How good is your computer overall?

[Slyfox696]

A massive out of date pile of dog shit.

Yeah, I hate E-Machines too.

I'm a fairly lucky person, my parents got me a new Macbook Air and the new iMac for college. They find school to be quite important so I figured why not let 'em spend all that money if they want to. The computers haven't even been delivered yet.

If you're going to spend that money, why spend it on a Mac? Why not spend it on something worth your money?

 

[The Crock]

Well, my parents prefer Mac and since it was their money I didn't argue.

 

[Slyfox696]

Well, my parents prefer Mac and since it was their money I didn't argue.

Well, they wasted $500 for nothing.


Oh I know it was more than that, but $500 was wasted. I've generally found that's approximately the price difference for comparable hardware. But hey, it's their money.


I'd dual boot that sucker as soon as I got it. Save it for the fancy audio and visual capabilities, but throw a Linux distro on there and do everything from that.

 

[Jane]

I got a new lappy a week ago. 4 gb of RAM, 500gb harddrive... uhhhhh... and the rest. Windows 7. Really fast.

 

[Ferbian]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a Mac Sly. The hardware is pretty decent in them. As long as you dual boot although then you're safe. Their operative system is decent but I wouldn't use it if it saved my life.

 

[Ty Burna]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a Mac Sly. The hardware is pretty decent in them. As long as you dual boot although then you're safe. Their operative system is decent but I wouldn't use it if it saved my life.

Here's the issue, the hardware is decent but they overprice everything. The hardware you get for the price you pay isn't what it should be and really you pay that extra few hundred dollars for the Apple name brand, and the right to have proprietary bullshit. Don't even get me started on their OS, it's supposed to simplify things yet I've had nothing but issues trying to do tech support for customers with Macs.

Only Apple product I own is an iPod and that's because it offered a high amount of storage space and the CD Deck in my car has a USB port for iPods. Sadly if this iPod goes out I"m not sure I'll get another one. The sound quality of iPods generally isn't good, and Apple probably won't make any more hard drive based mp3 players in the future, and I"ll be damned if I go drop $300 for an iPod touch.

 

[Ferbian]

Here's the issue, the hardware is decent but they overprice everything. The hardware you get for the price you pay isn't what it should be and really you pay that extra few hundred dollars for the Apple name brand, and the right to have proprietary bullshit. Don't even get me started on their OS, it's supposed to simplify things yet I've had nothing but issues trying to do tech support for customers with Macs.

Only Apple product I own is an iPod and that's because it offered a high amount of storage space and the CD Deck in my car has a USB port for iPods. Sadly if this iPod goes out I"m not sure I'll get another one. The sound quality of iPods generally isn't good, and Apple probably won't make any more hard drive based mp3 players in the future, and I"ll be damned if I go drop $300 for an iPod touch.

I completely agree. You could easily buy a much better HP, Dell or whichever company you prefer for the same price. Perhaps even cheaper at times.

I've always believed it's much like clothes. You pay for the brand. The little damn brand sign that they place there. It's not because the clothes is any different. It's simply because of the little sign. And the same goes for the Macs I would assume. Much less it might simply be because of the "Timeless design".

I got pretty much the whole ordeal of Mac equipment. My mom have a Macbook White. I got a Macbook Pro. We both have an Iphone and I have an Ipod (That I got before the Iphone mind you).

But then again. The fact that people pay for these things doesn't necessarily help Mac see the fact that they're overpriced. Steve Jobs truly had the right idea. Overpriced well design sold to a population filled with a large number of people that either buys for the sake of the products look and because they know shit about the hardware.

 

[Ty Burna]

I completely agree. You could easily buy a much better HP, Dell or whichever company you prefer for the same price. Perhaps even cheaper at times.

Or better yet, build your own .

I've always believed it's much like clothes. You pay for the brand. The little damn brand sign that they place there. It's not because the clothes is any different. It's simply because of the little sign. And the same goes for the Macs I would assume. Much less it might simply be because of the "Timeless design".

