My Computer Took A Dump

[deathmetal]

@billkay:
If you run into future questions of this nature -- or other geek stuff -- feel free to contact me. My email will be in your PM inbox shortly.
@jpmcwjr:
Last I checked, there was a decent hack to get the Mac OS to install on generic PC hardware. Not sure of its status now. The OS is based on BSD + Mach (from NextStep) but also has a number of top layers so performance is NOT comparable. I encourage you to check out BSD however, which as you note is a Unix and not a clone.

My hat's off to anyone who can build his own fast and secure computer.

Secure is generally a software question, and there are a few general things you can do to make that easier.
But building a computer itself, at this point, is pretty easy. Not far removed from assembling Ikea furniture (but without the goofy schmoo-man illustrations).

 

[ophiuchus]

Having owned, as well as servicing/repairing for multiple platforms, i understand the nature of billkay's experience. One of the advantages of one company controlling software and hardware development is that everything plays well together out of the box. The hardware is attractive and I only observe a below-average failure rate, the operating system is smooth, and applications run well. The Tim Cook-era Apple has been more sensitive to customers' need for product longevity recently. You do pay a premium for this (and I haven't always been able to afford it). A quality, generously spec'd (processing power, RAM, storage, GPU, etc.) box running Windows can be a perfectly reliable workhorse, though.
I would be happier if OS X supported touch screen technology (though I foresee this as inevitable), or I would be happier if iPad ran a version of iOS with a freakin' user accessible file system, (my phone does not need the latter), and iPad should be designed with more active memory ... Anywho, thus my enthusiastic appreciation for cigrmasters's new touchscreen tool/toy, though I tend to be a Mac and iOS user at home.

It's not that hard to build your own desktop computer. You don't save much money but if something does go out on it you can fix it yourself. That's where you save a lot of money.

You've awakened feelings of nostalgia. Also, this is another area where Windows and Linux offer greater flexibility.

 

[deathmetal]

One of the advantages of one company controlling software and hardware development is that everything plays well together out of the box.

My experience: buy good hardware, and it's not a problem.
The $400 Dell experience? ...not so great.

 

[jefff]

I am typing this on a 9 year old mac book.....still just humming along.

 

[deathmetal]

I have a couple of Dell desktops which are going on sixteen. To be fair, the hard drive was replaced in one of them. My machine before them lasted 11 years before I moved it on because it was too slow to be a decent server.
Modern computers are immensely reliable.

 

[dochudson]

I used to be a computer operator for an insurance company on an IBM 360 Model 20 back in the late 60's. It took over three hours every day just to do a simple update for the new policies that came in each day. If by chance the air conditioning went out, which it did on occasion, so did the computer!

That's a 360/40, 3420 tapes, 2311 drives and I'll bet there was an orange sign that simply said THINK around somewhere.

 

[phil67]

That's a 360/40, 3420 tapes, 2311 drives and I'll bet there was an orange sign that simply said THINK around somewhere.

Yes, I know, but I had a difficult time in finding any pictures of the exact computer setup that I worked on. It took up an entire large room aside from the room where the card punch operators worked. We also still had working the old IBM punch card machines that printed out the info on the card and the IBM card alpha/numerical sorting machines that were programed with hard wired plugboards.

 

[pappymac]

Here we go with another "I hate Mac" or "I hate PC" thread.

Personally, I have used Macs since 1986. I buy them configured with the hard drive and processors that I want. RAM can be updated to the max designed for each one by the user if they know how to read. I have never had a Mac go down from a virus or worm. As far as I can tell, my Macs have never been hacked into.
Currently the upgrades to the operating systems on Macs are free. You just have to invest the downtime which last week was about 30 minutes to do the upgrade.
Now, when it comes to building your own Mac, yeah, you're out of luck. In the 90's you could buy the individual pieces and build your own. I did that several times for the printing company I worked for back then because the parts were available and it was easy to replace motherboards, memory and processors.
I now own my own small business and I buy and use Macs as the desktop of choice because I know they will last. I generally use one until the application software can't be updated

anymore. I have one iMac that hasn't had the operating software upgraded in 4 years and I'm only now considering replacing it because the current design software I use doesn't operate as smoothly on the older operating system.
That being said, one of my grandkids will get the old iMac because it will still work for what they like to do.
So, take your PCs are soooo much better than Macs because they cost less opinion and put it on the shelf with your cheap a$$ pear wood pipes because they are so much better because they cost less than briar.

 

[dochudson]

Yes, I know, but I had a difficult time in finding any pictures of the exact computer setup that I worked on. It took up an entire large room aside from the room where the card punch operators worked. We also still had working the old IBM punch card machines that printed out the info on the card and the IBM card alpha/numerical sorting machines that were programed with hard wired plugboards.

We were big into j-35's and papertape.. we would call every grocery store every night and pull their restock orders.
That room full of keypunch girls made a happy hunting ground for a kid just back from RVN.

 

[mso489]

Anytime you can change hardware, operating system, and/or software, and get back into business without frustration is a happy day.

 

[deathmetal]

1. Remember to back up.
2. Smoke what you like.