20080615
Dreams in Digital - Click!
June is the one year anniversary of the thrid greatest project I have ever completed. (The first greatest was obtaining my Eagle Scout. The second greatest was graduating college.)I still have plans for this machine. I am personally holding off any Linux upgrade until Fedora 10 comes around. (It would be so much easier if instead of every 6 months, the people at Red Hat released a new distro every year instead. On the other hand, I should really consider installing software from source code rather than waiting for binaries.)
One plan that sounds affordable for right now is a fan too cool down the hard drive. If the nuclear energy supporters want to make environmentalists happy, they would us a really fast graphics card to generate steam for electricity. Then again, what would they need to use to generate the electricity for the really hot graphics card? Reguardless, the part of the computer that I forsee will be the cause of its downfall is the graphics card. Remember, if your GPU is spiking around 65 degrees Celcius, your main fan is probably broken, or your graphics card is too hot! The print on the wires generally states that their is a heat limit of about 70 degrees C. The normal for the GPU should be around 60 degrees C or less, otherwise everything is going to get hot, slow, or worse break down. I believe that is what happened to the main fan a few months ago. The GPU literally cooked the wires. While their was no puddle of plastic goop in my machine, the insulation that kept the wires from burning up could not protect the wire from the relatively intense heat.
Until I can afford a really nice graphics card, I will try my best to keep the rest of the computer as cool as possible. The fan and raidator on the CPU keep the CPU coool. The main fan aswell as a couple other case fans keep the MoBo and the memory in good order. And I have a new fan that will keep the hard drive cool which was remarkably affordable.
Also on my honey-do list for the computer: replacing the DVD-R/W. This like the GPU is currently a short-term long-term goal. As I have previously stated, I am hoping that a Linux standard for Blu-Ray R/W comes out in the near future and that prices for Blu-Ray drop within the next year. I went to Office Max the other day and saw that a single Blu-Ray disc for Blu-Ray R/W was $20.00. You want to know how much that disc is really worth? About a nickel. That's SONY for you.
Another short-term long-term goal would be to add an infrared controller to the computer. I don't care much for Bluetooth. And secondly, why does SONY use Bluetooth for their controllers and remotes in the first place? Bluetooth has many security concerns, and since it is pretty logical to use the wireless peripheral that interfaces with the computer in the same room, Infrared makes more sense.
Now if you really want to use Bluetooth for something, how about this next project that is definletely long-term long-term. Because Bluetooth can be used in say the next room over, why not create a Bluetooth device for your apartment that aquires free-to-air satilite television to be piped in to your house.
Now I hear some of you say "But Bushido, we can get this from DirecTV or Dish Network." True, but what they are as well as the cable companies are are middlemen between the satilite from space to your house. And if you noticed in your house if you have cable, the signal from your TV that is directly hooked up to your TV rather than a cable box does not have a delay. Likewise, this is the problems with the satilite TV companies. Because they get their feeds from various satilites then bounce the signals back up into space and into your backyard, this delay is much longer. The critism with such a project is that the dish used would be about 3 feet to 6 feet large, or maybe larger. The fact is we have come a long way from the 1980s when my grandpa had this piece of what was then considered high tech equipment in his house. We now have DVB which allows for us to watch TV on cellphones. The truth is, we could probably watch that for free if the big telecom companies didn't charge to do what the satilite TV companies do. And if you think about it, why do you think the Cable company is like "don't swith to satilite" and the satilite TV companies are like "switch to us from cable". It is because both the cable and satilite companies use the same signal equipment to fetch TV signal using thier 30 year old 12 footh satilite dishes. Cable does not go out in a rain storm because they use the satilite dishes that are tuned to the frequencies that can penetrate the toughest rain cloud. This technology is portable to Linux under ITU DVB-S standards.
But why stop at just TV? Shortwave and Amatuer radio could also be combined. This is a little more compilcated as many people know about the size of the amatuer radio and CB radio antennas. What I don't understand is why satilite radio has a small antenna. There is some information about amatuer radio at this link. And don't forget the Internet!
