General Computer Thread

124

Comments

  • 802.11ac is the brand new one. 802.11n has been the consumer standard for at least 2 years now.
  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    For a long time I only had a g router, but it didn't bother me because our computers were all old enough that they were only capable of b and g anyway :V

    Thankfully we got an n router from Insight around the time we started getting more n-capable devices
  • edited 2014-02-15 06:03:33

    Yes. Finally worked out how to update the official firmware on my Z1 without losing root access.

    It's a somewhat complicated process that can't really be done without the use of a computer, but it works.
  • yay Sony phones

    congrats!
  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    For fuck's sake

    Intel has an updated driver for my graphics card. When I try to install it, it works once. Then, when I reboot, Windows "helpfully" replaces it with the version from Windows Update, which is older.

    I'm not sure whether I should be annoyed with Microsoft for not having Windows Update check whether it's downgrading drivers, or Intel for not pushing the most recent updates into Windows Update to begin with.

    (I say "graphics card", in reality I mean the lame integrated graphics thing that comes with a low-end laptop)
  • can you like, get a better graphics card into a laptop?

    Because someone was recommending me a decent one the other day but I don't know if I can like, actually replace that in a laptop. I get the feeling it's just not possible.
  • kill living beings
    Not usually. If you want to be sure check the specs for a "PCI slot" but it's not gonna have one.
  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    I'm pretty sure he would have noticed if his laptop had a bloody PCI slot in it, lol
  • I don't know what that is so it's quite likely that I wouldn't.

    Also I downloaded the Rogue Legacy demo and it seems to run fine.
  • THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS
    There was a standard in the making for small form factor video cards called "MXM", but uptake has been pretty limited; aside from a few (very expensive) gaming laptops, as well as things like the Apple Xserve, it's just not a thing. (Not even servers tend to use it now, since you can just as easily cram a full-size PCI Express card into them. This is true of HP's rackmount pizzaboxes, anyway.)


  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    ...would most servers even have a use for a fancy graphics card?
  • THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS
    There are a few people who use them as rackmount workstations (the Xserve was actually intended to be dual-purpose in that respect), and they would need a nice card, but for server farm work the card is really there so Windows will work properly.
  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    Ah, makes sense.
  • So my laptop is falling apart.  The hinge is basically broken, which I'd be mostly okay with except that the cord connecting the monitor to the rest of the PC is also probably broken, since I get weird flashes of green in random places(either regular patterns or replacing certain colors) and it goes away when I adjust my monitor pretty arbitrarily.

    If I knew a good way to clamp the hinge part of my monitor shut it'd basically solve the two problems as a stopgap, I think, but if this isn't covered by warranty(and I kind of doubt it is) then I'm probably going to have to either buy a new laptop soon or go back to my old one.
  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    Ouch. How'd that happen?
  • Ouch. How'd that happen?

    In short, it just did, really.  It coming loose and trying to open and close the thing makes it break more, and it probably honestly came loose because I grabbed the laptop by the screen, which I shouldn't do.

    Honestly, I might should get a desktop; it'd be cheaper for the same specs, but I don't really have room for it.
  • edited 2014-04-09 23:22:34

    my computer is very close to doing a similar thing but if it breaks i have no way to repair or replace it. u_u
  • edited 2014-04-10 00:16:26
    (flower path)
    Also, I don't see any comparison of what a freaking ASUS laptop will cost on their website.

    apparently I have to use a reseller?  bah
  • kill living beings

    I'm pretty sure he would have noticed if his laptop had a bloody PCI slot in it, lol

    On the inside, I meant :(
  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    Touché.

    This is why you're the Royal Sysadmin and I'm just the monarch
  • apparently it's possible to make your own laptop by buying basically a case with like a screen and not much else in it and putting it together yourself.  i'd want to do that if i had a good space to do so, maybe.
  • edited 2014-04-15 14:03:56
    (flower path)
    so my laptop is off to get fixed by hp.  currently i'm using my old thinkpad from 2008 that i currently mostly use as a server because it's easier to have a linux box and a windows box
  • and also because x windows is just a pain
  • It's worth remembering too that graphics cards are increasingly used for parallel processing so some people are sticking them in servers purely for CUDA etc.  Amazon has two different families of GPU-equipped virtual servers you can rent; one based on an earlier card and in short supply since they don't make those cards anymore, and one based on newer but more "consumer-grade" hardware.

    It's also used for rendering virtual desktop environments for some applications.
  • (I work for Amazon EC2, btw)
  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    You know, if there's one thing I wish the App Store and Google Play would come down harder on, it's blatant theft

    Like, if you wanna make a half-assed clone of Flappy Bird or 2048, fine, that's fair game

    But actually calling your app "Flappy Bird" or "2048" in an attempt to mislead people looking for the more popular game is dishonest and I don't see why Apple and Google tolerate such things
  • Isn't Flappy Bird filled with plagiarism anyway?  So it's just funny that people plagiarize that.
  • imagei will watch the heck outta this pumpkin patch
    tbh i never really understood how it was plagiarism when everybody who plays games knows perfectly well those pipes come from Mario

    'plagiarism' implies you're trying to be sneaky and pass it off as your own invention
  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    Yeah, that complaint always confused me because (a) it was obviously meant as an homage to Mario, and (b) it's not like he ripped the sprites straight from a Mario game; he at least re-drew them. Unless we're saying Nintendo "owns" the concept of a green pipe?
  • o

    i know like nothing about the game

    if he re-drew them i guess it's better
  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    Am I the only one who prefers having a physical menu button and "normal" menus to the whole "toolbar with a ... button for extra options" thing in Android 4.x?

