Category Archives: Hardware

Fake product photos on eBay

Posted on February 25, 2007 by Eric

I was considering buying an LTO Ultrium tape drive on eBay. One seller, Dennis Resnik of Magstor Corporation (ebay ID dresnik-magstor), has IBM LTO 2 and LTO 3 drives listed: IBM LTO Ultrium 2 drive auction IBM LTO Ultrium 3 … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog/website/news comments, Hardware | 1 Comment

Suboptimal disk drive installation

Posted on January 27, 2007 by Eric

When connecting the power cable to a SATA drive, the plastic piece to which the connector fingers are attached on the drive’s power connector broke off, leaving the fingers unsupported.  I didn’t think I was applying excessive force to the … Continue reading →

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Suboptimal PC Portability

Posted on January 19, 2007 by Eric

For my recent vacation to Colorado, I assembled a shoebox PC based on a Shuttle ST20G5 barebone box to use as an EVDO (broadband wireless) to 802.11g (Wifi) router, so that I would have good internet connectivity.  I used a … Continue reading →

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Sprint Mobile Broadband (EV-DO)

Posted on December 8, 2006 by Eric

I finally decided to get a cellular data service, Sprint Mobile Broadband (EVDO). Short summary: I’ve only tried using it at my office so far, but the performance is great. I’m getting over 500 Kbps downstream, with round-trip ping times … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer satisfaction, Fedora, Hardware | 3 Comments

Suboptimal Procedure for Installation of a CPU Upgrade, in 140 Easy Steps

Posted on October 31, 2006 by Eric

Items required: Old Computer: Asus A8V Deluxe socket 939 motherboard AMD Athlon 64 3500+ CPU Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu CPU cooler New components: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ CPU Zalman CNPS9500-AM2 CPU cooler (will not actually be used) Supplies: Arctic Silver brand … Continue reading →

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New Shuttle ST20G5 computer

Posted on October 29, 2006 by Eric

I recently decided to upgrade my desktop computer from an Athlon 64 3500+ (socket 939) to an Athlon 64 X2 4800+, so that left me with an extra socket 939 CPU. From time to time I’ve wanted a portable non-laptop … Continue reading →

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Logitech V450 Laser Cordless Mouse for Notebooks

Posted on October 2, 2006 by Eric

I previously wrote about using the Logitech V200 cordless notebook optical mouse with my laptop. My only complaint with the V200 was that while the receiver snaps onto the bottom of the mouse for storage (and powers off the mouse … Continue reading →

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Logitech V200 Cordless Notebook Mouse

Posted on September 2, 2006 by Eric

I despise touchpads. Most of my laptops have had a “pointing stick“, which works quite well. By comparison, a touchpad is, well, “touchy”. It tends to respond at inappropriate times when my hand is just near the pad but not … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer satisfaction, Hardware | 1 Comment

Seen in a sig

Posted on July 2, 2006 by Eric

If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped with surreal ports?

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Printing on CDs/DVDs with Epson Stylus Photo R300

Posted on June 3, 2006 by Eric

Last December I bought an Epson Stylus Photo R300 inkjet printer, because it was on sale for under $80, and it can print directly onto printable CDs and DVDs. I didn’t actually get around to using it for that until … Continue reading →

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