Next question is how do we power this device? In this age with gas price through the roof and people starting to wise up to solar and wind power I was thinking about something that would power the device, but at the same time be grounded from lightening strikes. The grounding mechanism would also be required for the dish as well as the amatuer radio, assuming that there is no way to talke that out of the equation. A Big-Ugly-Dish (BUD) with solar pannels built into it would be perfect, but physics doesn't work that way. I saw on 60 minutes one time BUDs are still used in Iran as a way to override their government's TV broadcasting.
The idea is really good and very smart. It may be the satilite/cable/ISP-company-in-a-box, but first I would condiser the cost and make certain that the telcoms and the satillite/cable compaies don't foil my idea. I do like the idea. It is the most straightforward plan. But their would be some programming involved like telling where to point the dish and the solar-pannels (if any). Generally they point south, but for the first time use, or the poor soul who nevery used a compass in the Boy Scouts (or Girls Scouts). The prototype will necessarily be boatanchor size even though technology can get smaller and maller...but then again you don't want it to get lost or have some ignorant jerk steal it.
But I would like to see something like that be fore the end of the next decade. Maybe the end of this decade if feasable. Two and a half years is a long way to go and a lot of time to learn things.
Labels: blu-ray, bluetooth, diy, environment, freetoair, infrared, linux, radio, tech
posted by Bushido Hacks 6/15/2008 09:02:00 PM (0) comments top
20080610
It is time for citizens to commandeer oil prices! - Click!
Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) worked valiantly today to send a message to the oil industry that we have had it with the oil companies high prices with no merit. But when the bill that she proposed that would charge the oil companies a windfall sales tax failed, then another bill that gave tax breaks to alternative energy died, both at the hands of the Establishment, it has become clear that no amount of legislative action, or judicial action, and certainly not any executive action, would stop the oil companies from overcharging Americans.The oil industry makes enough money, that they are above the law. They could commit murder (which they have) and simply write a check for bail if they were in a trial. The oil industry has no respect for the laws of man or the natural rights of humans. Their crimes have hindered the wellbeing of citizens, as police and fire departments must cut back on their crime and safety training for gasoline. The oil industry has obstructed the school year of children that school years must be truncated, shortening the educations of some students, and rerouting buses to standing room only for mass-transit systems.
Today, the estabishment stated that they are in full support of the oil industries crippling America, its infrastructure, and its government.
We are now at war with The Estabishment. The Estabishment that declared war but sent its troops into battle without armour. The Establishment that promised "Gas Tax Holidays" to bribe people into gaining their consent and compliance to continue to raise the price of fuel and lower environmental standards. The Establishment that has damaged the environment to the point that their are no bees to polinate crops, which in turn endangers our food supply. The Establishment that bailed out mortgage lenders and savings and loan groups just as they did nearly 20 years ago. The Establishment that put energy companies in charge of environmental and energy standards which made the air we breathe unhealthy and the people who could not afford heating or air conditioning freeze or swelter. The Establishment that mistreated hospitalized war veterans, exported jobs overseas, and held back students who proved that they could succeed.
The Establishment is afraid of change. It is afraid to lose the power it has been inebriated itself with the freedom of its citizens. It has taken this country and the world for a ride and it was incahoots with alot of bad people who also fear change. Many of these changes were maid possible online, reguardless of the attempts of disinformation which tried to drown out or lie about what is going on. Television and radio only tell us what the Establishment wants us to see and hear. The Internet has changed the playing field. Not like in 2000 or 2004, but for real this time in 2008.
We frighten the Establishment, and that is a good thing. We aren't sending them terriorist threats or manufactured lies to keep people in control. We are spreading the honest truth that life stinks right now, but at they same time we are telling people that we are not going to take it lying down.
We are ready to take on the changes that the Establishment will fight us tooth an nail over. We are not going to let them continue to keep the status quo because we know what has happened--that IS HAPPENING--because we gave up freedom for quiet conscent.
It is time we commandeer the gas stations and put the price of oil back under $2 per gallon. The oil industry makes more than enough money that they deserve to be victums of their own crimes.
