Model Boat Mayhem
Mess Deck: General Section => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: Patrick Henry on September 22, 2010, 01:36:42 pm
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I've just had my desktop pc overhauled/serviced/sorted out and Linux Mint installed instead of Windows...it now works perfectly, and will be used for storage only, so as I can release some space on my laptop.
The old keyboard is about as useful as a bucket with holes in, so I've looked around for a replacement one...it's a minefield, trying to buy a keyboard. I never realised there were so many different types!
Can anyone tell me of a half decent, common or garden, no frills keyboard...with a usb plug on it. NOT wireless...just a good old fashioned basic keyboard is all I need.
New one, or a secondhand one, if anyone's got one they don't use any more.
Ta,
Rich
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Try phoning the IT people at any half-decent-sized business near you.
When I was working at the Uni in Glasgow in an IT capacity, we'd get new Dells in that came with keyboards, and, if the user wanted a wireless keyboard, they were bought extra. So - given the lack of space we had - we threw brand new keyboards out.
Failing that, I see Argos (probably any decent supermarket, too) do a USB fella for under a tenner.
Andy
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Job done and dusted, one reserved at Argos for £9.99, collect it on my home tomorrow. Simples... :-))
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damm wasnt quick enough... Got a few at my parents house brand New and boxed dell numbers could have had it for the price of the postage
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I can easily cancel the reservation Essex...
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I got 1 or 2 hundred spare HP keyboards.... Oh, too late.
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It's never too late....I'll take one if it works!
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Kill the USB, go for a PS2. Anyone got a spare IBM M3??
Regards Ian.
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I thought BMW made the M3?
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No - you're thinking of BMWs which - amongst other cars - drive down the M3.
Andy
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Aah...BMW's. They're the things that go whistling past you on the motorway at silly miles an hour with the driver talking on his Blackberry, completing a presentation on his laptop which is on the passenger seat, eating a tuna sandwich and drinking a coffee all at the same time.
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NOOOOO! you,re confusing BMW,drivers with council refuse trucks, I,ve seen,them, there doing most or all of what you describe,including puffing ciggies when,it ain,t allowed,...but there,s one driver in particular that is,nt doing it now,..the one who refused to empty my daughters bin because,the lid was,nt down,"said bin was over filled" H/S rules blah blah blah,...the next week she took pics of him driving with mobile at ear and smoking,
Wullie
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I hope your daughter is proud of her vindictive actions, that driver probably got a disiplinary hearing at the least, at worst he probably lost his job...for doing as he should have done.
RCV drivers and operatives are NOT permitted to empty a refuse bin if the lid is open...it's dangerous to the operative(refuse can be shot out of the bin as it goes up on the bin lifts, and that can be painful), the bin itself can jam up on the bin lifts if the lid catches up...that can result in either a damaged bin, costing around £25-30 to replace, or damage to the vehicle's bin lift mechanism, costing hundreds of pounds to repair, without mentioning the downtime to the vehicle.
As an ex-RCV, driver I've been hit by bin lids that weren't properly shut, and that hurts when it wacks you smack in the face, believe me. I've suffered being covered in all sorts of refuse(which I won't describe)which has been knocked out of a bin with a half closed lid, that is why current H&S regulations prevent drivers and operatives placing a bin on the lifts if the lid is half open.
And think on...if that particular driver HAD put your daughter's bin onto the vehicle lifts, and had been spotted by either an over zealous member of the public, a council official, or by one of the myriad of CCTV cameras that blight our towns and cities, then that driver would have found himself in more trouble for doing something he is not allowed to. There is no argument...he may have agreed to be helpful to your daughter, to do her a favour and empty the bin anyway, but if had have been seen doing so or damaged the bin, the vehicle, or even worse, damaged himself, the the powers that be would have descended upon him from a great height.
I accept that the driver was in the wrong by using a mobile phone(he was actually driving at the time, I presume?)that is illegal anyway, and smoking a cigarette as well...well, that's down to local council rules and regulations.
I trust your daughter sleeps well at night...
Rich
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She Sleeps like a Baby,and I,m proud of Her, :-))
Wullie
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They must have really Southern softie bin lorries down there if a bit of extra rubbish can put one out of commission.
We have canny refuse collectors up here doesnt matter if the lid isnt quite closed they still empty it and they will take away
any bags lying by the side of the bins as well. But we are a bit behind the times up here they probably think H/S means
Have a Smoke.