    Like, I dunno, part of the appeal of Android over iPhone, to me, was always that it had a few fixed physical buttons. It meant having some consistency, because the interface wasn't entirely at the mercy of the developer like it is on devices with no physical buttons...
  • kill living beings
    computer naming strikes again

    [    16.174] (II) RADEON: Driver for ATI Radeon chipsets:
    [...]
    ATI Radeon HD 5450, CEDAR, CEDAR, CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN,
            CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN,
            AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series, AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series, CAYMAN, CAYMAN,
            CAYMAN, AMD Radeon HD 6900M Series, Mobility Radeon HD 6000 Series,
            BARTS, BARTS, Mobility Radeon HD 6000 Series,
            Mobility Radeon HD 6000 Series, BARTS, BARTS, BARTS, BARTS,
            AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series, AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series,
            AMD Radeon HD 6700 Series, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS,
            TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS,
            TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS,
            CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS,
            CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, ARUBA, ARUBA,
            ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA,
            ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA,
            ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA,
            ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, ARUBA, TAHITI, TAHITI, TAHITI, TAHITI,
            TAHITI, TAHITI, TAHITI, TAHITI, TAHITI, TAHITI, TAHITI, TAHITI,
            TAHITI, PITCAIRN, PITCAIRN, PITCAIRN, PITCAIRN, PITCAIRN, PITCAIRN,
            PITCAIRN, PITCAIRN, PITCAIRN, PITCAIRN, PITCAIRN, PITCAIRN, PITCAIRN,
            VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE,
            VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, VERDE,
            VERDE, VERDE, VERDE, OLAND, OLAND, OLAND, OLAND, OLAND, OLAND, OLAND,
            OLAND, OLAND, OLAND, OLAND, OLAND, OLAND, HAINAN, HAINAN, HAINAN,
            HAINAN, HAINAN, HAINAN, BONAIRE, BONAIRE, BONAIRE, BONAIRE, BONAIRE,
            BONAIRE, BONAIRE, BONAIRE, KABINI, KABINI, KABINI, KABINI, KABINI,
            KABINI, KABINI, KABINI, KABINI, KABINI, KABINI, KABINI, KABINI,
            KABINI, KABINI, KABINI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI,
            KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI,
            KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI, KAVERI,
            HAWAII, HAWAII, HAWAII, HAWAII, HAWAII, HAWAII, HAWAII, HAWAII,
            HAWAII, HAWAII, HAWAII, HAWAII
  • ARUBA ARUBA ARUBA ARUBA ARUBA etc
  • Am I the only one who prefers having a physical menu button and "normal" menus to the whole "toolbar with a ... button for extra options" thing in Android 4.x?

    Like, I dunno, part of the appeal of Android over iPhone, to me, was always that it had a few fixed physical buttons. It meant having some consistency, because the interface wasn't entirely at the mercy of the developer like it is on devices with no physical buttons...
    Yes.

    Google and I both agree on this; the menu is better when placed within an app because having a physical button more often than not just screws with the interface.

    I know it's not the best example, but I'll cite the old Amazon Appstore; before it got updated to look like something that didn't come out of 2009, it relied on the physical menu button so much that it was nearly unusable if you didn't have a device with a button included.
  • THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS
    lee lee lee lee lee lee lee lee
  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    See, in a case like that, I'd say the fault lies with whoever decided it was ok to sell devices without buttons.

    Hell, even iDevices have physical Home buttons, which is more than some Android stuff has...
  • if i ever get in charge of naming things, they will get named after video game characters
  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
  • I always found a physical menu button to be a plus point of Android *shrug* I think getting rid of it was silly.  I use IOS now, mostly because of the app selection, physical build quality, and the fact that I know I won't hate an iPhone after 2 years as much as I'll hate an Android then.
  • For some reason, the thought of having a touchscreen -- without physical buttons -- worries me in case I'll ever have to "pop open the hood" of a device.

    In the case of a traditional computer, I'll always have a keyboard from which I can dick around in the command prompt when all else fails.  But what if it's a system with just a touchscreen?
  • BE ATTITUDE FOR GAINS
    I want a new laptop. cause fuck "hardcore gaming"
  • THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS
    Android devices use the power button and the two volume buttons to navigate in the bootloader (before the touch screen is available), so there's that.
  • edited 2014-06-30 21:53:27
    THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS
    It's almost impossible to find a good, solid desktop motherboard without it being gussied up for XTREEM SHOOTAN GAEMS. It's like going to the car dealership to buy a sensible mid-size sedan, and all they have are top-end Corvettes and Mustangs.
  • What do they put in that's irrelevant to your needs?  I tend to find most of it ignorable.
  • BE ATTITUDE FOR GAINS
    *puts webcam in every possible device in existance*
  • so if you connected them all to websites

    and then caught people doing naughty things on them

    and people were turned on by them

    would that mean that they are webcames?
  • why do people use HDMI when (the various extended versions of) VGA seem to be a perfectly functional choice for connecting computers to displays?
  • You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    I only use HDMI when I want to connect my computer to the TV, since that's the easiest way to do it...
  • THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS
    HDMI can carry sound, and since it's digital, you don't have some of the odd problems VGA can show on bad cables.
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