But by no means does not paying for gas mean that we can drive around in the big gas-guzzling vehicles.
The automobile industry is still an accessory to the crimes of the oil industry. They broke the laws too, raking in profits while their workers took a pay cut so that the guys upstairs got a pay raise.
It is time that the citizens of the United States of America took control of this situation, as the Establishment, the oil industry, and the automobile industry won't.
Labels: diy, energy, environment, freedom, fud, government, news, politics
posted by Bushido Hacks 6/10/2008 09:39:00 PM (0) comments top
20080517
CCD killing the bees, but cellphones are not the cause, oil is!
Cellphones seem to be the lupus of diagnosis, and as Dr. Gregory House would tell you "It's never lupus."Unless you are a beekeeper who is beekeeping directly next to a cellphone tower, it is not cellphones. But if it concerns you that much, feel free to contact your local congressman or senator and persuade him or her to pass some sort of legislation that will change the frequencies of telephone communication towers or file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission or the National Telecommunications & Information Adminstration.
On the other hand, consider the other factors that are going on. The Environmental factors. Between Global Warming, the increase of poisonous Carbon Dioxide emissions due to vehicles with poor gas mileage (the CO2 argument should be a no brainer given that smoke is used commonly in beekeeping), unstable weather patterns (i.e. droughts and floods), the short-sighted "genius" experts at the major chemical companies (who obviously aren't geniuses), the environmental policies in nations such as the United States, China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, the invasion of forgein species, diseases, and viruses, and the MSM (mainstream media) and their advertizers selling us this "Going Green" campaign by telling us to buy things that are not very environmentally friendly or that you won't find at the local hardware store or that are not in your budget (clearly you are not going to find an affordable solar panel to prop up on your roof without it being avaiable in only a few locations (like two states over), costing you an arm and a leg, while living in an apartment or rental property that has a no "home improvement" policy), we are living a a "perfect storm" of problems right now.
It's not fair, really. You can't "go green" and save the bees if you use cellphones as a straw man while at the same time you don't have the supplies, income, or availabity (especially if you live in a "fly-over state") to make the changes you want to make but can't make because of a few people who live on the coast and think that they can solve environmental problems with their bachlors degree in liberal arts or marketing.
A serious problem demands serious solutions not just for the short term but for the long term as well.
Cellphones are off the hook as far as we know, and most beekeeping organizations and websites will agree. If radio devices were at fault, we would ban the use of Shortwave, HAM radio, or CB radios for police and fire departments. But not just radio with those frequencies. AM, FM, Weather Radio, satilite, and low-power stations would also be banned. Why not blame television--not just for the bogus content to get you to buy stuff you don't need--but for the use of electronic components that use radio for broadcast? Lets not forget WIFI, Bluetooth, Infrared TV remotes, UV black lightbulbs, even THE SUN which emits all sorts of rays at various frequencies.
We need to consider that if electromagnetic fields (though vital to speicies such as bees, birds, and other migratory life forms) are at fault, they would have all died when Guglielmo Marconi created the radio sometime around 1900, the EM fields are not at fault. In fact, the magnetic poles are moving, but we have no control over that as this is a natural process that occurs about every few thousand years. Man and bees both survived the last magnetic pole reversal the last time and their is a good chance we will survive it the next time it happens.
I still wake up in the morning to the sound of songbirds, and the birds aren't dying. In fact many species are on the rise again.
Bees on the other hand are in trouble, and the problem for that is simply in the air we breathe. Pollution, chemicals, diseases, viruses, greenhouse gasses like Carbon Dioxide.
I have a friend who was telling me about this problem the other day about how the atmosphere's oxygen supply is depleating due to the reduction of plants and trees and the increase of poorly efficent vehicles. It is like that scene from the movie Apollo 13 when the astronauts need to build an air scrubber to create more oxygen or they will die from the CO2 in the ship. Plants are the air scrubbers. They create oxygen and they also act as windbreakers. Too much wind can strip away top soil that smaller plants need to grow and that bees need to pollenate.
