OT: Technology and Geek Stuff Thread

[Coop]

looks like your OS install corrupted CG - do you have your data backed up?

[CGVT]

Yeah, it's backed up, Coop. We really don't need anything off of the computer-just want it to run. The kids use it to surf and play some games.

It is about 6 years old ( maybe older) and is running XP (it didn't have XP when we got it, we added it)

I imagine that it is time to replace it, but if it is possible to squeeze some more use out of it...

[Drew]

Last resort, but if you don't need anything off the computer, you can always reload XP. It will dump everything off your computer for you, but you just start over. BTDT.

[The Ken]

Yeah, it's backed up, Coop. We really don't need anything off of the computer-just want it to run. The kids use it to surf and play some games.

It is about 6 years old ( maybe older) and is running XP (it didn't have XP when we got it, we added it)

I imagine that it is time to replace it, but if it is possible to squeeze some more use out of it...

if it is backed up, then stick in the windows xp cd, run the SECOND repair, not the first repair you see the SECOND. If this works some apps will need to be reloaded but your profile and many of your apps will be fine.

That error is typically bad memory which I can believe after 6 years or a drivers, the windows repair should take care of that. You can get hdd errors mentioning bad pool header.

[CGVT]

Thanks. We'll give it a shot.

[Malto Marko]

<<<<<scratching my head and wondering how did I get so old and not keep in touch with the puter thingy>>>>>>

.....as far as cell phones.....I get laughed at with the one I use because it is use it to make calls, not be my puter away from home.......

I am used to being laughed at but soon, I will want to upgrade to the latest and greatest.

Starting with phone. Currently with Verizon but, the Droid interests me and can get one with a better plan from Mobil 1 who claims to have G4.

Any suggestions ( and speak in English so an old fart can understand.)?

[Panoptes]

Will Google's Online Operating System Revolutionize the Computer?
*By Blake Snow, Published October 28, 2010, FoxNews.com

That big old hard drive in your computer? Google says you don?t need it anymore. The company is also betting you won't need that Windows, Macintosh or Linux stuff either. No, Google wants you to access, operate, and edit all your files on the Internet.

To help with that, the company has developed a lightweight operating system of its own, the first new competition for Windows and Macs in years. It's called Chrome OS. And it could have a profound effect on the way we work with computers.

You won't be able to put it on your current PC. But Google wants it to power your NEXT computer.

And because it's based almost entirely on the Internet, Chrome is smart and superfast. No more ?Where did I save that file?? No more computer slowdowns. No more crashes?

?Today?s operating systems were designed in an era where there was no web,? Google spokesman Eitan Bencuya told FoxNews.com. ?Google Chrome OS is designed for people who spend most of their time on the web. It?s our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be."

What does that entail? Speed, simplicity and security, Bencuya said. For example, there's one key change that's completely invisible -- but you'll spot it almost instantly. The Windows and Macintosh operating systems load everything first, which hogs precious memory, even if a browser is all you use. Bencuya calls this approach ?decades old.?

Chrome OS assumes you?re always in your browser -- which is the access point for most of your files anyway, right? Web pages, e-mails, documents on Google Docs, photos stored at Flickr, video chats, streaming music from Pandora ... most of what you do is online, isn't it? Skip the traditional desktop and save time, simplicity and memory, Google argues. And because it doesn?t load a bunch of background stuff, Chrome OS boots almost instantly. Early demos Google showed me reveal Chrome OS booting in 7 seconds or less -- significantly faster than the traditional operating systems from Microsoft and Apple.

Google underscored the point in a recent promotional video, in which the Internet giant estimates that the average desktop user spends 90 percent of his time in a browser -- more than enough to justify the use of a web-only desktop.

If Apple or Microsoft are concerned by these stats, they aren't talking. Neither Microsoft nor Apple were immediately available for comment when contacted by FoxNews.com. Maybe with good reason. Clay Wood, chief technology officer at Fogo Data Center (a company that sells computing power through the Internet, much as a power company sells electricity) argued that Google's lightweight system -- actually a return to computing paradigms from the 1960s -- may be the wave of the future.

?In a way, Chrome OS comes full circle in how we used to access computer files in the '50s and '60s, logging into a centralized mainframe computer (i.e. the Internet) with a dumbed-down computer to do your work,? said Clay Wood, chief technology officer at Fogo Data Center, which sells "cloud" computing as a service.

