With lots of help from Simon, I bought a new PC and even managed to find most of the drivers to get it up and running yesterday.
It's a second hand Compaq: P4 2.8GHz; 1 gig of ram; 40 gig hard drive (fine since I bought the 250 gig drive the previous weekend); DVD burner; ethernet; USB 2.0; Windows XP Pro; and a 17" monitor. Sweet. It's a lot faster than I though I'd be able to get, and the extra ram and XP Pro pushed the price up by about $200 each, so I'm pretty happy to have paid $920 for it. And the DVD burner will make it a lot cheaper to send tv shows to people. (Hint, hint.)
And I need to run VPC so that I can have a WinServer 2003 VPC with SharePoint Portal Server on it, as well as a machine to develop on.
Man, PCs are irritating! They don't just work! I -- well, okay, Simon has to go online for hours and look for all the s33krit drivers required to make it work. This is probably part of the problem with buying a second hand machine, and you're probably all saying, Duh, but this is my weblog, so stating the obvious and complaining about things that can't be fixed is one of my inalienable rights, dammit.
And it's a shame that ted's helpful advice came a little too late, but I don't think it would have changed much. From what I could tell from checking out some of the online suppliers, computers at a computer fair are around about three hundred dollars cheaper. I was also amazed by the number of cool things you can buy for under $30: Bluetooth dongles and USB hubs and internal drives and all kinds of other things, woo.
Now I've just got to worry about keeping the damn thing free of viruses and malware and all those other things. I have a two step plan though: only connect to the ADSL when necessary and Firefox.
* Mission accomplished.
February 27, 2005
February 24, 2005
New PC
I need a new PC and since I don't yet have the fabulous riches that
may at some future time be mine, it will probably need to be a fairly
cheap and nasty one.
Below is basically what I think I need, and I'm looking for specific
advice. (ted, Andrew, anyone?) The main requirement is that it can run
Virtual PC (hence the RAM), and not games.
CPU - fully compatible, at least 1GHz
Cache - whatever
Chassis - whatever
RAM: 750meg minimum, 1G preferred
HD: at least 40G
CD: whatever
DVD: not required
Audio: whatever
Graphics: low is better
Network: Ethernet 100
USB 2.0: required
Keyboard: only if included
Mouse: only if included
Monitor: at least 17" CRT. LCD not required.
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional
To me, this looks like a second hand machine. Maybe a government sale?
Anyway, I'm going to try to get one like this on the weekend, pending
any better advice. (I'm trying posting to my blog via email. Hope it
works!)
may at some future time be mine, it will probably need to be a fairly
cheap and nasty one.
Below is basically what I think I need, and I'm looking for specific
advice. (ted, Andrew, anyone?) The main requirement is that it can run
Virtual PC (hence the RAM), and not games.
CPU - fully compatible, at least 1GHz
Cache - whatever
Chassis - whatever
RAM: 750meg minimum, 1G preferred
HD: at least 40G
CD: whatever
DVD: not required
Audio: whatever
Graphics: low is better
Network: Ethernet 100
USB 2.0: required
Keyboard: only if included
Mouse: only if included
Monitor: at least 17" CRT. LCD not required.
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional
To me, this looks like a second hand machine. Maybe a government sale?
Anyway, I'm going to try to get one like this on the weekend, pending
any better advice. (I'm trying posting to my blog via email. Hope it
works!)
February 23, 2005
Gmail invites up for grabs
I was going to post about all the bazillions of things that I have to do, but instead, I'll just say: I have a bunch of GMail invites. If you'd like a GMail account, just ask me. First come, first served but since I have a bunch of 'em, go crazy.
I quite like how GMail handles email as "conversations" rather than inbox vs outbox. And a gig of space doesn't hurt either. But if you haven't heard much about GMail, you should probably be aware that some people are deeply concerned with what Google is doing with your mail, including how much information they are extracting about you to create targeted advertising. And they use cookies to track your use of Google while you're using GMail. And just because you delete an email doesn't mean it's gone from their servers. And so on.
Personally, I read their privacy page pretty carefully, and I'm okay with it.
I quite like how GMail handles email as "conversations" rather than inbox vs outbox. And a gig of space doesn't hurt either. But if you haven't heard much about GMail, you should probably be aware that some people are deeply concerned with what Google is doing with your mail, including how much information they are extracting about you to create targeted advertising. And they use cookies to track your use of Google while you're using GMail. And just because you delete an email doesn't mean it's gone from their servers. And so on.
Personally, I read their privacy page pretty carefully, and I'm okay with it.
February 22, 2005
My list of demands
I went to see a financial advisor today, and it was pretty interesting. I'll be calling him Mr Knows His Shit.
I think my favourite bit was when I'd explained my current expenses and my new income, and Mr KHS half-laughed as he said, "What are we going to do with all this money?" And I laughed too, because I don't know.
Even taking into account the previously mentioned Japan trip, spending $5-7k on a new computer (which is a shitload), and paying off bills and insurance and blah blah, there's still an awful lot of money coming my way.
