Music Banter - Last Bought

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Quote:

Originally Posted by s_k (Post 1028408)

*drools a little*.

That's very nice man. I just wonder, with the current prices of harddrives, why not 2x 1,5TB?
Maybe the prices are different there, I don't know.
And if I were to spend that much money on a PC, I'd go for solid state, at least to install my stuff on.
But that's not criticism. It's really a very nice thing that :D.
Congrats. You've made some very wise choices :D

I don't feel like upgrading yet. For what I do, my PC is still more than good enough.
I might aswell tell you what I'm using. This is going to be quite the list :D

Asus M2NE SLI, AMD64 x2 3ghz, 4GB ram, a 1TB and a 500GB 7200tpm Seagate s-ata drive, MSI Geforce 9600GT w. 512mb ram, ESI Juli@ soundcard.
600 watt PSU by Zalman. All this in a Coolermaster Centurion.
Running Windows 7 Pro 64.
Bought this one new in 2007 along with a 19" iiyama prolite. Now using it with a 21" fujitsu and an old 15" iiyama (just for my video monitor).
That's my audio/video/photo/gaming PC.

I'm typing this on a PC I built from some new and some old parts.
Mainboard is a (new) gigabyte UD3Lsomething. 2GB of ram (new), with a Core2duo E6750 (the whole reason why I bought this PC. Got the processor for a tiny amount of money), 500GB 7200tpm Seagate IDE HD (old), Geforce 8800GS (old).
Put this in an ugly but very functional Aopen H500C housing with a power supply. I believe it's a coolermaster. I'm not sure. It works :).
Windows 7 Enterprise 64. It's my office PC so this one gets used most of the time.

My testing PC is a Fujitsu Siemens X102 with 1gb of ram, 80gb hd and I put a (PCI...) Radeon 9250 into it. Runs whatever I want it to (XP, some ubuntu, some Mac OS, whatever, it's my testing PC after all)

In my living room there's an IBM Thinkcentre hooked up to my TV. Pentium IV 2.66ghz, 1TB HD, 2GB ram, put a Geforce 6200 into it I found (boxed) in my basement :D. Haven't got a clue how it got there. It's bad, but better than the onboard thingy and it looks a lot sharper on my TV now. This PC mainly is there to share files and play vids via my TV. It's a reliable thing. Always on.

Then there's an awful lot of pentium IV's lying around. Some microatx pc's with Pentium III's in them and then very, very much laptops. Like... 20 of them or so. I only use three of them regularly.
One is an Asus X50V Dual Core 2x 1.86ghz, 2gb of ram, soon 4gb of ram and a 500gb hd. Not too expensive when it was new, but it's a nice thing for sure. Runs Windows 7 Enterprise smoothly
Another one is a sturdy IBM Z60M that I got for free (!). 80GB HD, 2gb ram, WinXP.
And there's a Toshiba NB100 1.6ghz atom netbook running XP too.

That's about it.

Well, the reason I don't go for 1TB drives is because of the probability factor involved with failure, due to the way the data is so much more compacted on the platter(s). Plus, I really don't need that much storage to begin with. I would be fine with a 250GB program drive, and a 500GB data drive, but it's becoming less of an option now days. We're almost forced to buy larger drives, simply because they're cheaper.
So I just decided to get two 500GB drives and RAID them at 0 for my OS/Programs drive, and use my current drives (of which I have many) for data and backup. At least I'll get some better performance from the RAID, and actually start approaching the throughput specs of SATAII.

As far as SSDs are concerned, I originally wanted to switch to them, but they're not stable enough at this point to justify their prices. There's simply too many horror stories, and their lifespan is still like that of a thumbdrive. I'd rather wait until they dropped in price, because the only gains I would be making anyway would be millisecond differences in program startup times as compared to a RAID on 72's anyway. SSDs obviously have the throughput advantage, but at this moment, I don't require, nor could I notice, the upgrade.

Hehe, I feel ya on the 9600GT. That's what I have right now. It's not a bad card at all. For 512MB of RAM, it performs pretty well. I still use it to play BC2. I've actually played Crysis (the first one) all the way through on high settings with it, and never noticed an issue. It's a solid card, but I don't think it will handle stuff for much longer, unless in SLI mode, which probably still won't rival the latest Nvidia chips.
Fun stuff though.

Allright, so far so good on the large drives here. But you may have a point.
It's somehow logical to buy big drives nowadays as they are so cheap. You almost forget the downsides.

I didn't know SSD's weren't stable yet. I haven't got one myself. I will put one in some of my PC's at some point. Just a 64gb one or so. My hard drive is now partitioned 60/the rest on almost every PC. Some have 60/something/something, but my Windows 7 partition is always just 60 gigs. That's enough. I could easily replace that with an SSD.

The 9600GT... Well I originally had a 7600GT in that PC. But then I wanted to play GTA4... So I had to buy something more brutal, and a bigger power supply.

