5 January 2014. The Desktop is Dead… Long Live the Desktop

______________________________

Let’s start with a little something:

There’s little reason to buy a desktop or laptop computer any more. Tablets do the same functions… playing music, sharing photos, web surfing… that most consumers use PCs for, and they’re made to use on the go. They can also be much cheaper. For instance, Apple’s iMac’s start at 1,300 USD (43,150 Roubles. 1,384 CAD. 1,452 AUD. 957 Euros. 792 UK Pounds) and MacBook laptops start at 1,000 USD (33,200 Roubles. 1,065 CAD. 1,117 AUD. 736 Euros. 610 UK Pounds), but iPads start at 300 USD (9,960 Roubles. 320 CAD. 335 AUD. 220 Euros. 183 UK Pounds). Of course, ditching desktop PCs isn’t for everyone… graphic designers and traders, for instance, who need large screens would find it hard to part with traditional computers. However, data shows that PCs are starting to fall out of favour. According to the latest data from IDC, an information-technology research firm, worldwide shipments fell 4 percent in 2012 from a year earlier… to the lowest level since 2009.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-not-buy-2014-124030371.html

******

Of course, for most people, tablets are the way to go… let’s face it, most people are only cyber-consumers! However, if you’re a cyber-creator, a merchant, or a business, you still need a desktop. Firstly, most desktops simply have more power than tablets will ever have. There’s simply more room to put things. Secondly, if you’re using a machine for an appreciable amount of time, a larger keyboard is more comfortable and faster. Thirdly, if you do large amounts of fine image work, you need a large screen, and that’s that. Fourthly, I find the “death” of the desktop overstated (like so many things “out there”). It’s simply that Joe Schmo & Co aren’t going to have them… they don’t need them… why take up space? They need it for the large-screen TV for the sports broadcasts!

In short, people like me NEED desktops… maybe, you don’t. It all depends on how much you create. Shall this mean that the web will become more “passive?” God only knows…

BMD

Advertisement

11 September 2013. Got “Old Faithful” Back… Back Up to Snuff in Image Editing

______________________________

Got my “Old Faithful” back from the shop… new motherboard… new this n’ that… and it’s good working on a CAPABLE desktop rather than a laptop. Laptops are good for many things, but for hardcore image editing of the sort that I engage in, I need a more powerful and faster desktop. I have no illusions. I have to raise the scratch for a new machine… this one won’t last forever. My geek told me that I need 64-bites and 16 gigs of RAM… and I believe him. So, I’m going to have to put the bucks aside for something new. The only glitch is that the audio card isn’t enabled, but I left an e-mail at the geeks’, and I expect that to be put right tout suite. Shit happens. I’m also getting used to a “tailless mouse“… that is, a computer mouse without a cord. It’s a little different, but I’ll have it mastered in no time. Of course, having my machine with all my imaging software back meant that I can resume the Yolkin cartoons and the Infographics. I’m going to catch up on those. Be good, kids… remember… Ya gotta wanna… Ya gotta give a shit… if you can master these two, everything else is a snap…

BMD

25 August 2013. Cat’s Back! On a Backup Machine…

______________________________

I’m back online, finally, using a backup laptop. It’s not what I’m used to, but it keeps me in the cyberworld whilst the main desktop is still in the shop.  I had a crank CPU and motherboard. In the last 6 weeks, I’ve replaced the power supply, CD-ROM, the fan, the CPU, and, now, the motherboard. That means that I’ll have a virtually-new machine when I pick it up. This laptop isn’t what I’m used to, and it’s a bear for fine work. I’m waiting for Old Faithful, but for now, this will do. My faithful Nicky connected this up… we needed to hook up the modem direct to the machine, He did figure out what was needed; he got me back up and running. I’ll not be offline again like I was… thanks to my Nicky and his “bear nose”, which can sniff trouble out twenty miles away. I’ll have some new things up presently, probably tomorrow.

Be good all, and keep the faith…

BMD

9 August 2013. Computer Still in the Lair of the Local Geeks… May be Crank Motherboard

______________________________

As of today, my faithful machine is still upso (Korean for tits up, knackered, and bollixed up) and offline. My geek says that it may be a crank motherboard. I’ve learnt somthing that I’d like to pass on to you. If you’re a serious internet poster, have a backup machine handy, preferably a laptop. Nicky and I priced out laptops, and a Dell unit with four gigs of RAM and 320 gigs on the hard-drive (the same as my present desktop) costs 280 bucks, which translates out to 375 bucks after tax, extended warranty, and antivirus subscription. I’d advise everyone to do this (it allows you to send the main unit in for semi-annual maintenance, debugging, and cleaning… necessary, but takes a workweek to do right, per my geek). As for my desktop, my geek says that I should have a 64-bit, 16 gig RAM, 1 tera hard-drive machine. Navada knows what he’s talking about… but that won’t be until the Fourth Quarter of this year (such a setup costs 1,200 cool ones, after all). By then, the new version of Windows 8 should be out, with some of the kinks worked out of it.

I’ll be back! God willing, soon…

BMD