"What do you want?" Mr KHS asked. And, dear reader, I don't know.
When he asked, I had to say I don't know what I want now. I don't know what I want in three to seven years. And I don't know what I want to do in thirty years when my super becomes available.
But since then, I've been thinking about it, and I have a list.
1. I want to be happy.
1a. I want to have someone to be happy with.
2. I want to not have to worry about money so much.
Done. My "don't want" list is much longer. A car. A house. Jewellery. Stock. Holidays (as a rule). I don't want to get married. I don't want a house full of expensive or matching stuff.
I guess I could add a bunch of other stuff to my wanted list (a new VCR, work clothes, to give more away) but really, those are relatively minor, in the (grand) scheme of (expensive) things.
Isn't that kind of weird? That I haven't thought ahead? Even when I had a full-time, permanent job? No planning. Man, that sucks. Must plan.
I wonder if this means I'm finally going to be getting my shit together. In a similar vein, I wonder if this exact same thing happened to Alix, about five years ago. And I wonder how it's working out for her.
Maybe I should talk myself into wanting a house. I really do love what Dave and Fiona are doing with theirs.
I think my favourite bit was when I'd explained my current expenses and my new income, and Mr KHS half-laughed as he said, "What are we going to do with all this money?" And I laughed too, because I don't know.
Even taking into account the previously mentioned Japan trip, spending $5-7k on a new computer (which is a shitload), and paying off bills and insurance and blah blah, there's still an awful lot of money coming my way.
"What do you want?" Mr KHS asked. And, dear reader, I don't know.
When he asked, I had to say I don't know what I want now. I don't know what I want in three to seven years. And I don't know what I want to do in thirty years when my super becomes available.
But since then, I've been thinking about it, and I have a list.
1. I want to be happy.
1a. I want to have someone to be happy with.
2. I want to not have to worry about money so much.
Done. My "don't want" list is much longer. A car. A house. Jewellery. Stock. Holidays (as a rule). I don't want to get married. I don't want a house full of expensive or matching stuff.
I guess I could add a bunch of other stuff to my wanted list (a new VCR, work clothes, to give more away) but really, those are relatively minor, in the (grand) scheme of (expensive) things.
Isn't that kind of weird? That I haven't thought ahead? Even when I had a full-time, permanent job? No planning. Man, that sucks. Must plan.
I wonder if this means I'm finally going to be getting my shit together. In a similar vein, I wonder if this exact same thing happened to Alix, about five years ago. And I wonder how it's working out for her.
Maybe I should talk myself into wanting a house. I really do love what Dave and Fiona are doing with theirs.
February 20, 2005
Music, ethernet, financial advisors and so on in that fashion
Simon's been finding cool music lately. ted in particular might like this: Rodeohead This link will probably only last a week, but since it's free... http://www.yousendit.com
Also, did you know that you can share your ADSL connection between your eMac and a Windows XP box by just connecting them with an ethernet cable? Me either. Damn, it's just that easy.
This is a good sign for when I get a new pc. I kind of wanted to get one this weekend, but since there wasn't a computer fair on, opted for an external 250 gig drive instead. Maybe I'll wait and buy a laptop to reduce tax. Would that be wise? Who knows. I gotta get me a financial advisor who knows what they're talking about, contractually speaking. And I probably should get a mobile.
And one last thing in stream of consciousness blogging: I have a new email address. firstname.j.lastname@gmail.com (You'll need to put my actual first and last names in.) I'm going to use this one for contractual type stuff, but y'all can write to me there if you like.
Also, did you know that you can share your ADSL connection between your eMac and a Windows XP box by just connecting them with an ethernet cable? Me either. Damn, it's just that easy.
This is a good sign for when I get a new pc. I kind of wanted to get one this weekend, but since there wasn't a computer fair on, opted for an external 250 gig drive instead. Maybe I'll wait and buy a laptop to reduce tax. Would that be wise? Who knows. I gotta get me a financial advisor who knows what they're talking about, contractually speaking. And I probably should get a mobile.
And one last thing in stream of consciousness blogging: I have a new email address. firstname.j.lastname@gmail.com (You'll need to put my actual first and last names in.) I'm going to use this one for contractual type stuff, but y'all can write to me there if you like.
Spider!
Xopher has kindly lent me the digital camera that he hasn't used since his sister gave him after she found that she wasn't using it... So it's been two years since anyone used it.
It's quite cool. After some initial futzing about with settings and the book and the battery and so on, I used it to take a picture -- of a giant spider!
Waaargh!
This giant spider was originally in my room. Since I hate spiders in my room, I sprayed it with some bug spray. Actually, I sprayed it with a lot of bug spray. It dropped down behind one of my book cases, and I figured, no problem. It would take a few minutes to die and I would come across its giant corpse at some future stage.
But it didn't die. It hauled itself from behind the bookcase, out of my room, down the hallway, into the hallway cupboard briefly, back out into the kitchen, around behind the oven and back out again. I spent the whole time convinced that it would crawl behind something and have the fucking decency to die, but no. I finally got sick of not knowing where it might start crawling from next, and decided to scare it out onto the patio and then the garden.
