Christmas Presents

[Hooman]

Ok, what did people get for Christmas?


I got:
 - A gift card to a restaurant I frequently eat lunch at. (Like say, 20 times a month).
 - A bus pass (very practical)
 - A gift card to a computer store
 - Money

The later two were promptly used to buy a new computer!  

I decided on a FoxConn Nano PC.

It's much more power efficient than my old computer (which is nice, as my room isn't air conditioned in the summer).
It's MUCH quieter, (although still easy to hear in a quiet room at night if the CPU has at least moderate load on it).
It's small. It's about the same size as an external harddrive I have. And it mounts to the back of my monitor.
It seems to have better graphics capability than my old machine.
It has USB 3.0.
And it boots to the login screen in about 17 seconds. I have an SSD in it. (120GB)  

And since it has an SSD, I wanted to upgrade to an OS that supports the TRIM command. I was debating between Windows 7, Windows 8, and Linux. Eventually I went with Linux after considering how much money I've been spending recently. That, and my install of Windows 7 at work has a really annoying bug in Windows Explorer concerning focus when you expand a folder. If it wasn't for that constant annoyance, I just might have still gone with Windows.


Oh, and I upgraded my monitor. From time to time I watch a movie on my computer, and my old monitor's limited resolution meant 1080p videos couldn't fit without being downsized. I usually stick with DVD quality movies, but the higher resolution stuff is becoming increasingly common. Plus, I now have access to a BluRay player, and a few movies have started to accumulate at home.

I was originally looking at the cheaper models that could manage at least 1080p resolution, but after spending lots of time looking at monitor specs I eventually decided to go up a little and get something larger that had built in speakers. It was noticeably more, but also on sale at a much larger discount. By that point though, I had sort of lost track of where I'd started, and didn't really have a good sense of how big the new monitor was in comparison to my old one. At least not until I got it home and opened the box. That's when I had a brief moment of "Oh dear, what have I done!". It's quite a noticeable difference when you upgrade from a 17 inch monitor to a 27 inch monitor.  :blink:

Had to move some stuff to get the new monitor to fit. So far it's instilled a sense of awe in all those who have beheld it. Quite pleasing to look at actually. Oh, and it has a VESA mount on the back, which meant I could mount my new computer there. It was definitely awkward getting the new computer and monitor home using public transit though.

The computer, with all additional components (memory, SSD) cost about $270. The monitor cost about $200.


Oh, and slightly before Christmas, I got myself an 8GB 4.3 inch Android tablet. I kinda of busted my old music player, and needed something new. It looks just like a cell phone, but without the monthly bills. It does have wireless though, and I've been able to install Skype on it, but I haven't setup or tested that yet. Works great as a music player though, and it can also take videos and sound recordings. The touch screen isn't the most sensitive though. It cost about $160.
 

[TH300]

Took you long to get a new computer. It seems, we have more active Linux users than Windows users at OPU, now :-). If you need help with Outpost 2 under Wine, just ask. It should just work, though.

I got an SSD. Made my system noticeably faster :-)

[CK9]

Well, hooman, at least you didn't go ever further and get one of those curved-screen monitors.  From what I've seen, they can really push you over your build budget  And is that one of the systems that runs the programs off of a central server, or is it all in that small machine?  It reminds me of the device I used when I was working for the university's technology services department.

I'm always tempted to add a linux partition on to my desktop, but for some reason I never do it :/

I got:

- Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet
- dragon sculpture wall sconce light
- dragon sculpture jewelry box (well, that's the best description for it, lol)
- dragon sculpture alarm clock (gee, is there a theme here? )
- a rather nice mechanical pocket watch
- a bunch of chocolate

What I wanted:
absolutely nothing.  Seriously, for the past 10 years now I've said that I don't want anything for Christmas or my birthday.  I'm starting to think people don't listen to me...

[Hooman]

Took you long to get a new computer.

It's the second computer I ever bought. The first one being a P4 from a second hand store for about $300. Finally I have a computer that wasn't previously owned by someone else.
Everything else was a hand-me-down. I think the most current of those was an 800MHz Celeron, which is still in use.

And I was drooling over having an SSD for ages. Still managed to keep the one I bought in a drawer for about a month before using it though.