If you live in an urban area, you know doubt have seen the "stellar" tree trimming that power companies like Ameren (in Missouri and Illionois) for example have done to preserve the power grid. IT SUCKS! The trees look lopsided, the trees get sick because the man in the cherry picker is not Edward Scissorhands, and eventually the tree dies and has to be cut down. This is what should be known as Urban Deforestation. As much as the rainforest is a big deal with environmentalists, for the rest of us who are more concerned about the trees in our own backyard, this is a disaster equivalent to those loggers in Brazil who are chopping away at the Amazon.
But when your carbon dioxide output is greater than your oxygen production, you end out with more severe thunderstorms than knock out the power grid. I don't see the electric company putting down another tree somewhere to replace the one that was cut down, and we still get brownouts and blackouts due to weather and poor energy conservation. And the temperatures are still rising in the summer so more fans need to be used to keep people cool or worse from dying.
The root of this problem has one traceable source. Oil Consumption.
With the MSM telling people to go buy Hummers and Jeeps to go on that offroading excursion that they will never do at $4 per gallon and 16 MPG City, it should be pretty obvious what causes the most problems. Now I'm not saying that factories and chemical companies are off the hook, not by a long shot. But not everyone owns a large factory or a greenhouse full of genentically engineered mutants. But everyone who needs to go to work and get food and supplies uses a car and a car needs gas to go places and gas is made of light sweet crude oil.
At $120+ per barrel, and since no one in Saudi Arabi owns a Toyota Prius since gas is under a dollar there, the #1 cause must be is certainly and with no contest of argument has to be OIL!
But big companies such as Exxon-Mobile are not doing anything, even though they have NO environmental policy and after nearly 20 years have not cleaned up so much as a drop of oil from the 1989 Exxon-Vadez Oil Spill. The government has leaveyed bill fines against the oil conglomorate to this day, but Exxon, despite making $400 BILLION in profits last year has not paid it off as they have continued to weasil their way out of paying for this disaster. They've paid only about $5 million in damages, when they own more than $250 million plus interest not just to the State of Alaska, but to all the fishermen, environmental organizations, and other people who where effected by this disaster.
If you had a friend that broke something that was of great value who never paid back the damages ever, would you still want to be friends with them? Then why buy gas from Exxon-Mobile or any other major company that makes promises about environmental stewardship but does not keep it?
The automobile industry can also take some blame for this. America could have had cars as efficent as Toyota or Honda ten years ago, but the upper management at Ford, GM, Chrystler still look at making effecent cars as exciting as getting teeth pulled. SUVs are popular because the trucking industry has big trucks that can crush little car. This intimidated people. The auto execs, who have stock in the oil industry, and their shareholders (mostly people from the oil industry in a quid pro quo relationship) took advantage of our fears, and sold us these big-ass SUVs and encouraged others to do so with marketing towards celebrities and advertisements. And we bought it hook, line, and sinker. And now it is the little things, in this case bees, that are suffering.
Now we are talking about switching to ethanol, of which is TOXIC to bees and can drive up the cost of food for human consumption.
So what do we do? Everyone who is living in confort who does not have to worry about losing their jobs, the price of gas and food increasing, who can afford the efficent cars but buy the gas guzzlers instead, who pretty much run the goverment, the big corporations, and have a silver spoon in their mouth while offering alot of bad advice or advice that we can't implement because the resources that should be available are not available in our domestic marketing area continues to be indifferent of the environment. They're in their safehaven bubble blind to the life outside of the coastal cities. The only reason they care about Global Warming is that their favorite golf course will be underwater.
But what about the rest of us? The government has about as much knowledge about farming as they do technology. NONE. And since the people at Monsanto, Dow, DuPont, Shell, BP, Citgo, and ExxonMobile are not Jerry Baker and sure as hell are not Mr. Wizard, we're in deep trouble.
Sure you have people like Al Gore telling us that we are in trouble. It's like having your next door neighbor telling you that your house being on fire is a bad thing. No sh*t, Sherlock!
Why don't we spend less time telling people they are in trouble and spend more time FIXING THE DAMN PROBLEM!
