Author Topic: Bought any computing stuff today?  (Read 127213 times)

mcshroom

  • Mushroom
Bought any computing stuff today?
« on: 10 July, 2012, 06:56:07 pm »
Well we have one of these for camping stuff and cycling stuff. Have you bought any IT sort of stuff today?

I'll start. 2GB RAM Chip for my netbook
Climbs like a sprinter, sprints like a climber!

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #1 on: 10 July, 2012, 06:59:27 pm »
Ooh, good thread.

I note that all the cycling and camping are getting in the way of my computing habit.

TheLurker

  • Goes well with magnolia.
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #2 on: 10 July, 2012, 07:11:56 pm »
Not today, but Sunday past. Cheap(ish) 7" Android tablet (PC* World stock No 003926 if yer interested)  to use as a testbed whilst I get to grips with writing Android apps.  On which subject; my my hasn't Eclipse changed enormously since 2000?

Still waiting for 4GB of RAM for this box so that Eclipse and the AVD don't run quite so slowly.


*Yes, I know I could have got better & cheaper on-line, but Swindon PC world is only a short cycle ride away and I hadn't cycled from Lechlade to Swindon since 1999 or 2000.

Oh and the cash machine at Greenbridge is no longer free. *Grumble*
Τα πιο όμορφα ταξίδια γίνονται με τις δικές μας δυνάμεις - Φίλοι του Ποδήλατου

tiermat

  • According to Jane, I'm a Unisex SpaceAdmin
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #3 on: 12 July, 2012, 02:51:34 pm »
Not today, but yesterday, and I have only just remembered (as I have had an email informing me of dispatch) a Intel Atom based box to replace BigBlue, our filesharing server (hosts our photos, music and video here in the dragon's lair).

To be fair, it's about 4 years overdue as Bigblue was originally built out of spare bits I had lying around, then the motherboard and graphics card were replaced about 2 years ago when it all went horribly wrong, it's still based around a P4 2.8 Ghz dual core from thousand and *cough*cough*.

Hopefully the new one will do all that the old one did, but drink less electrons whilst doing it....
I feel like Captain Kirk, on a brand new planet every day, a little like King Kong on top of the Empire State

dasmoth

  • Techno-optimist
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #4 on: 17 July, 2012, 07:13:51 pm »
A large pile of bits, notably an Ivy Bridge Core i5 and all the requisites for making it go.

My first self-built machine for some years (having been living mostly in the Apple RDF).  On the whole, it went together pretty smoothly, with far fewer sharp case-edges and troublesome AGP cards than I remember from my previous DIY 'puter.

Ubuntu Unity may take some getting used to (and/or replacement...).
Half term's when the traffic becomes mysteriously less bad for a week.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #5 on: 17 July, 2012, 07:14:38 pm »
Ordered a Raspberry Pi.  It seems silly not to have one...

Oh, and some boring things like USB cables that barakta needs for work.

Feanor

  • It's mostly downhill from here.
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #6 on: 17 July, 2012, 08:01:41 pm »
Just recieved a 2TB HDD, which I've installd in my Vu+ Ultimo HD sat box, which replaces the sky box.
This enables the pause-TV function, and recording in general.

This box (dreambox type thing ) allows me to card-share my sky subscription to other client devices in the house ( and beyond! )
So no more fights between the kids about what sky channel to watch.


dasmoth

  • Techno-optimist
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #7 on: 17 July, 2012, 10:32:19 pm »
Ordered a Raspberry Pi.  It seems silly not to have one...

What's the order process like now?   My plan has always been to get one once someone is actually selling them ex-stock, but as of a few days ago it still looked like there was a waiting list.
Half term's when the traffic becomes mysteriously less bad for a week.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #8 on: 17 July, 2012, 10:36:45 pm »
Farnell reckon on a 5 week wait.

vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
    • Audaxing
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #9 on: 18 July, 2012, 09:21:41 am »
work got me a laptop
It's an 4 core i7 with 8GB of RAM

Maverick

  • One of the rural idle
    • Twoberries
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #10 on: 25 July, 2012, 09:50:11 pm »
OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion - installed on the Mini to start with, just in case in breaks anything. All ok so far.

ian

Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #11 on: 26 July, 2012, 11:11:22 am »
Also Mountain Lioned my MacBook – took an age to download (4GB) but installed quickly and smoothly. Common to many recent MacOS upgrades I had to check it had actually worked, it looks much the same. Not a complaint, I like the incremental approach, rather than the WHERETHEFUCKHASEVERYTHINGGONE. Desktop OSs are mature. Treat them as such.

