/2007 at 06:36:28pm
AWESOME!!!
I'd love to be able to (afford to) build such a room for practicing/recording with my band out in our shop...
I'm in planning stages, but will probably be a couple years before I can afford all the materials needed :( The good thing is I can do all the labor. I have plenty of carpentry experience, & most of the necessary tools to get the job done quickly & easily, just don't have the income at present to build in a timely manner
If I ever get the chance to have a home built for me, it will definitely have a home theater/media room built into it :)
I hope to hear more after your house is finished & the room is in full use!!!
XP Strikes Back with Windows Desktop Search
Posted 06/12/2007 at 12:01:31am
I've tried the Windows Desktop Search for XP back when Office 2007 was released. Sure it's neat, but unless you're running a quad core system, with 4GB of RAM, it SERIOUSLY slows down your system. I'm running a dual core Athlon X2 4400+ at 2.475GHz with 2GB RAM & it caused nothing but lag, so I got rid of it after just 2 days. I thought after the first day, that it just needed more time to index everything, but wake up 2nd morning after install & my computer was still slow as molasses. When I got home from work late that night & tried to play Supreme Commander & faced very noticeable lag in gameplay, I just said enough & removed WDS.
Where is Your God Now?
Posted 05/08/2007 at 09:30:19pm
There's only 1 real way to take care of such a mess. Disasembly...
Quite simply turn the keyboard upside, take out the screws that hold the keyboard together. Carefully remove the electronic components & lay them out on towels. Toss everything else in sink or dishwasher. Then check the electronics very carefuly for signs of trouble (liquids, food, etc..) & carefully clean if necessary. I preffer to use an aersol spray electronics cleaner which I cannot remember the name of right off hand. Once the shell has been thoroughly cleaned & dried, reassemble & you should be back in business.
I've done this with 100% success on more than a dozen keyboards from various brands & models including Microsoft, Logitech, Kensington, Lite-On, & Zippy, both wired & wireless varieties.
Sure it's not as fast as just tossing a keyboard in a dishwasher, but there's almost zero chance of messing up your keyboard unless you miss-handle the electronics, & absolutely zero chance of water seeping into the interior & causing corrosion of the electronic components.