Geoff
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Thats probably because you,re so close to Scotland,that their work ethos is akin to the binmen up here,down where my daughter stays,if the bin is not exactly on the designated bin spot,they won,t empty it,..if a black bin bag is next to the bin,they won,t lift it,"they might hurt their poor backsies"was an answer,...little kittens spring to mind, {-)
Wullie
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Let the cat out of the bag with that comment Wasyl.
Regards Ian.
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Let the cat out of the bag with that comment Wasyl.
Regards Ian.
Who!!!! me! {-)would I, %)
Wullie
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Getting back to the 'computer stuff' I have an issue with my pc and my son is away to uni' so am without IT guidance!
Thought I might splash out on a new machine - tower only as all my other bits are ok. Saw a Medion pc at Aldi stores for £379 http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_15795.htm anybody think it's ok?
My main intention is to use it for picture and video work, wanting to convert the analogue and digital home movies and videos that my father and I have made over the last 50 years!
I've tried doing it on my current machine and the conversion time for 90 minutes of video to digital format for downloading took 8 hours and even then had a sound 'lag' - bit like watching a cheap foriegn dubbed movie !
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I don't have experience of that particular model, but I have had a Medion Laptop for many years and its still going - albeit a little slowly now.
Barrie
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That looks like a fair specification for the money. I'm on the hunt for a tower myself but I don't want a budget model. I would rather pay a bit more for a 'name' if the price is OK. While surfing the web today I found some interesting options on the HP site http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/home.html I quite fancied the HP Pavilion p6525uk myself which comes with a 2 year warranty. There are other lower spec models.
A lot of emphasis seems to be placed on 1 Terabyte hard drives these days but I reckon 500GB is as much as most of us would need. I have also recently seen some negative comments on the reliability of the cheaper 1TB drives.
The problem with this sort of thing is that everyone you ask will give you different advice. As in all things, you can always get something cheaper - but is it really value for money?
Colin
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It was my intention to 'push the boat out' and have one of these http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/studio-xps-8100?c=uk&l=en&s=gen&~tab=specstab&~lt=popup
but at half the price was considering the Aldi purchase if it would do the job.
If I was to ask my oh-so knowledgable kids it would be a case of 'why do you need one like that - the cheap Aldi one's good enough for you'. I suppose if I bought the Dell it would be future proofing my system...even if it was under utilised to begin with, I suppose we all grow into, then out of what we buy.
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There are two basic issues to consider.
1. What is the actual specification you are likely to need? If you don't do gaming then you don't need a top end machine for example and you are just paying for features you will never use.
2. What level of quality do you want? Generally, cheap PCs will be fitted with budget components which may be fine if you only use it for an hour or so a day. I switch mine on when I get up and off again when I go to bed so it needs to be a decent quality machine.
Horses for courses as usual!
Colin
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The chances are that the cheap components are, for low end use, like most of ours, perfectly adequate. The chances are also good that should one fail, it will be easily and cheaply replaceable. I've had two cards fail (one US Robotics, one a Pinnacle) since I started with PCs, neither of them cheap, no-namers. The bits that do tend to fail are the ones with moving parts, like drives, and the fans in power units.
I recall that Compaq gained a name that they probably didn't want by using non-standard parts that could only be replaced at high cost, while at the same time the no-name specials made from standard bits just chugged on, and gave exactly the same performance.
My rule of thumb for several years has been to get one contained in the biggest, plainest, box that I can find with the biggest power unit, then fit it with an adequate MB/CPU. If its going to be used for anything higher than looking at photos and writing letters, get a display adaptor, the on-board graphics are usually nearly adequate. Over the last 6 years, I had one MB change when I moved from W98, and a more recent one when one of my drives went a bit wonky, and the SATA ones were cheap enough to "justify" chucking a new MB in. (So my PC is a bit like my grandad's hammer, same hammer, umpteen years old, just three new handles and two new heads...)
The actual machine itself is unlikely to slow down over time, but the programs it runs will tend to gain bulk that will only fit comfortably into a faster running machine with more memory and any new toys bought for it might demand a newer operating system. The corollary is also true - a new OS might need new hardware.
If the Medion is a good spec at a sensible price, I would consider it very carefully. It is difficult to stand in Aldi and look at their spec, then remember what it said while you look elsewhere and try to work out which is the better value, but, having had a play with one of their products, they are good.
Having said that, for video work, there is no such thing as "enough" memory, "enough" speed, or drives that are too big. Being able to dedicate a drive to the video file handling will help, as well, so a board that can handle a few drives is best.
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Having said that, for video work, there is no such thing as "enough" memory, "enough" speed, or drives that are too big. Being able to dedicate a drive to the video file handling will help, as well, so a board that can handle a few drives is best.
