- Joined
- Jan 26, 2002
- Messages
- 2,737
"For a new system, I agree with Ank that you're much better off not buying from a Computer Shop like Circuit City, butdirect from a manufacturer or perhaps even better from one of the places that makes custom systems (small places rather than big companies like Dell). For the latter you're probably better off getting a system put together by someone nearby or at least in Nevada, and maybe someone nearby you can advise?"
I'm with Beo and others here. If you can find a good local shop, they should be able to put together a system that utilizes standard components and configuration, that's easier to keep going or replace/upgrade parts. And they will be able to fix the thing locally if disaster strikes again. The hard part will be finding the right shop. But one that's been able to keep going the last few years is probably doing something right. I think a lot of the big manufacturers are squeezing costs by taking short cuts or limiting options by utilizing some non-standard parts (which could be hard to find if later replacement is needed). And spending too much time on coming up with new cases that look like they came from the Jetsons instead of insuring that the guts are reliable.
"I don't know if Compaq has changed, but they used to be somewhat proprietary, with onboard video and no way to change out the motherboard unless you got a new case. HP was bad too. Del was fine if you got a standard size case. "
A few years ago, both Compaq and HP had proprietary stuff, and HP had some extra annoying software laid over the top. Drove the IT guys where I worked crazy. Now that HP and Compaq have been slammed to ground business-wise, and merged who knows what things are like? Especially since the business plan seems to be to make money from selling printer consumables (HP spun off the lab/testing instruments division--which used to be top notch). I can't say more because I've no recent experience. But I'd think twice before buying either. The new management seems to be focused recently entirely on managing the stock, and not the company or its products. Bad for customers, IMO.
You've probably got too much Windows stuff to switch to a Mac or use Linux, but I suspect life would be a lot easier once the transition was made.
That a spill on the keyboard trashes the whole kit pretty much boggles my mind, but I suppose that anything is possible when there's a poltergeist living in the digital camera. Are they known to reproduce?
Good luck.
I'm with Beo and others here. If you can find a good local shop, they should be able to put together a system that utilizes standard components and configuration, that's easier to keep going or replace/upgrade parts. And they will be able to fix the thing locally if disaster strikes again. The hard part will be finding the right shop. But one that's been able to keep going the last few years is probably doing something right. I think a lot of the big manufacturers are squeezing costs by taking short cuts or limiting options by utilizing some non-standard parts (which could be hard to find if later replacement is needed). And spending too much time on coming up with new cases that look like they came from the Jetsons instead of insuring that the guts are reliable.
"I don't know if Compaq has changed, but they used to be somewhat proprietary, with onboard video and no way to change out the motherboard unless you got a new case. HP was bad too. Del was fine if you got a standard size case. "
A few years ago, both Compaq and HP had proprietary stuff, and HP had some extra annoying software laid over the top. Drove the IT guys where I worked crazy. Now that HP and Compaq have been slammed to ground business-wise, and merged who knows what things are like? Especially since the business plan seems to be to make money from selling printer consumables (HP spun off the lab/testing instruments division--which used to be top notch). I can't say more because I've no recent experience. But I'd think twice before buying either. The new management seems to be focused recently entirely on managing the stock, and not the company or its products. Bad for customers, IMO.
You've probably got too much Windows stuff to switch to a Mac or use Linux, but I suspect life would be a lot easier once the transition was made.
That a spill on the keyboard trashes the whole kit pretty much boggles my mind, but I suppose that anything is possible when there's a poltergeist living in the digital camera. Are they known to reproduce?
Good luck.