I'm always tempted to add a linux partition on to my desktop, but for some reason I never do it

I tried dual booting when I was first experimenting with Linux. I almost never used it that way. Having to close all the things I was working on, and then (waiting to) reboot to the other OS was way too much of an inconvenience. These days, it's probably better to just use virtualization if you want to try something new. It tends to cut down on startup time (possibly due to the host OS caching the disk image in memory), and doesn't need to interrupt what you're doing. Or, install Linux on a separate machine that you connect to remotely. That's usually how I used Linux.

Well, hooman, at least you didn't go ever further and get one of those curved-screen monitors.

Huh. I didn't even know those existed. There are some interesting pictures on Google though. And price tags of $8000, and $6500. That does set you back a bit. The model I saw only had a vertical resolution of 900 pixels though. Plus, the review said there were slight traces of lines suggesting the monitor was composed of 4 independent display panels. And it took 200 watts of power in operation. I think I'll pass.

And to think flat screen monitors were all the rave just a little while ago.

And is that one of the systems that runs the programs off of a central server, or is it all in that small machine?

It's a complete standalone machine. Internally it seems to use some laptop form factor components, like the SODIMM memory chip in its single RAM slot, and the 2.5 inch harddrive/SSD slot. It even has wireless, although I tend to disable things like that. It's appearance does remind of some terminal systems I once saw at the university that did all the computing on a server, but it's not one of those.


I'm not surprised by the "theme" you have going on. Do you have any pictures? I'm kind of curious about the alarm clock.


Oh, and don't feel bad CK9, ... I got you exactly what you wanted!  
 

[Spikerocks101]

Nice comp Hooman. I have always had a bad habit of spending to much on computers, but recently decided to lay off buying the best. I think that is a sick device you got, and I personally was thinking of buying the Raspberry Pi and getting a simple Linux boot on it as a fun little computer. I didn't get anything for Christmas (cause, frankly, I don't really celebrate it) but I didn't use the seasons prices to buy myself some cheap goods (almost all from China... I think the words "Christmas" and "Chinese" are almost the same). I want a Dragon alarm clock, better then using my phone I'd bet.

[CK9]

...Or, install Linux on a separate machine that you connect to remotely...

Hmmm....can it work well if the linux machine is a laptop?  I still have my Dell Insperon 1000 that I was thinking of setting up as a data machine before I got an external drive.

Huh. I didn't even know those existed. There are some interesting pictures on Google though. And price tags of $8000, and $6500. That does set you back a bit. The model I saw only had a vertical resolution of 900 pixels though. Plus, the review said there were slight traces of lines suggesting the monitor was composed of 4 independent display panels. And it took 200 watts of power in operation. I think I'll pass.

It's a very interesting concept.  My dad was interviewing for a job with the first company to make them a while back, but theirs didn't show tracelines.  Don't know if that means a single panel or just that they were better at blending them.

Do you have any pictures?

there's always the catelogue pictures:
http://www.designtoscano.com/product/code/CL4387.do - sconce
http://www.designtoscano.com/product/code/CL2517.do - box
http://www.designtoscano.com/product/code/CL4905.do - clock


andthnks hooman XD

[Lukc]

I got… hum… a VGA cable?

 :unsure:

Well, that being said, whether the machine is a laptop doesn’t really change anything.

I’d also like to mention that Linux is not an OS, and that… well… I don’t know what OS (or OSes) you are all talking about. I guess you’re talking about Ubuntu or something close, but there’s no way to be sure. :/

[TH300]

I'd recommend to boot a live cd before installing a Linux based OS on the laptop. And if the laptop has no cd drive, you can probably use a usb stick instead.

[Hooman]

Hmm, those pictures were neat. Particularly the alarm clock.

I think my sister would have enjoyed something like that. She's had a bit of a dragon theme going on in the past. She also liked to collect various knives and blades. I believe she has a dragon hilted dagger somewhere.


Linux will certainly run on a laptop, but if you're using a machine for data storage, or as some kind of server, convenience tends to dictate that the machine be left on 24/7, or at least be very easy to turn on when you need it. Laptops are not the greatest for 24/7 operation. I believe that has some heat and longevity issues. Plus, they generally don't hold a whole lot of storage. But if you just want to try something out, it will work.


For servers, I prefer a large desktop case with room for lots of harddrives, and then using an underpowered CPU. I came across an Antec Three Hundred Two case that had 6 x 3.25" harddrive slots, and 2 x 2.5" harddrive/SSD slots, which I've been thinking of using for a file server. As my current file server machine is typically idle or very near idle the vast majority of the time, it won't really need a powerful CPU. Plus, since it's on 24/7, it makes sense to choose components with lower power requirements. Lower CPU clock rate generally means lower power consumption, so if you don't need the performance, it's often best to choose the chip with the lowest frequency you have available. The difference in power consumption can be substantial.