By this time, I was kind of awed by its tenacity, and completely unwilling to either poison it further or squash it. (For one thing, it would have left a hell of a mess. And what if it still didn't die? A zombie, half-crushed spider would have even more reason to menace me.)
So I grabbed a handy broom and started thumping the ground near by, at which point it reared up on its back legs and exposed its fucking huge bitey spider jaws. I went to get the camera, and spent the next ten minutes or so trying to photograph it near something to show scale. There are more photos, but this is the least blurry of them.
This is easily the biggest spider I ever saw that wasn't safely in a zoo somewhere. Last time I saw it, it was heading into the garden. The rate it moves, it could well be back in my room by now... Freaky!
Also: I'm going to take the job. I give two weeks' notice on Monday. They're not giving me LWOP, even though I did my best to talk them into it. "Their loss," is a fairly common reaction to this news. Exciting new job! Did I mention it's the same place that Dave works? I don't think he even knows yet...
It's quite cool. After some initial futzing about with settings and the book and the battery and so on, I used it to take a picture -- of a giant spider!
Waaargh!
This giant spider was originally in my room. Since I hate spiders in my room, I sprayed it with some bug spray. Actually, I sprayed it with a lot of bug spray. It dropped down behind one of my book cases, and I figured, no problem. It would take a few minutes to die and I would come across its giant corpse at some future stage.
But it didn't die. It hauled itself from behind the bookcase, out of my room, down the hallway, into the hallway cupboard briefly, back out into the kitchen, around behind the oven and back out again. I spent the whole time convinced that it would crawl behind something and have the fucking decency to die, but no. I finally got sick of not knowing where it might start crawling from next, and decided to scare it out onto the patio and then the garden.
By this time, I was kind of awed by its tenacity, and completely unwilling to either poison it further or squash it. (For one thing, it would have left a hell of a mess. And what if it still didn't die? A zombie, half-crushed spider would have even more reason to menace me.)
So I grabbed a handy broom and started thumping the ground near by, at which point it reared up on its back legs and exposed its fucking huge bitey spider jaws. I went to get the camera, and spent the next ten minutes or so trying to photograph it near something to show scale. There are more photos, but this is the least blurry of them.
This is easily the biggest spider I ever saw that wasn't safely in a zoo somewhere. Last time I saw it, it was heading into the garden. The rate it moves, it could well be back in my room by now... Freaky!
Also: I'm going to take the job. I give two weeks' notice on Monday. They're not giving me LWOP, even though I did my best to talk them into it. "Their loss," is a fairly common reaction to this news. Exciting new job! Did I mention it's the same place that Dave works? I don't think he even knows yet...
February 17, 2005
Life decision... pending
Short summary: I'm being headhunted for twice as much money (in my hand). The job will be cool (tech + responsibility + opportunity). Current job is teh suk (--opportunity + --satisfaction + --responsibility).
But the new job is a six month contract, so that makes it a bit of a risk. But I'm going to try to get leave without pay from my current job, which would be a great safety net. I'm talking to someone about that tomorrow.
Either way, I think I'm going to give two weeks' notice on Monday. Eep!
Because I have this plan. I can work at the new job for six months, while saving money furiously. Then at the end of six months, if they're going to offer me another contract, I take a month off and go to Japan. (If ted was in fact serious about letting me visit.) If they're not, then I either return to my current job if I get LWOP, or else live off my Japan money until I get another job. I also really want to finish my MCAD during the six months. And maybe even start an MCSD (solutions developer).
But I come out of the six month contract with heaps more hands-on experience with SharePoint. This would be extra neat, as SharePoint experience is, allegedly, very much worth having. (It's the reason I'm being offered the current contract, for instance.)
Also, for those gentle readers who have been around for a while, it's funny to think that the Platitudinal Presenter may end up being correct about my earning power. Not that I'm where she said I would be yet, but I'm a hell of a lot closer than I was on Monday. Damn, this is going very fast.
PS. Twice as much money!
But the new job is a six month contract, so that makes it a bit of a risk. But I'm going to try to get leave without pay from my current job, which would be a great safety net. I'm talking to someone about that tomorrow.
Either way, I think I'm going to give two weeks' notice on Monday. Eep!
Because I have this plan. I can work at the new job for six months, while saving money furiously. Then at the end of six months, if they're going to offer me another contract, I take a month off and go to Japan. (If ted was in fact serious about letting me visit.) If they're not, then I either return to my current job if I get LWOP, or else live off my Japan money until I get another job. I also really want to finish my MCAD during the six months. And maybe even start an MCSD (solutions developer).
But I come out of the six month contract with heaps more hands-on experience with SharePoint. This would be extra neat, as SharePoint experience is, allegedly, very much worth having. (It's the reason I'm being offered the current contract, for instance.)
Also, for those gentle readers who have been around for a while, it's funny to think that the Platitudinal Presenter may end up being correct about my earning power. Not that I'm where she said I would be yet, but I'm a hell of a lot closer than I was on Monday. Damn, this is going very fast.
PS. Twice as much money!
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