Computers

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
seems to me to be a very quick drain. unless you mean print speed.

Uh, I did. Joke wasn't clear.

[pretermitted_child]

Speed of light in furlongs per fortnight according to the Google Calculator.

And, what S^2 and G^3 really stand for.

[Atticus Grinch]

Putting "define:[your favorite word here]" into any Google search box is pretty cool, too.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
I'd discourage this. Looking for a printer that's good at printing photos and good at printing text and webpages etc. is like looking for a convertible sports car that can carry eight.

Inkjet printer manufacturers aren't in the business of selling printers. They're in the business of selling ink cartridges. At $25 a pop, you'll soon exceed the cost of the printer if you print anything of substance. Each page of text is money down the drain --- a very slow drain, but a drain nonetheless.

My advice: get a cheap home-duty laser printer ($170 to $300), and a dedicated 4x6 photo printer ($150). I recommend the Brother 1440 (tops in Consumer Reports, a magazine to which I actually subscribe --- online) and the HP PhotoSmart 145. Trust me, you'll never print a photo larger than 4x6, and if you need to, you should use an online photo service anyway.

If you want really good photos, go for the Epson 2200, which has 7 dyes and can do sizes up to 13x19 (or 13x44 if you like panaramas) suitable for framing. You'll probably spend about $700. If you are not into this, I would get a multipurpose HP or Epson, at least 6 dye if you can, but save the real photo printing for a professional photo lab. I have found that once you have the possibility of printing a decent 8x10 or putting an 800 x 600 pixel photo on the web, there is no longer any reason to deal with any kind of 4x6 except as a "proof".

But if you think you'll keep doing 4x6s out of habit or because you like them, go with Atticus' approach. I just no longer like them much at all.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by pretermitted_child
Speed of light in furlongs per fortnight according to the Google Calculator.

And, what S^2 and G^3 really stand for.

Thank you. This is excellent information.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by pretermitted_child
Speed of light in furlongs per fortnight according to the Google Calculator.

And, what S^2 and G^3 really stand for.

But, by the way, what about P^2?

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
But if you think you'll keep doing 4x6s out of habit or because you like them, go with Atticus' approach. I just no longer like them much at all.

Really?!? Around here, 4x6 is still the gold standard for albums and gift snapshots to grandparents etc. Giving someone a framed 8x10 would be seen as ostentatious, except mebbe in Hollywood.

I agree that more dyes are better, but I use a dedicated black/gray cartridge to print from my HP, since I use editing software to strip out color from digital shots to print to B&W. Otherwise I'd be throwing out expensive ink cartridges with only one or two empty chambers and the rest full to the brim.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Really?!? Around here, 4x6 is still the gold standard for albums and gift snapshots to grandparents etc. Giving someone a framed 8x10 would be seen as ostentatious, except mebbe in Hollywood.

I agree that more dyes are better, but I use a dedicated black/gray cartridge to print from my HP, since I use editing software to strip out color from digital shots to print to B&W. Otherwise I'd be throwing out expensive ink cartridges with only one or two empty chambers and the rest full to the brim.

What we do for grandma (when she isn't already entralled by her Ceiva, which takes care of much of the year) is get a plain paper album and print various sizes of photos, laid out with the kids' poetry and stories and such, and turn it into something that looks like a yearbook. It's really pretty easy and has a high impact, but is not something you can do with a 4x6 printer. The kids will also decorate the margins for her.

We also do 5x7s framed for her to put on furniture or 8x10s for her to hang on the wall, but both the 5x7s and 8x10s are generally by request only. But neither is ostentacious, and framed 4x6s are really kind of tiny (IMHO and all that jazz).


** Note, this post is for Atticus' benefit and not intended to respond to original question. No implication that NCS is likely to be delivering kids' photos to grandma is intended.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
What we do for grandma (when she isn't already entralled by her Ceiva, which takes care of much of the year) is get a plain paper album and print various sizes of photos, laid out with the kids' poetry and stories and such, and turn it into something that looks like a yearbook. It's really pretty easy and has a high impact, but is not something you can do with a 4x6 printer. The kids will also decorate the margins for her.

