Great Computing Links

For Computer Builders

I am one of those who chooses to build my own computer. Sometimes, I wonder how many others there are out there that do the same. For those who build and those who buy systems, here are a few great links to computer suppliers, specialists and builders. Why not check them out.

Memory and more

Compunation - one of the first companies that I dealt with. Provides great hardware at competitive prices.

TigerDirect - have dealt with Tiger a lot and am happy with the service.

AnalogX - comprehensive site for software, music, information & technology

Tom's Hardware Guide - covers a lot of hardware

Internet Traffic Report - interesting up-to-date information

Although my personal preference is for Intel-based systems, for those who dare not, here is an AMD Athlon Builder Guide, if you are so inclined to build one yourself

Free Software

For a brief review/overview of some software that I use and recommend, please follow this link.

Software, Hardware and Electronics Reviews

For many user reviews of all things computer, software and electronic, link to ReviewStream and reap the benefit of actual user reviews on a wide variety of products before making a decision about any item you may be shopping for in the future. This is an excellent site to which you can contribute your own opinions, if you wish, and make some money doing it. I recommend having a good look at ReviewStream for unbiased opinions based on actual experience.

Internet Connection Speed and Cost Issues

North America is pushing to have the majority of its population connected to the internet very soon. I am sure that the rest of the world is also well on its way to accomplishing this. The cost of DSL and cable connections to the internet have been dropping somewhat over the last few years and it is hard to imagine that anyone who connects to the internet these days connects at a speed of less than 25 or 30 kbps, if not 300 to 500 kbps.

However, there may be areas where the higher-speed service is not available (it is a big continent with many square miles of rural living). For those without access to these higher speeds, or those restricted by budget, there are internet service providers with plans that give much faster dialup connections than previously available, with apparently more reliability, for $10 to $15 per month. One of these is PeoplePC. According to the information on their website, PeoplePC has over 10,000 local access numbers, which I believe are for locations within the USA. In addition, PeoplePC has a promotion in place that will even let you try the service for free for one month. If you are wishing you had more speed when you are on the internet, have a look and read the fine print too.

Remote Backup

Remote backup of data used to be something that only big-budget corporations could afford or consider because the cost of the high-speed connection that would be necessary to implement a practical remote backup solution was not generally available to the consumer but was already a requirement for the corporation and was a "given", so to speak. In addition, the high cost of drive space (and the rental of it as well) used to be a problem for the average computer user.

Now that the drive costs are low and higher connection speeds are more commonplace, the option for remote backup becomes available. Why remote backup when drives are so inexpensive? Companies that specialize in this service (remote backup) ensure that they have sufficient redundancy in their systems that the chance of losing data through any forseeable minor or major system (or other) disaster is miniscule compared to a personal computer owner's only brand new hard drive failing or even the secondary drive that may not be new and is used for data only biting the dust. Even given the reliability of today's hard drives, they really don't last forever.

What about the security of remote backup? If you would like to know more, when you visit Mozy Remote Backup, be sure to click on the blog link. There is an article there that will explain the enhanced level of encryption (448-bit) that they use to keep data safe. It sounds absolutely unbreakable in any meaningful timeframe.

What about cost? Here's a good one - if you want, Mozy Remote Backup will backup up to 2GB for free. That's a deal worth checking out.

Some Random Comments on the State of Documentation

When I run across a useful site, for whatever project I am involved in, I appreciate and bookmark that site, sometimes feeding back to the webmaster (occasionally with a suggestion, or a compliment, or even a correction). The tool that we have in the internet is a special one in that it is aiding (or promoting) the transition to change. Over the past few years, we have slowly been lead willingly down an unfamiliar path that will ultimately allow us to function in an ever-more-quickly changing world. This sounds a bit peculiar but I find myself realizing that even some of the reference material to which we can refer is non-static and changing, being refined, enhanced, and expanded possibly from one day to the next. This is both advantageous and confusing.

I am sure there are many occurrences each day where the paper document is out-of-date whereas the electronic copy is more recent and valid. It is interesting and exciting to follow the development of data handling. We live in a world where the quantity of data being generated could only be handled by computer. The sheer quantity makes review at detail level for all records by humans an historical idea no longer useful. Just think about the organization of your own personal information and records. If one keeps all "significant" data that one generates or receives in a lifetime, even this is not a datastore that one would look forward to searching without a sound search method. Hence the importance of great search algorithms and intelligent filtering. I am sure that this documentation transition to a full electronic period (where security and trust are no longer doubted) will be a most challenging accomplishment to finally achieve. I think we have our hands full with this one.

Exciting Software Developments

Google has now (2006-Jun-12), after its one year anniversary, released a new beta version of Google Earth. I have been fortunate enough to try this great piece of software. The interface has been enhanced, making navigation even better. With the increased high resolution data available now (even Chalk River, Ontario is covered), it is very easy to spend hours browsing the globe. I can't say enough about this great project and the success it has seen, no doubt because of some great programmers and a far-reaching company progressiveness. Kudos to Google, again.

Concerning Web Site Developement

As with probably all those wanting a website of their own, I quickly tired of (and used) the 5 MB limit imposed by my ISP. I could have enhanced my service for more money per month but opted to look for a better route. In my searching I came across a company called StartLogic. This company offered amazing amounts of disk space, huge traffic limits and more features than I could use at the time for just a handful of $/month. I signed with StartLogic two years ago (2006) and have been extremely happy with the service and the cost. I have yet to use the majority of tools and applications available from them but they are there if I need them. I would recommend this forward-thinking company to anyone requiring a web hosting service. Click on the advertisement in the sidebar for the latest deal (excellent pricing).

My efforts in developing this site have been greatly simplified by tutorials and reference information provided by an excellent website - W3 Schools. The site is easy to navigate, has a wealth of information and tutorials on HTML, XML, CSS, etc. If you are a novice site builder (or not), you owe it to yourself and your visitors to use W3 Schools. 

My early experience with WSIWYG page editors provided a quick way to start my site but it seemed I usually ended up looking at the code itself (text) to sort problems out. Because of this, I have gravitated towards coding manually in order to keep the coding clean and lean. No doubt there are better WSIWYG editors available than I was using. One could try Nvu which is FREE editor that seems to work well. However, as looking at the underlying code gives one a more complete understanding of how HTML works, and I needed to have confidence in the page coding, I inevitably moved to a text-based editor.

Now I don't call myself an html expert (far from it) and I am sure the coding of this site is not optimum but the education I am receiving from W3 Schools (for free) combined with the excellent tools provided in the Coffee Cup free editor, and discussions with various, knowledgeable people (not the least of which is my son Alexander) have enabled me to get this site to this stage with very little expense (albeit with many, many hours of devotion to the task). Although I know that I have only just scratched the surface of the web (and of the tools included in the Coffee Cup editor), the great thing I am finding is that the process is exciting (and the simple coding is coming much more naturally now). To be learning quickly again at this stage in life makes me very happy.