No bugs noted, everything seems to work. It didn't like an old version of Parallels, but I'd moved to Virtualbox anyways, so it just reminded me to remove it.

Some nice bits of polish really but it's not going to shake the average Mac user's world. I'm still not sold on iCloud – like the concept, but not the Apple implementation, I much prefer Dropbox. They should also hunt the person down adding the stupid 'skins' for Calendar, Notes etc. and kill them before they inflict more pain on my eyes. Really, I don't need the visual metaphor, just make them look like other MacOS applications.

Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #12 on: 26 July, 2012, 11:53:09 am »
An Epson Workforce Pro WP-4545DTWF Wireless Inkjet All-in-One Printer.

Delivered yesterday, but no chance to try it until I get home tomorrow.

Maverick

  • One of the rural idle
    • Twoberries
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #13 on: 27 July, 2012, 10:28:57 am »
Raspberry Pi arrived this morning - that's my weekend sorted :thumbsup:

GraemeMcC

  • CaptainContours
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #14 on: 06 August, 2012, 01:02:50 pm »
Finally got around to purchasing NAS and backup systems - last week.

See earlier post for history: http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=56833.0

So a pair of each of the following:
Synology DS212 twin bay NAS box (with USB3.0 outputs and WOL activation)
WD RE4 500Gb SataII 64Mb (5003ABYX) HDDs to fit into NASes.
WD "My Passport" 500Gb PHD (USB3.0 inputs) - encryptable for sensitive data NAS"A" backups
WD "elements" 500Gb PHD (also USB3) for backup of non-sensitive data/music/photos/OS files from NAS"B".

Just got to fit the HDDs, configure the system(s) then workout how to WOL with my deskie/lappie when my PV generator is producing some free juice  :)

[edit] Corrected the specs when I got home.
I went for the SATA II HDDs at 64Mb as being quoted by Synology as being compatible. I could have gone for Sata III alternatives but the Synology info couldn't clarify on compatibility. The SATA IIs were £62 each for 500Gb 3.5" drives. SATA IIIs at 64Mb buffer were listed at around £83 each. So, I went for the stated SATA II versions. HDD costs have dropped nicely since I first looked at such systems 12 months ago.
The encryptable PHDs were £60 each. The standard PHDs were £50 each.
[/end edit]

Funnily enough, Amazon delivered the NAS, HDDs and Passport PHDs within 2 days (all arriving within 10mins of each other from different suplliers!).
But the other 2 PHDs I ordered from Currys - cheapest BION! 'Coz I was off work recovering from minor op, I went for home delivery option. Expected on Wed!
Now I'm allowed to drive so back at work, it would have been easier to wait, then buy the d*mn things one evening... ::-)

[edit]
My thanks to those of you who responded in my OP and gave advice leading to these purchases. I only need a simple weekly backup system so have saved myself from the joys of 24/7 RAID options, overly large HDDs and failure risks, which I might otherwise have blindly strayed into. Again, thanks to you all!  :thumbsup:

Next purchase will be a Logitech Squeezebox Touch once I've FLAC'd a load of my CD collection...
[/end edit]
PBP 2011: 1234 km by Nr. 5678 in < 90 hrs. Most auspicious...

tiermat

  • According to Jane, I'm a Unisex SpaceAdmin
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #15 on: 09 August, 2012, 10:35:01 am »
a pico-itx PSU so that I can fix the internets.

Should be with me tomorrow, until then only one PC in the house can get on the internets (and I should really sort it so the work one can too)
I feel like Captain Kirk, on a brand new planet every day, a little like King Kong on top of the Empire State

CommuteTooFar

  • Inadequate Randonneur
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #16 on: 09 August, 2012, 01:13:06 pm »
I bought a floor cable protector and a rug so I do not need to look at the cable protector.

All part of my big, not quite right, home cinema project.  All I want is better sound than I get from the computer when watching dvds.  On one side of my bedroom I have a proper hifi (Audiolab amp, tuner and cd/dac; Mission speakers).  In one of the far corners sits my computer it has decent for a computer speakers but £100 Sony speakers from a motherboard sound chip was clearly not as good as the ~£3,000 hifi.  Recently my old cd player stopped working and the Audiolab cd/dac was added.  I noticed that this had a couple of TOSLink sockets The tuner's DAB output was immediately connected to one (better DAC in the CD),  I then decided to connect the computer.  So I buy a 7.5m cable and discover for the over the door route it was too short. To make matters worse when I connected it up to the computer I looked at the software to use the optical socket I discovered it was an input. More money required.  I buy a 10m cable and route around the room and over the door. I also buy an ASUS Xonar Esscence sound card which has audiophile pretensions and an optical output.  First I connect the computer speakers. This is a big improvement in sound quality.  Then I connect the hifi and another improvement in sound quality. 