Google says that the "back to the future" approach provides a significant security advantage. Instead of worrying about what kind of scary viruses might overrun your local computer, Chrome OS leaves security to the people hosting websites and the online applications the operating system uses.

Google itself hosts several apps, such as g-mail and docs, and the company runs anti-virus programs on its server before letting you view any hosted files. Furthermore, since there?s really no local files to corrupt, your computer stays safe; it?s merely a window to the Internet, after all.

Even Wood agrees that most PC users already spend a majority of their time online. ?If pulled from the network, most computers wouldn?t even be used,? he admits. ?Even in many business environments.? Yet a web-only desktop such as Chrome OS is only as good as the Internet apps it has access to.

?There?s a lot you can do on the cloud, but there?s also a lot you still can?t do,? says Wood, noting a lack of web-based accounting, production and specialty software. Google?s Bencuya argues that robustness and availability is getting better every day. ?You?re already seeing a lot of functionality moving to the web, including both video and photo editing,? he told FoxNews.com. ?The gap between personal computing and server-side computing is closing.?

Even that won?t put Chrome OS entirely in the clear, though. Support for odd gadgets, compatibility with Microsoft and Apple docs and programs, and offline access present different sets of problems. While Google promises offline access to documents, mp3s, photos and other multimedia files, it?s unclear how much access the operating system will provide. In other words, how dumbed down will it be offline?

?PC enthusiasts will struggle with it,? Woods admits, citing the challenge Google will face from the vast array of headphones, graphics cards, fancy keyboards, microphones, thumb drives and more. ?It?ll be interesting to see how Google will handle that,? he said.

Perhaps the company won?t have to. In a very un-Google like move, Google announced that Chrome OS will be available only on newly sold machines -- that means no free downloads from the Internet. So how can you get it -- and how much will it cost?

"We?ll have more to share before the end of the year," Bencuya told FoxNews.com. But Bencuya refused to say exactly when this year the OS would arrive.

Whenever it does arrive, the real effect of the lightweight Chrome operating system will be felt in how well it catches on with users -- but the concept of a browser-only operating system is eye-opening.

?Ultimately, Chrome OS can already be achieved by staying in your browser 100 percent of the time,? Woods noted. ?In that sense, it?s not really doing anything new. It?s just simplifying the experience.?

[Newbomb Turk]

Google says that the "back to the future" approach provides a significant security advantage. Instead of worrying about what kind of scary viruses might overrun your local computer, Chrome OS leaves security to the people hosting websites and the online applications the operating system uses.

yeap, trust google with every small peice of your private life, what harm can come from that ??

[The Ken]

Will Google's Online Operating System Revolutionize the Computer?
*By Blake Snow, Published October 28, 2010, FoxNews.com

That big old hard drive in your computer? Google says you don?t need it anymore. The company is also betting you won't need that Windows, Macintosh or Linux stuff either. No, Google wants you to access, operate, and edit all your files on the Internet.

To help with that, the company has developed a lightweight operating system of its own, the first new competition for Windows and Macs in years. It's called Chrome OS. And it could have a profound effect on the way we work with computers.

You won't be able to put it on your current PC. But Google wants it to power your NEXT computer.

And because it's based almost entirely on the Internet, Chrome is smart and superfast. No more ?Where did I save that file?? No more computer slowdowns. No more crashes?

?Today?s operating systems were designed in an era where there was no web,? Google spokesman Eitan Bencuya told FoxNews.com. ?Google Chrome OS is designed for people who spend most of their time on the web. It?s our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be."

What does that entail? Speed, simplicity and security, Bencuya said. For example, there's one key change that's completely invisible -- but you'll spot it almost instantly. The Windows and Macintosh operating systems load everything first, which hogs precious memory, even if a browser is all you use. Bencuya calls this approach ?decades old.?

Chrome OS assumes you?re always in your browser -- which is the access point for most of your files anyway, right? Web pages, e-mails, documents on Google Docs, photos stored at Flickr, video chats, streaming music from Pandora ... most of what you do is online, isn't it? Skip the traditional desktop and save time, simplicity and memory, Google argues. And because it doesn?t load a bunch of background stuff, Chrome OS boots almost instantly. Early demos Google showed me reveal Chrome OS booting in 7 seconds or less -- significantly faster than the traditional operating systems from Microsoft and Apple.

Google underscored the point in a recent promotional video, in which the Internet giant estimates that the average desktop user spends 90 percent of his time in a browser -- more than enough to justify the use of a web-only desktop.