The government, the big companies, and especially Al Gore are not going to fix this problem. WE HAVE TO! No more of this "Can't someone else do it?" mindset. We're in serious trouble all those big shots are giving us is a small water gun to put out a six alarm fire.
We need to get back to basics. We need to kick the oil habit completely. The bees are suffercating, soon the humans will too, unless we can find a solution.
Labels: Cars, diy, energy, environment, gardening, manbearpig, scary, science
posted by Bushido Hacks 5/17/2008 03:32:00 PM (0) comments top
20071115
Solar Panel Burn
Why is it that every time I buy solar panels, they are always duds?Several years ago, I bought solar panels from Radio Shack. The reason why those didn't work was because the amount of current (measured in amperes) was too low despite their size. Upon further inspection, the panels high voltage and low current meant that the resistance would not allow electricity to pass through the wire to the device.
Today I created my own adapter for a different solar panel, this one has a rechargable batter to store the charge and the current and voltage rates were much better. But for some reason, history repeated itself.
This charger even had a USB port to directly power the device. My hard work and ingenuity have been in vain efforts. Was the product defective, or did a careless postal worker abuse this package? Whoever or whatever is to blame, I will get to the bottom of what caused this device to fail again.
Failure is not an acceptable option.
Labels: diy, ebay, energy, environment
posted by Bushido Hacks 11/15/2007 10:29:00 PM (0) comments top
20071114
Graphic Processor Warming
My computer has worked hard since its launch in eariler this year, but now comes a new challenge: Keeping things cool and quiet. There is no argument that AMD's processors live up to their "Cool'n'quiet" standards, my problem is with the computer case, the power supply, and the graphics card.The case has poorly done it's job of keeping things cool. As I experimented with the cooling fans, I turned one of them the other direction. The sound was like having a vacuum cleaner sitting next to you. Secondly, if heat rises, why is there not a vent on top of the computer? In order to improve air flow, I need to replace the case. Preferibly one with a door in the side for quick access and a window to see inside. One of the flaws with the case was the punchout slots for peripherals. Once they came out, you could not put them back in. This is an open invite for dust.
The power supply as it turns out should have a fan on the bottom for what I'm needing. Just as a ceiling fan in a room recirculates cool air in the summer, so too must the power supply keep that 2'x8" cabnet well ventilated.
The biggest concern is the Graphics Card or GPU. I don't know why the people who make GPU's with fans that block all the other PCI ports. I mean, its not like I wanted to put something there. But seriously, GPUs are a joke right now. The high-end gaming GPUs look like they have a jet engine strapped to them. Is this thing suppost to cool down the GPU or heat it up? The GPU is nearly twice of not three times as hot as all the other components on the montherboard. A GPUs cooling system is so terrible, it's heat output is effecting the other devices, including the CPU. Currently, as I am writing this GKrellM reports that the GPU is at 168.8 degrees F. The heat is so bad, that one of the two cores on the CPU sometimes exceeds its thermal limit of 104 degrees, and I'm not running ANY high powered programs. The temperatures of the other core which is farter away from the GPU, is at about 78 degrees. It should be slightly cooler than that.
Therefore, I need to find a different GPU to reduce energy consuption so that it doesn't melt down the rest of the systems that were designed to stay cool.
Labels: diy, energy, environment, hardware
posted by Bushido Hacks 11/14/2007 03:59:00 PM (0) comments top
20070520
Fedora 7 comes out Thursday - Click!
Gearing up in preparation for Fedora 7. Not Fedora Core 7, Fedora 7 according to the Fedora Project website. Although, I do lament not having enjoyed experiencing Fedora 6, or as it was nick named "Zod".I would have loved to install Zod on my computer. I even bought "Kneel Before Zod" stickers from i-mockery.com.
I really liked the name of that distribution, and it's a shame that there isn't a cool name for Fedora 7. Superman II was and still is the best of the Superman movies. Gene Hackman as the original Lex Luthor. Terence Stamp as General Zod. Jack O'Halloran as Zod's silent right-hand man Non. Sarah Douglas as Zod's sexy henchwoman Ursa.