I decide the cable over the door looks ugly so decide to use the under the bed and across the floor route.  So the 10m cable will be used elsewhere sometime.  The short area between my bed and hifi would create an ugly trip hazard so a rug to please the eye and a cable protector to prevent damage when feet are placed on it.
 
Next step is a big telly above the hifi and a hdmi cable from the computer. I think I will wait to the new year before doing that.  In my experience domestic electrical goods are cheapest in early February after the January sales.

tiermat

  • According to Jane, I'm a Unisex SpaceAdmin
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #17 on: 13 August, 2012, 09:38:33 am »
a pico-itx PSU so that I can fix the internets.

Should be with me tomorrow, until then only one PC in the house can get on the internets (and I should really sort it so the work one can too)

Said picoITX psu arrived.

Said picoITX PSU can't provide enough juice to power an Atom MB.

New 160W picoITX and laptop brick ordered from Logic Supply in The Netherlands.

Fingers crossed for this one, in the meantime, does anyone need a 90W picoITX PSU, only used for about 5 mins until I realised that it's just not got enough grunt?
I feel like Captain Kirk, on a brand new planet every day, a little like King Kong on top of the Empire State

plum

Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #18 on: 13 August, 2012, 10:18:48 am »
Haven't bought yet but am keeping my eye out for a supermegaonlinedeal for a 256Mb SSD. Still too expensive for my tastes right now.

Maverick

  • One of the rural idle
    • Twoberries
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #19 on: 16 August, 2012, 01:25:52 pm »
Just ordered a Gertboard for my RPi - I'll be my first DIY electronics project in over 30 years. Now then, which end of this soldering iron is the hot one ??? ::-)

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #20 on: 16 August, 2012, 01:53:25 pm »
I have a Gertboard on the wishlist. lots of loose bits kicking about though.
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

plum

Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #21 on: 20 August, 2012, 12:14:18 pm »
Haven't bought yet but am keeping my eye out for a supermegaonlinedeal for a 256Mb SSD. Still too expensive for my tastes right now.
At last sub £100 delievered, worth it now

http://www.ebuyer.com/394450-kingston-256gb-v200-ssd-sv200s3-256g

Feanor

  • It's mostly downhill from here.
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #22 on: 20 August, 2012, 09:46:06 pm »
A 2 GB HDD for Junior's PC, since he has used Steam (yuk! ) to fill his old one to capacity with various shoot-em-up games.

Imaging-fest later in the week.

And a 2GB external USB drive to make image backups of Mrs F's laptop, which is used for work etc.
We had a bit of an incident a few months ago, which came close to nuke from orbit, and this was not a happy option.
So I did promise to do some image-based backup on it.

So another image-fest.

R

Maverick

  • One of the rural idle
    • Twoberries
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #23 on: 21 August, 2012, 08:57:04 am »
A 2 GB HDD for Junior's PC, since he has used Steam (yuk! ) to fill his old one to capacity with various shoot-em-up games.

Imaging-fest later in the week.

And a 2GB external USB drive to make image backups of Mrs F's laptop, which is used for work etc.
We had a bit of an incident a few months ago, which came close to nuke from orbit, and this was not a happy option.
So I did promise to do some image-based backup on it.

So another image-fest.

R

Surely TB not GB R?

I just bought another 3TB HDD for the file server as I continue my quest to get all my DVDs ripped for streaming (It now has 9TB of disk space and room for one more  :thumbsup: ).
I'm wil be sending my venerable workstation into retirement this week - 5 years of flawless service but it isn't getting used and the space will be useful. Also a couple of external disk drives (160GB and 300GB) have been pensioned off - free to good home if anyone is interested.

Feanor

  • It's mostly downhill from here.
Re: Bought any computing stuff today?
« Reply #24 on: 21 August, 2012, 11:04:34 am »
A 2 GB HDD

Surely TB not GB R?


Er, yes...   :-[
It doesn't seem so long ago since 2GB seemed big!