Absolutely, and Sony isn't much better to be honest, although they are getting better even if they overrate their car audio products. That's a very good analogy to go by in all honesty.

I got pretty much the whole ordeal of Mac equipment. My mom have a Macbook White. I got a Macbook Pro. We both have an Iphone and I have an Ipod (That I got before the Iphone mind you).

I'm not big on the iPhone, although I will admin I own a Droid myself and I've loved it since day one. I know Sly is big on them and honestly I can't blame anyone for liking the iPhone. I've never had it available to me because I have two carriers in my state, Verizon and Alltel. Soon that will be Verizon and AT&T due to Verizon not being able to own Alltel here because of monopoly laws and all, but I've been a Verizon customer for 7 years now and I don't intend on changing.

But then again. The fact that people pay for these things doesn't necessarily help Mac see the fact that they're overpriced. Steve Jobs truly had the right idea. Overpriced well design sold to a population filled with a large number of people that either buys for the sake of the products look and because they know shit about the hardware.

A lot of Mac users (not saying you're one of them) will buy a Mac just because they're "trendy" and in their eyes anti establishment. Mac's market share is minimal compared to Windows so it's one of those things where people can say they're "ahead of the times" by getting a Mac, when in reality they're buying overpriced hardware and an OS that's more or less a Linux kernel with modified graphics and menus. People also get Macs because they think they're more secure than a Windows machine. Not even close to being true, virus and spyware creators could cripple a Mac machine easier than a Windows machine, but again it comes down to market share. Why go for the small slice of the pie when you have the ability to hit almost the entire thing?

 

[Ferbian]

Or better yet, build your own .

I'm too lazy to build my own laptop. I did build my own stationary although.

Absolutely, and Sony isn't much better to be honest, although they are getting better even if they overrate their car audio products. That's a very good analogy to go by in all honesty.

You probably know by now - I hate Sony.

I'm not big on the iPhone, although I will admin I own a Droid myself and I've loved it since day one. I know Sly is big on them and honestly I can't blame anyone for liking the iPhone. I've never had it available to me because I have two carriers in my state, Verizon and Alltel. Soon that will be Verizon and AT&T due to Verizon not being able to own Alltel here because of monopoly laws and all, but I've been a Verizon customer for 7 years now and I don't intend on changing.

I love my Iphone. Only phone I've had for over a year (I got it in December 2008 when I scored my first A). I don't plan on switching away from it. I might update it within a year or two's time all depending on how much I really need to upgrade.

A lot of Mac users (not saying you're one of them) will buy a Mac just because they're "trendy" and in their eyes anti establishment. Mac's market share is minimal compared to Windows so it's one of those things where people can say they're "ahead of the times" by getting a Mac, when in reality they're buying overpriced hardware and an OS that's more or less a Linux kernel with modified graphics and menus. People also get Macs because they think they're more secure than a Windows machine. Not even close to being true, virus and spyware creators could cripple a Mac machine easier than a Windows machine, but again it comes down to market share. Why go for the small slice of the pie when you have the ability to hit almost the entire thing?

I know I'm not one of them. But I have this female friend (annoying) who is really jealous that I have a Mac. She doesn't get that I use my stationary more than my Mac. And she says she wants one because it's so "beautiful".

She knows shit about computers. Much less the hardware. So she definitely buys computers for the looks of it. And asks me on occasions which is better.

Mac operative systems aren't secure. And to assume that any computer in the world is secure is absolute bullshit. It's documented that there's developed Mac viruses. Hell the first virus ever developed was said to be developed to the Macintosh operative system during the time where Mac was the popular brand and Microsoft were still trying to prove a challenge.

Besides there's a decent amount of Mac owners that has Windows installed on them. So they're not secure anyway. The only advantage Mac has to anything is the fact that they have that timeless design. in 20 years the current Macbook Pro will still look good.

 

[Барбоса]

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
Dell Dimension 4600i X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 3 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~2793 Mhz
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB

No idea what half of that means.