... but I should stop before I go off on too much of a tangent about power consumption. I've been reading into such topics over the last few months, and such a post has the potential to get rather long.

I got… hum… a VGA cable?

I got my mom a light bulb.
An LED lightbulb. She previously had one of those mercury filled compact fluorescent lights hanging over her bed, and she's pretty particular about things like mercury or other heavy metals. She's always reading health related material. At any rate, she seemed to rather enjoy the new light bulb. ... plus, the LED light is even higher efficiency than the compact fluorescent ones.  

I’d also like to mention that Linux is not an OS

I was being purposefully vague. I'm trying something a little new, and have also recently heard some questionable things about the particular flavour of Linux I'm trying, so I didn't want to essentially advertise it until I know more about it. ... but yes, it's Ubuntu. And apparently the most recent version (which I'm not using) has some defaults in it that are downright scary from a privacy perspective. It seems there's a new "feature" added to the Dash that people use to search their computer for applications and such. Now it will also send those search terms off over the network and return results from Amazon. Some additional criticism comes from that search term being unencrypted, so anyone along the network route can find out what you're supposedly searching your local computer for, and also a problem with adult related search results being returned. It also seems there's an agreement in place where Canonical, the company behind a lot of Ubuntu's development, is receiving financial compensation for this feature.

I'd recommend to boot a live cd before installing a Linux based OS on the laptop. And if the laptop has no cd drive, you can probably use a usb stick instead.

That's a good idea actually. I used a USB stick for installation on my machine. It was much faster than installing from an optical disk. Plus my new computer doesn't have an optical disk drive. It seems like optical disk drives are a dying breed these days. I haven't used the one on my computer in months, and haven't used it frequently in years. They're just too small, slow, and loud.

Mind you, the first time I tried to install from a USB stick, it somehow defaulted to installing the boot loader on the USB stick rather than the SSD. I had a bit of trouble figuring out why my computer wouldn't boot once I removed the USB stick.

I've also heard of some people using a USB stick as their primary OS drive. It's a cheap option if you don't need a lot of space or performance.
 

[CK9]

I would imagine that using the usb stick to hold the os would also make it so that you can technically take your computer anywhere as long as the host machine has a boot from usb option

[Lukc]

Yeah, if the computer is Intel-based (or at least has the same architecture ).

About Ubuntu, yes, it kind of became crappy. :/ And the Amazon stuff is not the first time they did something idiot. The way they imposed Unity without testing (or with minimal testing) for example was already a good sign of it. :/

If you want another user-friendly distribution, I suppose you should try out Fedora or something like that. The UI will be much different, though, and you’ll probably consider it as yet another new thing.

(the power consumption stuff is only true for CPUs of the same architecture and age, by the way. The ARM chips are much much more power efficient for sometimes equal or greater performances )

[Hooman]

I would imagine that using the usb stick to hold the os would also make it so that you can technically take your computer anywhere as long as the host machine has a boot from usb option

Pretty much, actually.


One of the reasons I wanted to use Ubuntu, is because it's used at work, so I figure skills and problem resolutions will be more transferable. I've used Fedora in the past, but it was a while ago. I probably wouldn't recognize it now.


I've heard ARM chips have much lower power consumption than x86 based chips, and are often used in mobile devices that are battery powered, such as phones. However I've also heard they're somewhat less powerful from a computational perspective. From what I gather, the ARM based chips appear to be in about the same ballpark as some Intel Atom chips. There's a fair bit of variance in power consumption even at that low end though, so I'm sure there's lots of wiggle room for things to stack up in favour of one or the other, depending on which exact model you choose. One comparison I looked at put the Atom at 2-3 times the performance of an ARM chip, but also having 2-3 times the power consumption. This doesn't mean much though without knowing what models were tested. There are atom chips with a TDP of less than 1W, and some with a TDP of 18W. I'm less familiar with ARM chips, but I heard of one design having of TDP of 3W. But of course TDP is measured differently by different companies, so it's a little hard to compare. But they do seem to be similar. I've also heard chips in Intel's Atom line and ARM CPUs have very similar performance/watt ratios.

Interestingly, I've heard ARM is scaling up to more powerful processors, and may move more into laptop and desktop like usage, while Intel continues to scale down to more power efficient processors, and is likely to move more into tablets and other portable devices. Should be interesting.