If I had the money I'd upgrade. I know this is almost 'old crap' already. But I really don't need more now. It all works just fine. My ex has a Powerbook Pro 15" i7 thing and I can't say it's that much faster for audio/video/photo-editing. It is faster in starting up the programs and yes it does render a bit faster. And I'm sure it will cope better with HD video. But since I don't do HD video and I mainly to audio and photography anyway, I don't see a reason to upgrade. And I'd never spend so much money on a laptop anyway. A Laptop will never be a 'real' PC.

ITC American Typewriter is so beautiful!

It really is. It's sort of similar to Archer

http://typographica.org/wp-content/u.../04/archer.png

And Bodoni Egyptian Pro

http://f.cl.ly/items/0T1Y0L1W0D3X3i2...egyptian-1.gif

Both of which I adore. So it didn't take long for me to decide that I needed it. And the swash ampersand included in the glyphs is just beautiful.

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l0...6o1_r1_400.jpg

I say I'd prefer American Typewriter. It has some class to it. It's stylish and somewhat old fashioned, but still very clean. I like.

Quote:

Originally Posted by s_k (Post 1029137)

I say I'd prefer American Typewriter. It has some class to it. It's stylish and somewhat old fashioned, but still very clean. I like.

Oh definitely. They're all similar, but they all have their places. American Typewriter is pretty much perfect for what it is. Well, Archer is pretty close. Those ball terminals, those lovely ball terminals. Oh, but do note that the pic I posted is the "light" variation. The medium variation looks quite a bit different:

http://image.linotype.com/samples/text/187375.gif

I like fonts. I wish I had more to play with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CanwllCorfe (Post 1029160)

The medium variation looks quite a bit different:

I like the subtle light variation. Might not be very useful on a big poster, but it sure is nice to the eye :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidewinder (Post 1029223)

I like fonts. I wish I had more to play with.

1001 Free Fonts - Download Free Fonts for Windows and Macintosh
There you go. Brilliant website.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidewinder (Post 1029223)

I like fonts. I wish I had more to play with.

The guy that I just hired appears to have a way better understanding of font embedding than me. I'm really looking forward to being able pick his brain about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by s_k (Post 1029281)

I like the subtle light variation. Might not be very useful on a big poster, but it sure is nice to the eye :)

Oh I do too! The light version is nice and airy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon (Post 1029348)

The guy that I just hired appears to have a way better understanding of font embedding than me. I'm really looking forward to being able pick his brain about it.

Font embedding? What are that?

Quote:

Originally Posted by CanwllCorfe (Post 1029401)

Font embedding? What are that?

You know how text on websites is limited to universal fonts like Arial, Times, Verdana, etc.? Well font embedding allows you to use whatever fonts you want without having to make them images.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon (Post 1029408)

You know how text on websites is limited to universal fonts like Arial, Times, Verdana, etc.? Well font embedding allows you to use whatever fonts you want without having to make them images.

... that's the best invention of all time.

So I suppose it just temporarily gives the font to the browser and takes it back afterwards? :D

http://www.bbcshop.com/content/ebiz/...thBluRayUK.jpg

http://www.bbcshop.com/content/ebiz/...bluray_300.jpg

I'll be dropping some high definiton knowledge on all of you in a few days/weeks. Watch out for it

Quote:

Originally Posted by CanwllCorfe (Post 1029608)

... that's the best invention of all time.

I'm not sure how well it works across all browsers but it's definitely very cool.

Quote:

Originally Posted by s_k (Post 1029617)

So I suppose it just temporarily gives the font to the browser and takes it back afterwards? :D

I'm not sure how it works to be honest.

My first laptop ever. And I didn't really buy it, it was free (brand new) as partial payment for a large freelance job I've just started for a startup.

http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US...2285026_ra.jpg

HP - Pavilion / AMD Phenom™ II Processor / 17.3" Display / 4GB Memory / 500GB Hard Drive

So it's not the best thing ever, but I can't complain in any way. It should be faster than my home and work computers as it is.

To follow on from my recent documentary splurge

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...KL._SL500_.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51G5ZXdeFDL.jpg

I've seen the first 'Wonders' series, and bits of the second. Its phenomenal though some of the stuff that happens around us (both on earth and in space), watching 'Life' has shown me how much in common we have with animals, and how nearly all animals have the same behaviour patterns and the same goals, they just get there by different means.

http://www.gerrylopezsurfboards.com/...lassics_03.jpg

Just bought the classic yellow bolt. More as a collectible rather then something i'll ride. My second Lopez board. Guy is a master craftsman and still Mr Pipeline.

Japanese picture disc 'Lost in Translation' soundtrack. Had to have it.
http://i51.tinypic.com/s5wzfl.jpg

that's a great cover.

http://www.trektales.com/star-wars-poster-30th.jpg

I bought this poster. I tried to take a picture of it but it looks so blurry.