Although I have been thinking about upgrading, there is no real need for me to do so as I can still play the games I want, my internet connection is fast enough and I only need Word to do work so I cannot justify spending the cash.

 

[Ty Burna]

I'm too lazy to build my own laptop. I did build my own stationary although.

I'm assuming stationary=desktop? If so that's what I was referring. I love building computers, at work I"m one of two system builders and when we get to order parts for 30 computers and the truck load comes in, it's like Christmas all over again.

You probably know by now - I hate Sony.

I used to be pretty anti Sony myself, but they've gotten a lot better. We purchased some Sony Vaio's for work here and I want to trade my Acer laptop for one. Otherwise I've pretty much built my entire sound system in my car with Sony products sans the subwoofer and amp.

I know I'm not one of them. But I have this female friend (annoying) who is really jealous that I have a Mac. She doesn't get that I use my stationary more than my Mac. And she says she wants one because it's so "beautiful".

She knows shit about computers. Much less the hardware. So she definitely buys computers for the looks of it. And asks me on occasions which is better

.

I think the biggest problem is people look at the specs of a computer, don't know what any of the numbers mean, and go based off looks and price. I'll be in Best Buy watching their salesman attempt selling these junk desktops that are probably two years outdated as it is, and charging about $100-$200 more than they're actually worth. I will admit though I do like the All in One PC's they have out now, now if only they came down in price. I also want a tablet, but I'm waiting for a legit Android one to come out.

Mac operative systems aren't secure. And to assume that any computer in the world is secure is absolute bullshit. It's documented that there's developed Mac viruses. Hell the first virus ever developed was said to be developed to the Macintosh operative system during the time where Mac was the popular brand and Microsoft were still trying to prove a challenge.

Besides there's a decent amount of Mac owners that has Windows installed on them. So they're not secure anyway. The only advantage Mac has to anything is the fact that they have that timeless design. in 20 years the current Macbook Pro will still look good.

Speaking of viruses, hell my laptop got infected yesterday. I believe something got into Yahoo mail as we had a couple of PC's at work get infected with users who use Yahoo mail, and my wife uses it on my laptop. Still irritates me because I haven't had any virus/spyware issues in a good 5 years or so.

 

[Ferbian]

I'm assuming stationary=desktop? If so that's what I was referring. I love building computers, at work I"m one of two system builders and when we get to order parts for 30 computers and the truck load comes in, it's like Christmas all over again.

That's right. Desktop - My bad we just call it a stationary in Denmark. I build / repair computers as my current job (I'm an apprentice so it's my apprentice job). And I absolutely love my job. While there's some damn annoying assignments at times that can cause a bit of trouble working with. It's always a great experience.

I used to be pretty anti Sony myself, but they've gotten a lot better. We purchased some Sony Vaio's for work here and I want to trade my Acer laptop for one. Otherwise I've pretty much built my entire sound system in my car with Sony products sans the subwoofer and amp.

I just hate their support. Sure I like their computers they're pretty nice both in design as well as hardware. But the thought of having to deal with Sony's support kills everything for me. You've heard the stories I've told of them.

I think the biggest problem is people look at the specs of a computer, don't know what any of the numbers mean, and go based off looks and price. I'll be in Best Buy watching their salesman attempt selling these junk desktops that are probably two years outdated as it is, and charging about $100-$200 more than they're actually worth. I will admit though I do like the All in One PC's they have out now, now if only they came down in price. I also want a tablet, but I'm waiting for a legit Android one to come out.

The only things that someone can truly relate to if you don't know much about computer that's 1. RAM (perhaps) HDD size and the size of the screen. The rest is something you either get a bit of research into (It's easy to find benchmarks to relate "Oh I got this graphic card. Will this one be an upgrade?".

I don't believe I've ever heard of an All in One PC. What company is running that?

The one thing that truly annoys me about Mac owners. Something I have committed myself to never doing is saying "My Mac is not a PC. It's a Mac".