To be quite honest, the supervillians in the Superman movie are way cooler than Superman who everyone known is weakened by Kryptonite, which always seems to be emphasized in the Superman movies.
Basically, the plot in every Superman movie is predictable. Flashy enterance. A segway to Superman does something amazing. A supervillan arrives. The villan learns about Superman's weakness. They use it against Superman. The villians run a muck. Lois Lane gets entangled in the plot. Superman miraculously finds the strength within himself to distance himself from his own capture, saves the day at the last minute, steals a kiss from Lois. Roll credits.
DC and Marvel have better superheros. Batman has no powers but he is way cooler than Superman. Spider-man has problems that people can relate to and he has Jimmy Olsen's job. The Incredible Hulk is one of my favorite superheros though the movie wasn't that impressive. And don't get me started on the X-Men and Teen Titans.
But this post is suppost to be about Linux.
Fedora 7 brings back the well-missed KDE and OpenOffice.org, a couple of great softwares that GNOME really didn't work well with.
I would really like to get some programming done before Fedora 7 arrives. I really would like people to see that.
Labels: comics, diy, linux, movies, software, zod
posted by Bushido Hacks 5/20/2007 08:34:00 AM (0) comments top
20070501
Computer Construction Project COMPLETE!
May 1, 2007. A milestone date. I completed the construction of my first computer. This is actually the seventh computer that I own at my tenth year of owning a computer.Building a computer is a significant event for any computer geek. However, I will not run the machine until I pick up a power surge protector/uninteruptable power supply (PSP/UPS).
If your house does that "dimming" thing whenever the air condition turns on, or if your neighborhood is vunerable to power outages frequently, a do not use a cheap PSP/UPS. My recommendation would be the Tripp Lite Omni or Smart series. These many appear expensive, but you can get them for about half price on eBay.
I hope to start using Fedora Core 7 starting May 24 completing this experiment. Currently, FC7 Test Release 4 is out right now and it should have KDE included again. GNOME is such a drab interface though it is used in many programs, but KDE is far advanced. I recall using the black or transparent status bars LOOOONG before Windows Vista used it.
Well, time to get back to work. My next journal entry will be after graduation.
posted by Bushido Hacks 5/01/2007 01:51:00 PM (0) comments top
20070424
GNU Radio - Click!
I really wanted to come up with a clever title that was a play on Wall of Voodoo's "Mexican Radio", but I just didn't have it in me.With 2007 nearing the midpoint, my self-made computer is nearly complete. All I need now is the memory, a backup power source, a little bit of thermal grease for the processor, and something to patch up that hole in the back where a TV or Graphics card goes.
But since I'm not interested in television, and because I don't play alot of video games to justify shelling $300 for a graphics card, I want to develop an interest in software defined radio (SDR).
It turns out this project will be more challenging that I thought, but I am still eager to find some way to do this project without breaking the budget.
I recently learned that many of the projects I want to do require an industrial level of supplies or components, be it a SDR or an electric generator. An eBay search does not return any results that satisfy my requests.
I spend alot of time working on my computer, but I also want to listen to the radio. Nearly every result returned some form of mediocre FM radio reciever that was part of a TV card. But I want something that listens to AM so I can hear Cardinal games and picks up the FM radio stations that don't play some rap station or top-40/emo crap on five other radio frequencies where my favorite stations are located. I want a radio card that can block out that crap and pick up my Red Birds and Industrial Rock as clear as a bell. Unfortunately, the consumer market appeals to the Lowest Common Denominator. So it looks like I will need to build what I want.
Despite the fact that I did not learn about things like Verlog when I took a computer logic course, I still have the textbook from that class and would like to put it to use. I may need to review my knowledge of assembly language which may be of no use since my new computer is a 64-bit dual-core machine. I'm starting to think that maybe I should have majored in computer engineering rather than computer science considering I have a very limited knowledge about programmable logic arrays (PLAs), but I am willing and open to learn.