Ah speaking of posters, I ordered this print the other day, by local artist Robert Hardgrave that I discovered last week. I'm very excited...just wish it was bigger than 18"x24".

http://www.blkmrktgallery.com/store/photos/821.jpg

A plane ticket to Europe for 3 weeks in June (flying into Brussels). Visiting family in Belgium and UK; aunt & uncle's vacation house in Provence, France; and I should have just about a week to visit one or more of the following: Airolo, Switzerland (have a friend there who offered to drive me around Switzerland), Barcelona, Amsterdam...?

http://gunwel.files.wordpress.com/20...n-airplane.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric generic (Post 1037728)

that's a great cover.

That's the record itself. Picture disk :)

Curb Your Enthusiasm seasons 1-7 box sets, for a grand total of £59. Absolute bargain!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by streetwaves (Post 1037653)

Japanese picture disc 'Lost in Translation' soundtrack. Had to have it.
http://i51.tinypic.com/s5wzfl.jpg

Your record has a crack.

Bought a new 32GB ipod. My 8GB just ain't cuttin it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by janszoon (Post 1039277)

your record has a crack.

Very interesting titles :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilChuck (Post 1039275)

Curb Your Enthusiasm seasons 1-7 box sets, for a grand total of £59. Absolute bargain!!

I'll have these when your finished, thanks mate!

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric generic (Post 1040230)

how very retro.

Don't know if this was directed at me, but if so, thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by s_k (Post 1040250)

Very interesting titles :)

Haha. Yeahhhh.... suppose I'm peculiar like that. I LOVE books like those though. :D

Allright, this might sound bull****ty and slimy, but I'm absolutely serious when I say that, if I were to be in a home with those books in the bookcase, I would want to know what person was behind them. They look interesting.
What are they about?

2 beds! One for me, because I needed one (I have been sleeping on a mattress on the floor for close to 2 years now I reckon... and then as I was in the shop getting ready to pay, my mum asked me to buy her a single bed version of the mattress I was getting. They didnt do it in a single, so when we got home I measured up the room, and ended up going back to the shop and buying her a new double bed with the mattress.

I've been planning on doing up the top floor of our house for a while, this was the first step in that direction. Luckily the shop I bought both beds from is a part of the company I work for, so I ended up with 20% discount on them, plus they were priced lower than advertised anyway, so I've saved about £450 on the two beds.

Soon enough, THIS will be where the magic happens:

http://www.argos.co.uk/wcsstore/argo...2UC584224X.jpg

Ladies, form an orderly queue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by s_k (Post 1040394)

Lol. Nah, you don't sound bull****ty or slimy. The books:

Sorry, Wrong Answer: Trivia Questions That Even Know-It-Alls Get Wrong- "Takes readers on a tour of misleading trivia, debunking commonly held assumptions and sharing surprising '"right" answers."

Pop Goes the Weasel: The Secret Meanings of Nursery Rhymes- "A quirky, curious, and sometimes sordid look at the truth behind popular nursery rhymes that uncovers the strange tales that inspired them-from Viking raids to political insurrection to smuggling slaves to freedom. "

The Grammar Devotional- "365 lessons on language that are sure to inspire. Filled with new writing tips, fun quizzes and puzzles, and efficient memory tricks, The Grammar Devotional gives you a daily dose of knowledge to improve your writing."

I Love Geeks- "There's no doubt about it. While they may be stuck inside all day playing video games, or spending their extra money on rare editions of comic books (er, graphic novels) - geeks are chic. I Love Geeks expertly guides women into nerddom by categorizing and exposing men by their different geeky obsessions."

Darfur: A New History of A Long War- "Darfur traces the origins, organization and ideology of the infamous Janjawiid and other rebel groups. It also analyzes the confused responses of the Sudanese government and African Union, and features a powerful analysis of how the conflict has been received in the international community and the varied attempts at peacekeeping."

The Book of Strange and Curious Legal Oddities- "There are hundreds of bizarre laws that we could be breaking at any moment. What exactly are we doing that we shouldn't be doing, and what happens if we get caught? This engaging and insightful collection takes us on a journey of eclectic, unexpected, and bizarre laws from around the world."

Spilling the Beans on the Cat's Pajamas- "Cat got your tongue? This book spills the beans on our best-loved euphemisms and most curious sayings, explaining their fascinating origins and the remarkable stories that surround them."

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilChuck (Post 1040437)

2 beds! Luckily the shop I bought both beds from is a part of the company I work for, so I ended up with 20% discount on them, plus they were priced lower than advertised anyway, so I've saved about £450 on the two beds.

Soon enough, THIS will be where the magic happens:

http://www.argos.co.uk/wcsstore/argo...2UC584224X.jpg

Ladies, form an orderly queue.

Nice bed! Good taste, Evil Chuck. Guess I'm first in line? Lucky me.