Speaking of viruses, hell my laptop got infected yesterday. I believe something got into Yahoo mail as we had a couple of PC's at work get infected with users who use Yahoo mail, and my wife uses it on my laptop. Still irritates me because I haven't had any virus/spyware issues in a good 5 years or so.

I hate it when I get infected. Back some years ago I was damn good at getting viruses. I believe I've had 3 different Trojan horses over a span of 2 years. I've become more careful now although.

So did you get the virus removed or simply reinstalled the computer?

 

[Ty Burna]

That's right. Desktop - My bad we just call it a stationary in Denmark. I build / repair computers as my current job (I'm an apprentice so it's my apprentice job). And I absolutely love my job. While there's some damn annoying assignments at times that can cause a bit of trouble working with. It's always a great experience.

They have apprenticeships for that over there? Nice, I just randomly applied for a job at a compute store and ended up getting it. Now I work for the phone company and all, but I loved my previous job. Biggest issue was I wasn't getting paid enough.

I just hate their support. Sure I like their computers they're pretty nice both in design as well as hardware. But the thought of having to deal with Sony's support kills everything for me. You've heard the stories I've told of them.

Eh any support nowadays is complete shit. Microsoft, Dell, Sony, etc. I hate calling any company for tech support. Except Buffalo products. They're actually good.

The only things that someone can truly relate to if you don't know much about computer that's 1. RAM (perhaps) HDD size and the size of the screen. The rest is something you either get a bit of research into (It's easy to find benchmarks to relate "Oh I got this graphic card. Will this one be an upgrade?".

And even then they don't have a clue. They think memory is what size their hard drive is.

I don't believe I've ever heard of an All in One PC. What company is running that?

Multiple companies are now. Here's an example of an HP one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883147041

The one thing that truly annoys me about Mac owners. Something I have committed myself to never doing is saying "My Mac is not a PC. It's a Mac".

That slays me every time I hear that.

I hate it when I get infected. Back some years ago I was damn good at getting viruses. I believe I've had 3 different Trojan horses over a span of 2 years. I've become more careful now although.

So did you get the virus removed or simply reinstalled the computer?

Booted into Safe Mode, ran MalwareBytes and removed the forced in proxy on Mozilla, good to go. Also ran HijackThis and deleted some suspicious entries.

 

[Ferbian]

They have apprenticeships for that over there? Nice, I just randomly applied for a job at a compute store and ended up getting it. Now I work for the phone company and all, but I loved my previous job. Biggest issue was I wasn't getting paid enough.

It's a part of the education over here to become an IT Supporter I have to spend time at a company and time at a school. I just happened to be so lucky my uncle owns a computer company.

Eh any support nowadays is complete shit. Microsoft, Dell, Sony, etc. I hate calling any company for tech support. Except Buffalo products. They're actually good.

That's a debatable subject. I absolutely love Dells support.

And even then they don't have a clue. They think memory is what size their hard drive is.

Oh yes definitely. I heard someone thinking the hard disk was the computer.

Multiple companies are now. Here's an example of an HP one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883147041

Ah I see. I don't usually check that much on the new stuff on the marked. I check a lot as a part of my job to find out whether the computer I'm sitting with is worth repairing. Or whether I can get a computer equal in hardware specifications to match the current computer to a cheaper price than what it would cost for me to repair it.

That slays me every time I hear that.

Same here. I'm like "Fuck no dude Mac is a personal computer. *slaps with dictionary* PC = Personal computer!"

Booted into Safe Mode, ran MalwareBytes and removed the forced in proxy on Mozilla, good to go. Also ran HijackThis and deleted some suspicious entries.

Good good. I've never done much into the whole virus removing because I haven't had any since I truly got an understanding of it. But I would most likely run it through Safe Mode as well and perhaps run the Microsoft security essential program (If that's what it's called) or yes MalwareBytes. While MalwareBytes can be run through regular mode as well.

 

[Ty Burna]

It's a part of the education over here to become an IT Supporter I have to spend time at a company and time at a school. I just happened to be so lucky my uncle owns a computer company.