Reading the requirement list provided by the GNU Radio website, I really did not want to pay $850 for a hardware device that with the right components can be made for far less. Who ever is running the GNU Radio project obviously is not thinking like a broke college student. Do I really need that many Logic Elements (LEs) for this project? A child can build a radio for a science fair project out of a couple of circuit and a paper clip. These guys are thinking in terms of the most expensive products out there. Altera does have some appealing products that are quite afordable and simple to program. But to place the project cost at $850?! Who's running this project? Kaz Hirai?!
As much as this is an important project, the requirements are full of oversight. I know I can do better at a fraction of the cost!
Labels: diy, hack, hardware, linux, mod, music, radio, science, SDR, software, tech
posted by Bushido Hacks 4/24/2007 09:49:00 PM (0) comments top
20070302
CompUSA Crashes! - Click!
If there is anything true it is that nothing complementary is truely free or as good as they say. Today, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch posted on the front page of the business section that all three St. Louis Area CompUSA stores are shutting down. Nationwide, 50% of all their stores are closing their doors."Yeah, so why not go to Circuit City or Best Buy?" Because firedog and geek squad are posers! On top of that, a trip to Circuit City this afternoon offered none of the products that I need to continuing to build my own computer. What's the point of selling CPU cooling fans if you don't have any CPUs to sell?
It also doesn't help that places like Circuit City and Best Buy put their computer department next to the car audio or home theatre section where the base is turned up and making items sensitive to shock vibrate.
I have come to realize that geeks in this country are being forced into exile. Money makers see the computer nerd as a niche group sort of like they associate goths with Hot Topic or women to the Lifetime TV network. Unless you are part of the herd, they seek to exterminate strays and individual thought.
I will not stand for it! I've worked too hard to save up to build my own machine just so that one of the few resources that can actually help me can die.
This is a sad day.
Labels: business, diy, horror, mod, news, rage, stlouis, tech, wtf
posted by Bushido Hacks 3/02/2007 08:16:00 PM (0) comments top
20070203
Mobo Jojo
My beautiful black case came in the mail yesterday. Special thanks to BUYPCDIRECT for providing the first step in my journey.Building a computer is a monumental moment for any computer geek. It is like the same feeling that a wrenchead (one who likes to build their own car or motorcycle) has when they begin building their first vehicle.
My parents think that this project will occupy most of my time and that I won't stick to my regular work. Not true!
This project does cost money, and will need to be spread out over the next few months. This means I will still stay on task while I work on one of my greatest achivements.
That's another thing that concerns them: cost. My brother did a project like this a couple years ago. He ponied up for the biggest most expensive stuff that was out their.
I, on the other hand, have plans on building something a bit more moderate and less expensive.
While I have no interest whatsoever in Windows Vista, Microsoft has brought forth the need to upgrade to 64-bit computing.
In order to keep up with the Gates (as oppose to keeping up with the Jones), I have decided to build my computers based on x86-64 architecture.
If there is one thing that the people at Microsoft and the resistant group of geeks (including myself) agree on it is that Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has the better architecture for this task. AMD has been working on 64-bit architecture for several years now, even while Intel was promoting the Pentium 4.
In 2005, one of the most significant competitions in the computer industry begain since the Browser Wars of the mid-1990s. This hype as we now know it is called the "Core Wars".
The "Core Wars" brought forth Dual-Core processing, an idea forged from the concept of parallel computing. Many of us have seen the ads for products from Intel.
For those of you who are not computer geeks, the products that Intel has advertized over the years are for computer chips called microprocessors. A microprocessor is nothing more than a piece of plastic with this little teeny-tiny switches on them that are arranged with such precission that a machine must be used to manufacture them. A computer has many of these devices embedded into them into a big circuit board called the motherboard, or mobo for short. One chip that is heavily advertised, and one of the most important, is called the central processing unit, also known as the CPU or "core". The CPU is "the brain" of the computer. It works so hard, a fan is attached to it to displace the amount of heat. On newer desktop machines, the CPU has its own fan separate from the other fan that keeps everything cool and well ventelated. Some cases have come with thermal gauges to monitor and regulate the amount of heat a computer puts out, especially the CPU.