That makes sense. What's the verdict on the Ceiva? I recall looking into one for some distant grandparents who might be well-suited, but the up-front cost and TCO haven't come down as much as I'd hoped. I'd probably wind up paying both the $150 upfront and the $8/mo. Is it really worth it? If the answer's yes, are you paying, or is grandma? If you cancel the monthly, will it keep photos in memory, or does it turn into a boat anchor?

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
That makes sense. What's the verdict on the Ceiva? I recall looking into one for some distant grandparents who might be well-suited, but the up-front cost and TCO haven't come down as much as I'd hoped. I'd probably wind up paying both the $150 upfront and the $8/mo. Is it really worth it? If the answer's yes, are you paying, or is grandma? If you cancel the monthly, will it keep photos in memory, or does it turn into a boat anchor?

I think it becomes a boat anchor if you cancel the monthly, though somewhere I'd heard that there are now hacks available on the internet that will free the device from the website.

It's been a big hit. I pick up the monthly as well as the $150 up front, and its been worth it.

I think Ceiva's figured out that most of their competitors are selling very high resolution images free from the web at what are still outrageous prices (in the thousands), and that their resolution is really just fine, equivalent to a computer screen, and their cost looks good in comparison. I bet they don't come down until the big ones do, and that will happen as things like plasma tv also comes down, which is innovation none of the big companies want to see happen.

[Replaced_Texan]

I finally had time to set up my wireless network at home this weekend. I'm using a Linksys wireless-B router with four ports to connect to a Slipstream DSL modem and a PPPoE connection. My desktop is connected through an ethernet adaptor to the router, and my laptop is connected through a wireless-B card.

I would like to set up my Tivo to hook into the network, so I can finally get rid of the cord that goes from my telephone jack to my Tivo, and more importantly, so I don't have to unplug the DSL every time Tivo downloads information. (I've tried everything, and the only thing that works is just unplugging the DSL all together.)

Has anyone connected their Tivo to the wireless network in their homes, and if so, was it trouble, and how did you do it? Are you on a PPPoE connection or is your connection always on?

[mmm3587]

>I would like to set up my Tivo to hook into the network, so I can >finally get rid of the cord that goes from my telephone jack to >my Tivo, and more importantly, so I don't have to unplug the >DSL every time Tivo downloads information. (I've tried >everything, and the only thing that works is just unplugging the >DSL all together.)

The Tivo just wants a regular phone line to make an analog call. Just drop an extra line to it, you shouldn't have to unplug anything. If that doesn't work, call Tivo, but there's no reason it shouldn't. I wouldn't mess around with using the "phone" port on your DSL modem to attach the Tivo to. Attach it to a separate jack. If there isn't one nearby, get a splitter, put that into the wall, then put the filter into one side, and then Tivo into that, and the normal filterless DSL modem set-up on the otherside of the splitter.

>Are you on a PPPoE connection or is your connection always on?

Since I understand the Tivo just to need an internet connection through some USB card, the act of it querying the connection and trying to send information should cause the router to log in over PPPoE, and it shouldn't be a problem.

Since DirecTV fucks you with the additional uses, this is all speculation, though.

[Alex_de_Large]

For anyone interested, concourse E in the Ft. Lauderdale airport is one big-ass free wi-fi hotspot...

[notcasesensitive]

so my home computer is totally fucked up. I know that I need to take everything off, reformat, etc. assuming I can get whatever shit that is screwing it up off of the machine, what anti-virus and firewall do people recommend? I have Norton right now but the subscription has lapsed. Is it better to go buy a newer version (this one was bought probably 2 years ago) or does renewing the subscription do it? BTW, I have dsl, if that matters.

all of this is crucial information because I must regain my ability to take flinty's fake money at cards.

gracias.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by notcasesensitive
I have Norton right now but the subscription has lapsed. Is it better to go buy a newer version (this one was bought probably 2 years ago) or does renewing the subscription do it? BTW, I have dsl, if that matters.

It's probably not going to matter, because when you try to renew, its going to download the new version anyway. Cost of renewal and a new version is essentially the same.

Norton and McAfee are like Coke and Pepsi - about the same although some people insist on one or the other. The other choice is PCcillin from Trend Micro, which my friend who is head of security for a large corporation recommends. Any of them are going to run you $50 or so for the combination antivirus and firewall (most seem to come with a spamblocker too). There have been recent reports of Norton interfering with Java applets, such as some brokerage sites stock quote services.