Nice, if it pays well refer me .

That's a debatable subject. I absolutely love Dells support.

I've had about as much luck with Dell's support as you've had with Sony's support. We'll leave it at htat.

Oh yes definitely. I heard someone thinking the hard disk was the computer.

It's worse as a internet tech, I tell someone to unplug their modem and they unplug the machine and I"m trying to figure out why the connection still shows up.

Ah I see. I don't usually check that much on the new stuff on the marked. I check a lot as a part of my job to find out whether the computer I'm sitting with is worth repairing. Or whether I can get a computer equal in hardware specifications to match the current computer to a cheaper price than what it would cost for me to repair it.

I keep up with advancing computer technology. Computers were originally just a hobby for me as I originally was going to school to be a psychologist. After I realized that computers were what I really wanted to do, I switched.

Good good. I've never done much into the whole virus removing because I haven't had any since I truly got an understanding of it. But I would most likely run it through Safe Mode as well and perhaps run the Microsoft security essential program (If that's what it's called) or yes MalwareBytes. While MalwareBytes can be run through regular mode as well.

Working at computer store I've had extensive hours on virus removal, and I have a plethora of virus removal programs. While I likely need to run my Hiren's disk to finish up clean up, I was in a rush to get my laptop back to working order as I was finishing something up work related. The virus that hit my laptop disabled Security Essentials and when I tried running MalwareBytes in normal mode, it said it was infected and blocked it from opening, thus the need to boot into safe mode to run it.

 

[Ferbian]

Nice, if it pays well refer me .

There's a few problems with that. We don't really need extra staff. And while we all probably speak just well English. We primarily speak Danish. But other than that I think you could've done quite well mate.

I've had about as much luck with Dell's support as you've had with Sony's support. We'll leave it at htat.

Yep let's do that. I guess it depends on the countries.

It's worse as a internet tech, I tell someone to unplug their modem and they unplug the machine and I"m trying to figure out why the connection still shows up.

I can imagine. It's quite a horror. We've had one that couldn't figure out how to install his operative system.

I keep up with advancing computer technology. Computers were originally just a hobby for me as I originally was going to school to be a psychologist. After I realized that computers were what I really wanted to do, I switched.

Yeah have to do what you want with your life. I got interested with it at age 12-13 because of my uncle as well as my mother working with it (my mother is a part of the reception part. administrating boss - She takes care of our salary and such).

I was offered to work at the place as a part time job when I was 13. I did that ever since. And I'm now working as an apprentice there on what is nearing my second year (2½ year education)

Working at computer store I've had extensive hours on virus removal, and I have a plethora of virus removal programs. While I likely need to run my Hiren's disk to finish up clean up, I was in a rush to get my laptop back to working order as I was finishing something up work related. The virus that hit my laptop disabled Security Essentials and when I tried running MalwareBytes in normal mode, it said it was infected and blocked it from opening, thus the need to boot into safe mode to run it.

Yeah it does help. My uncle is great at removing viruses. And build his companies reputation around it. We work with insurance cases mostly but we also have some company costumers as well which he has helped numerous times on removing viruses.

I acquired the single virus my uncle has failed to remove

And yeah okay then Safe Mode is a wonderful thing. At least Microsoft had something right going there.

 

[Ty Burna]

There's a few problems with that. We don't really need extra staff. And while we all probably speak just well English. We primarily speak Danish. But other than that I think you could've done quite well mate.

I can speak some German and Danish to me sounds somewhat similar to German (please don't murder me if I'm way off on it) and language wise I'm quick on learning new ones.

I can imagine. It's quite a horror. We've had one that couldn't figure out how to install his operative system.

Windows 7 has really simplified the installation process as far as the OS goes. The time it takes to install it has decreased significantly as well.

Yeah have to do what you want with your life. I got interested with it at age 12-13 because of my uncle as well as my mother working with it (my mother is a part of the reception part. administrating boss - She takes care of our salary and such).

