Hop'n Rabbits, Leap'n Lizards: A Kingston 64G SSD Install!

Ever see an old and useless Dell pop out of its shell and hit the ceiling with raw speed? Unlikely event, I would have said...until today...and I'm still looking for a ladder to pry Dell down. 


Screeching tires, jet propelled Windows [finally]! Yikes! 30 years of speed-craved assembling and abandoning, loving and leaving PC's never prepared me for this jolt juice. As they say of a few other really good things in life such as Verizon fiber optic internet (FIOS), once you've had an SSD boot, you'll never go back! But unlike fiber, you can take the SSD with you, especially when installed in a a laptop.

The cause for this lift-off: Kingston Technology sent me a 64 gig solid state disk upgrade kit, on my qualified request to improvise an "old computer resuscitation strategy" for these turbid economic times.  Given the domestic tech budget, my biannual upgrade has resorted to miniature i-products, rather than desk tower upgrades. However, having finally managed to properly equip my principle computer into doubling as the living-room entertainment center, I decided to dust off a 6 year-old, defect-ridden, very dog Dell to serve only my book writing needs while the TV is sucking up all available desktop & bandwidth.

What is a "Solid State Disk" and why put such an expensive beast in Grandpa Dell?  Speed, speed, speed.  45 second boot.  5 second program load.  Details next installment.

Software Minefields, by Name.

By prime example, let's start with Outlook.

Gates Returning to Microsoft?

The richest man on the planet has got to be having some sleepless nights.  We bless his soul for going charitable as the alternative, following in Andrew Carnegie's footsteps as he has done so well, but giving away money is a slow, relatively pedantic process, one which absolutely demands too many chicken dinners away from home.

And guess who is having all the fun?  His buddy and confidant, Steve Jobs.  Virtually waging war on the the world's wireless phone systems, and now declaring the demolition of Google's phone...he's having a blast!  All the while, the internet is replacing traditional media as the people's voice, with exponentially larger selective audiences and less than tabloid journalism standards, leading to the type of virile reporting I'm practicing right here.  No triple confirmations on this rumor.

Yes, Bill is contemplating a return.  He sees chaos at the factory.  The problem is most of that chaos is his legacy and unlike Jobs, his return won't fix it.  Don't mistake my admiration for Mr. Gates' bottom line success; this is the Prime Mandate of a public company; return on investment.  Who to say the hundreds of genius millionaires he graduated from Microsoft aren't an even bigger world blessing than the overly pernicious Windows itself?

More to follow.  I'll try to talk it over with Bill, I know he's got some specific concerns before making the leap backwards.

The Building of HomeBrew10

New iQuality project, a hands-on evaluation of building your own PC, versus purchasing Dell or HP.

This is titled "HomeBrew10".  It is probably my 5th or 6th build, starting with small, early Z80 based-boards in the 60's, then a Heathkit H-89 computer, for which I'll add a link.  This was built up from individual electronic components on up, including motherboard and printer. This unit was based on the CP/M Operating System ["OS"] battlefield, which required the builder to construct a portion of the Bios [Initial turning on sequence of a computer, specifying what's attached, etc.].  Fun.  


I'm fundamentally friendly to any OS after it, although I do expect the same leap as from it...at least every decade.  I won't even evoke Moore's "Law" on operating systems, although they are created purely from human gray matter and have no physical restraints.

Speaking of Moore silicon, did you hear this one: We might hit a computer Peak Silicon at the same time we hit Peak Oil.  Intel, on the other hand claims 2029.  Who knows?


Our basic criterion for HomeBrew10 is instant load, access, operation of day-to-day office and internet access programs, full Windows Media Center integration and performance, and -- after over 10 years of use -- peak perfect operation of my most uniquely useful software, Dragon Dictate.  It makes the strongest computing demands of just about any program I use, save large imaging processes.

In addition to stringent evaluation, we'll list specs and explain at a semi-novice level what everything means; this is to open a door for the average PC user, and not leave you where Microsoft's obtuse, insulting "Contact your IP manager..." error solution message does. We also refer you to "Tom's Hardware" as one of the best resources for detailed, competitive technical reviews in the fast computing arena.  We aim to  impart how easy it is to assemble a computer, you need little more than a screwdriver and an afternoon.  Your family will be impressed and you'll gain at least a 50% operating margin over a same-price built unit.  We don't exclude built, but point out cutthroat competition has heightened with with the financial crisis, and you're getting less and less for your buck from the name brands.

Some products we use will be manufacturer supplied, this will be clearly indicated.  Our first such product, and one still in the "unusual" category, is a Kingston SSD, a solid-state hard disk.  When it and the other parts arrive, all will be given greater detail.

Here's an earlier interview we gave a few items: http://bit.ly/CNNdch.

Keep an eye out, "HomeBrew10" will soon be arriving.  The pieces are drifting in on the daily boat.  And my Win7 beta is slamming the lid down every 2 hours, no warning; make sure your fingers aren't in the way and that you saved whatever a good 10 minutes before!  Nasty people when you don't have your credit card out!

Microsoft Software & Bosch Appliances: What do they have in common?

We rely on them daily, yes.  Especially to save time.  In my single days, I could not retain civilized habitation without my Bosch dishwasher.  I confess to abject failure with dirty dishes.  For many reasons, love at the top, I married a wonderful woman who has spent the last decade teaching me how.  Such a patient angel!

Today, however, it turns out our trusty Bosch ran its drain pump on and off all night.  Amazingly, the master switch was off and even the door opened a crack!  This a mechanical device defying both its safety over-ride and the on/off control.

Microsoft?  We need it every day, too, but it never works properly for any length of time.