So it's the Dell then and hang the expense - I'll order one tomorrow whilst it's on sale. Thanks for your input gentlemen.
This is all part of spending the kid's inheritance.....I'm determined to not leave them any problems with inheritance issues
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Got a Dell here - and I must warn you to be prepared for what might be a long and protracted hassle. Don't get me wrong: the PC is great, but the company is not so.
Well, not quite. They are great for supplying businesses - you want a hundred PCs? Then next day, blah-de-blah - works everytime. But for individuals you'll possibly receive service which is more akin to the less fragrant end of the stick.
The online tracking system was woeful: I ended up in several 15/20 minute phone conversations trying to speak to a human being. The nearest I think I got was some call centre in the US, who were clueless. My PC left Lodz within a couple of days of being ordered, and then it hung around between delivery centres for nearly a month. I will agree that it was snowing back in January, but if I could drive about without too much risk of death, then why the van drivers couldn't was an utter mystery to me.
Hopefully they've improved things. Please let us know how you get on?
Andy
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I am exploring the purchase of a laptop for my wife. I have had three consecutive Dell PC's and found them and the service excellent. delivery was rapid, as promised and on time.
My choices are a little limited as I live in France but require a UK (QWERTY) keyboard and I want an operating system in English. I also want delivery in France, the guarantee to apply under French law and service to be supplied in France!
Both Dell France and Dell UK offer a real time enquiry service, it really works well and fast but appears, from the names of the advisers I exchange messages with, to be based in India. My enquiries in French result in a helpful response, "Give me your specification and I will come back to you with a quotation". The English response was a simple "We do not export to France".
Incidentally, avoid the Dell finance plans like a plague they currently quote an APR of 28+%, ouch!!!!
Roger in France
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www.novatech.co.uk
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www.novatech.co.uk
GOOD Service there :-))
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There are two basic issues to consider.
1. What is the actual specification you are likely to need? If you don't do gaming then you don't need a top end machine for example and you are just paying for features you will never use.
Colin
I wouldn't entirely agree with that. I'm not a big computer games player, but I do like to edit video, and purchased a HD video camera this year. I can tell you now, you want all the silicone muscle you can muster for editing that stuff.
You may also want to do a bit of 3d modelling or animation. So many avenues to explore.
Sure, if all you want to do is a bit of browsing, email and office apps even a seven year old machine will get you by.
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Yes, it's true that if you are into video you do need a fairly high spec. I'd say I use my PC fairly extensively but it is for writing and office type applications although I do have a lot of images to be stored and sometimes edited. So I want a reasonably high amount of storage and am not so concerned about ultimate processor performance.
Colin
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As probably many of you do, I feel that I'm being totally ripped off by buying printer inks from places like PC World and so on.
So I also took the plunge and began buying "compatible" inks from a well known supplier.
I've got no complaints at all about the quality, and the price and delivery are second to none.
But now I'm finding that the printer keeps telling me that "ink is running out" when, on inspection, the cartridge is still half full of ink.
The "blurb" that accompanies these cartridges states that the "chip" can be easily re-set. Easy to say. How? I've tried ignoring the warning, but then after a while the printer gets a bit "stripey" (cured by yet another new cartridge). So if I'm only using half the ink available, where's my cost saving? BY.
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Yes Tesco's are about to get an email off me for much similiar to yours Bryan. I have only printed 10 pages of draft black print. <*<
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WellI,ve had this Laptop now for 6 years,I got it from Staples,its an Acer travelmate and has a lowly 40 GB HDD,and 256 MB DDR, its never missed a beat in 6 years and only cost £299 complete with a free printer ,Its got everything I need,and lots that i don,t know how to,I,m a happy chappy,
Wullie
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I have had poor results with compatible cartridges in the past and if you are printing photos then they may not last. I use the manufacturer's inks but buy them cheap on the net. Quite frequently you can get a bargain pack with even more off. Even PC World get cheaper if you order online.
Colin
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Thank you all, but none of that (so far) answers my original question. How do you re-set a chip? I'm wasting ink here! BY.
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Rather than use compatible inks, >>:-( >>:-( here in Oz we are able to get the original cartridges refilled. O0 O0
Whilst printer says low ink it can be ignored until the ink runs out.
It has been said that the manufacturer programs the printer to not recognise non-genuine cartridges all part of the ploy to make you buy theirs. <*< <*< >>:-( >>:-(
There is also the ridiculous situation when at times you can buy a new printer(lower range models) for little more than the cost of new ink cartridges.