My interest in computers started when I was younger. My family's first computer was a Windows 95 machine, and when something went wrong my dad would often fix it. I started to watch and learn what he did and once we upgraded to a Windows 98 machine, it was up to my dad and I to keep the machine cleaned up and in working order due to my brothers causing mass problems. My dad is the network administrator for the mechanic shop he's field supervisor for and so he gave me an old Pentium 2 machine that the shop no longer used. I added components to it and got XP working decently on it, and soon after received a Pentium III machine and did the same to that. I took classes in high school for A+ certification and that's really where my interest grew.

Yeah it does help. My uncle is great at removing viruses. And build his companies reputation around it. We work with insurance cases mostly but we also have some company costumers as well which he has helped numerous times on removing viruses.

I acquired the single virus my uncle has failed to remove

And yeah okay then Safe Mode is a wonderful thing. At least Microsoft had something right going there.

Removing viruses isn't even that difficult when you're equipped with the proper tools to remove them. The big key to that is keeping your virus and spyware removal software up to date and always keeping tabs on the newest and best software available. I do a lot of computer repair as side work and often times it's simple virus removal. Combofix often takes out the majority of what's infecting the machines followed up with a MalwareBytes scan and often times that will take care of the issue. This is why I want to setup workstations in my office because as it stands now I need to set up my KVM every time to do work. I don't need anything special, I found a site that has a lot of refurbished LCD screens that are cheap, pair that with a cheap mouse and keyboard set, set up my switch and power cables, and I should be good to go.

 

[Ferbian]

I can speak some German and Danish to me sounds somewhat similar to German (please don't murder me if I'm way off on it) and language wise I'm quick on learning new ones.

I wouldn't necessarily say that German and Danish resembles each other a lot. I have an easier time reading Dutch than German. But then again Dutch is a mix of English, German and Danish in the end really.

But Denmark have those Æ Ø Å letters that makes it a lot harder to deal with.

Windows 7 has really simplified the installation process as far as the OS goes. The time it takes to install it has decreased significantly as well.

I can't even remember how simple my Windows 7 installation was. I've always had an easy time of installing operative systems as a whole.

My interest in computers started when I was younger. My family's first computer was a Windows 95 machine, and when something went wrong my dad would often fix it. I started to watch and learn what he did and once we upgraded to a Windows 98 machine, it was up to my dad and I to keep the machine cleaned up and in working order due to my brothers causing mass problems. My dad is the network administrator for the mechanic shop he's field supervisor for and so he gave me an old Pentium 2 machine that the shop no longer used. I added components to it and got XP working decently on it, and soon after received a Pentium III machine and did the same to that. I took classes in high school for A+ certification and that's really where my interest grew.

I think the first one I had was a windows 98 computer. I spend time playing Pacman on it. But I'm not exactly sure.

I've always really been interested in computers cause I liked gaming. Odd transaction I know but also the fact that I had an uncle who was working with it kinda helped.

Only education towards computers I have is the one I'm working on now. Got some pretty good grades in this school period (we have 4 school periods. First is 20 weeks of school period. Then 10. Then 10 again. And then 5 weeks for the final one and the project that will function as the final exam).

Removing viruses isn't even that difficult when you're equipped with the proper tools to remove them. The big key to that is keeping your virus and spyware removal software up to date and always keeping tabs on the newest and best software available. I do a lot of computer repair as side work and often times it's simple virus removal. Combofix often takes out the majority of what's infecting the machines followed up with a MalwareBytes scan and often times that will take care of the issue. This is why I want to setup workstations in my office because as it stands now I need to set up my KVM every time to do work. I don't need anything special, I found a site that has a lot of refurbished LCD screens that are cheap, pair that with a cheap mouse and keyboard set, set up my switch and power cables, and I should be good to go.

It's difficult if you don't know how to work with it. I didn't. I got somewhat of a knowledge about it now. But nowhere near enough to remove a lot of it.

I always say that it makes it a lot easier if someone you know has knowledge in it. You can draw from their knowledge and learn it yourself.