Until last year, the concept of having more than one core in your computer was reserved for the highly skilled computer engineer or the hardcore gamer. To be quite honest, having one core is good enough for me. But the concept of multi-core systems, though more expensive, does have its advantages.
A computer with one core puts out alot of heat. If the heat is not pushed out of the system, other parts of the computer become warped from the high temperature. To alleviate the stress caused by such a high amount of thermal energy, computer engineers took a page from the supercomputer industry.
If the name is not enough to tell you, a supercomputer is a computer with such high amount of processing capabilities that only a select few research laboratories, industries, and the government use them. A supercomputer, despite the recent advances in miniaturization brought on by improvements in nanotechnology, is about the size of a phonebooth and put out so much energy that it needs its own room with a large fan to blow out the hot air and draw in cool air. I read in some computing magazine that because these machines put out so much wasted energy, some companies in California channel the hot air into the air conditioning system to heat up the building in the winter time. Another company developed another, more practical idea to circulate the air in the room by reusing the air using convection. Convection occurs when hot air rises out of a heat source, then cools down causing the air to sink back to the floor where it is sucked back in again.
A supercomputer is able to process large amouts of information while generating less heat using a concept called parallel computing. This means a computer with dual-core processing uses two processors that have half the processing power as a single processing unit but because they work together, they computer the same amount of processing power as the single processing unit.
Because two processor with half the processing capabilities as a single processor but work just as dynamic, Intel has hyped up the concept with their "do more advertisement." *in that loud Kevin Spacy as Lex Luthor voice* WRONG!. Dual-core processing does not allow you to do work twice as fast as a single-core system unless you purchase a dual-core system with two processors that have the same power as the single-core processor EACH!
So what about this hype about "quad-core" (4 CPUs on one CPU)? Same concept. One big processor divided into four smaller processors with about a quarter of the processing capability as the single processor EACH!
The entire concept of the CPU was to store all those teeny-tiny switches onto ONE microprocessor. They way I see it, multicore processing is a step backwards, that or the chip manufacturing industry trying to cut cost instead of trying to find way to keep the computer from possibly burning up without burning a hole in your wallet, or worse burning the house down. (I'm talking to you Dell Computers!)
The downside to x86-64 architecture is that everything you know about assembly programming (especially for 16 and 32 bit systems) needs to be modified to include 64 bit systems. Fortunately, C and C++ programmers won't need to change the way the program too much. But if you use low level programming, now would be a good time to brush up on 64-bit assembly as technology marches on.
Labels: C++, diy, fud, linux, mod, tech, windows
posted by Bushido Hacks 2/03/2007 08:46:00 AM (1) comments top
20070127
A new year, a new ride
The ride of any nerd is of course the computer. Today, I begin one of the first steps in a journey that only a few people I know have done: build their own computer.I bought a PC case, BLACK. Being a Linux nerd, I don't need to worry about things like Windows Vista which, all bias put aside, is really rediculous.
I went to the office supply store this weekend to pick up some supplies, and lo and behold there was the display for Vista already out there. Oh to have one of Adam Sessler's writers on hand to cut Vista up with a razor-like wit.
Big "whoop dee fricken doo" about Bill Gates. So don't bother metioning him if you are one of the three people who actually read this website.
Anyway, back to what I want to talk about. So I'm looking at the Vista display and the discription is as dismal as the Slashdot niche had imagined. Vista comes with less than what XP has as the big technology conglomorates still believes that proprietary software will work like the Bush Adminstrations plans for Iraq. (I'm not a hippie. I support our troops, but you don't need to be a dirty hippie anymore to see how those things pan out.) So while small businesses get the shirt ripped off their back for an operating system that two days from its release will have a billion problems, I'll still be using my current version of XP and current distro of Linux until I have all the pieces of my new ride assembled.
What's really going to burn the post-Gates Microsoft Corporation is that sales for their operating system will be less than what they were 10 years ago when Windows 98.
Labels: diy, linux, mod, shovelware, tech, windows
posted by Bushido Hacks 1/27/2007 07:46:00 PM (0) comments top