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You may not like the answer Bryan - this gives you an idea of what is required: http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6053980_reset-ink-cartridge-chips.html
It's the usual story - hassle vs cost. I don't print a huge amount so I buy original cartridges at the best possible price and take the hit.
As RaaArtyGunner says, the manufacturers make their money from the cartridges, not the printer.
Colin
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Thank you all, but none of that (so far) answers my original question. How do you re-set a chip? I'm wasting ink here! BY.
You buy a cartridge resetter. They are only a few pounds. Here is an ebay search for some. Your ink cartridge supplier ought to be able to sell you one...
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1313&_nkw=cartridge+resetter&_sacat=See-All-Categories
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You may not like the answer Bryan - this gives you an idea of what is required: http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6053980_reset-ink-cartridge-chips.html
It's the usual story - hassle vs cost. I don't print a huge amount so I buy original cartridges at the best possible price and take the hit.
As RaaArtyGunner says, the manufacturers make their money from the cartridges, not the printer.
Colin
Your'e right again Colin. The old brain hasn't enough memory left (or time) to take all that in! Bryan.
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Yes Bryan, you can do all sorts of clever things if you are prepared to devote the time and energy to them. But that is time spent which might be better occupied on things of more value to you. Printing on bits of paper is useful but not regarded as one of my core life enhancing activities. So I buy the standard stuff which just slots in at the best price I can get and then get on with more important things. I'm happy to leave chip resetting to the Geeks. On the same principle I've just bought a new computer instead of spending hours of my life attempting to upgrade the old one. Yes, it might have been cheaper to upgrade but I value my own time too and fiddling with computers can run away with the remaining balance of your earthly allocation.
One advantage of getting older is that you do have a clearer idea of what your priorities are.
Colin
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One advantage of getting older is that you do have a clearer idea of what your priorities are.
And when all is said and done its only the kids inheritance. :-))
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And when all is said and done its only the kids inheritance. :-))
Yep, you're right there, and as far as my wife and I are concerned we put them through uni' at great expense to set them up for life. The two eldest ones are doing very well, the youngest is on his second year at drama school and just finished a four week run in Faustus at the Exchange in Manchester.
I took delivery of my super duper PC from Dell yesterday - and we pick up the wife's MX-5 on Friday - sod the kid's inheritance and hang the expense!
How do I transfer all my data from one machine to the other?
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I use a USB lead and a program called 'laplink'.
install Laplink on both machines, then link the two through USB ports, and run from one machine, and you can see both hard drives, and select and move what you want.
works for files etc, and you can also move program folders from one C: drive to the other.
also helps if you have problems, as you can effectively remotely sort it from the other computer.
think if you google it should be able to get a freen download, but got a disc and lead from Maplins years ago for about a tenner.
alan
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Thanks for that Alan, once I 've cleaned up what's not needed and backed up all my pictures, music, et al, I shall try that method
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Having a home network, I just copy and paste folders from one machine to the other. If I mess about with files, MS have a "synctoy" that lets you set up pairs of folders, when the toy is run, both folders wind up identical, with the newest versions of everything in both.
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It strikes me that every time someone asks a computer related question lots of answers appear...generally very helpful.
By the very nature of this forum evryone on it uses a computer. Why not have a "Computer Helpline" as a permanent sub heading instead of letting the thread drift down the "ratings list" until the next query comes up? BY.
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It strikes me that every time someone asks a computer related question lots of answers appear...generally very helpful.
By the very nature of this forum everyone on it uses a computer. Why not have a "Computer Helpline" as a permanent sub heading instead of letting the thread drift down the "ratings list" until the next query comes up? BY.
Good idea as there appear to be some computer literate Mayhemers among us.
Not to mention there is always another way to skin a cat. :-)) :-)) :-))
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Good idea as there appear to be some computer literate Mayhemers among us
Not to mention some computer illiterate as well :D
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Not to mention there is always another way to skin a cat
Yes, there is a huge amount of computer expertise in the Mayhem Community which is very helpful. However, you do need to distinguish between fact and opinion. Some questions simply need a factual answer such as 'how do I downsize my picture files?' With others, such as my request for help in choosing a new computer, you will get lots of very helpful practical advice which may well open up options that you had never previously considered. In this case it is down to you to evaluate that advice and use it to make your own informed choice. As RaaArtyGunner rightly points out, what is right for one person is not necessarily so for another.
Whether we need a special section for this is really for Martin and the Mods to consider. Usually it's best not to start up new main headings but sometimes there are exceptions.
Colin