If Apple or Microsoft are concerned by these stats, they aren't talking. Neither Microsoft nor Apple were immediately available for comment when contacted by FoxNews.com. Maybe with good reason. Clay Wood, chief technology officer at Fogo Data Center (a company that sells computing power through the Internet, much as a power company sells electricity) argued that Google's lightweight system -- actually a return to computing paradigms from the 1960s -- may be the wave of the future.

?In a way, Chrome OS comes full circle in how we used to access computer files in the '50s and '60s, logging into a centralized mainframe computer (i.e. the Internet) with a dumbed-down computer to do your work,? said Clay Wood, chief technology officer at Fogo Data Center, which sells "cloud" computing as a service.

Google says that the "back to the future" approach provides a significant security advantage. Instead of worrying about what kind of scary viruses might overrun your local computer, Chrome OS leaves security to the people hosting websites and the online applications the operating system uses.

Google itself hosts several apps, such as g-mail and docs, and the company runs anti-virus programs on its server before letting you view any hosted files. Furthermore, since there?s really no local files to corrupt, your computer stays safe; it?s merely a window to the Internet, after all.

Even Wood agrees that most PC users already spend a majority of their time online. ?If pulled from the network, most computers wouldn?t even be used,? he admits. ?Even in many business environments.? Yet a web-only desktop such as Chrome OS is only as good as the Internet apps it has access to.

?There?s a lot you can do on the cloud, but there?s also a lot you still can?t do,? says Wood, noting a lack of web-based accounting, production and specialty software. Google?s Bencuya argues that robustness and availability is getting better every day. ?You?re already seeing a lot of functionality moving to the web, including both video and photo editing,? he told FoxNews.com. ?The gap between personal computing and server-side computing is closing.?

Even that won?t put Chrome OS entirely in the clear, though. Support for odd gadgets, compatibility with Microsoft and Apple docs and programs, and offline access present different sets of problems. While Google promises offline access to documents, mp3s, photos and other multimedia files, it?s unclear how much access the operating system will provide. In other words, how dumbed down will it be offline?

?PC enthusiasts will struggle with it,? Woods admits, citing the challenge Google will face from the vast array of headphones, graphics cards, fancy keyboards, microphones, thumb drives and more. ?It?ll be interesting to see how Google will handle that,? he said.

Perhaps the company won?t have to. In a very un-Google like move, Google announced that Chrome OS will be available only on newly sold machines -- that means no free downloads from the Internet. So how can you get it -- and how much will it cost?

"We?ll have more to share before the end of the year," Bencuya told FoxNews.com. But Bencuya refused to say exactly when this year the OS would arrive.

Whenever it does arrive, the real effect of the lightweight Chrome operating system will be felt in how well it catches on with users -- but the concept of a browser-only operating system is eye-opening.

?Ultimately, Chrome OS can already be achieved by staying in your browser 100 percent of the time,? Woods noted. ?In that sense, it?s not really doing anything new. It?s just simplifying the experience.?

um cough we have had system booting across the wire for years and now for the past oh 10 years many virtual servers boot from SAN.

sorry google nothing really new except for folks in their home.

[bimmer84]

yeap, trust google with every small peice of your private life, what harm can come from that ??

Exactly.

[Marko69]

The pcb on my heating boiler fried yesterday. Was replaced but it's f**led up again. Could be main gas valve or high limit stat? Any suggestion......., I'm assuming the geek stuff isn't solely assigned to computers?

Help me out, I'm fucking freezin here.

[DeanUK]

The pcb on my heating boiler fried yesterday. Was replaced but it's f**led up again. Could be main gas valve or high limit stat? Any suggestion......., I'm assuming the geek stuff isn't solely assigned to computers?

Help me out, I'm fucking freezin here.

It seems every year I have to sort out my boiler (I think they are called furnaces in the US) What boiler do you have, my one has some bulbs that help with diagnosis.

[Malto Marko]

The pcb on my heating boiler fried yesterday. Was replaced but it's f**led up again. Could be main gas valve or high limit stat? Any suggestion......., I'm assuming the geek stuff isn't solely assigned to computers?

Help me out, I'm fucking freezin here.

It seems every year I have to sort out my boiler (I think they are called furnaces in the US) What boiler do you have, my one has some bulbs that help with diagnosis.

Dean is correct. We have units called furnaces here. Boilers are mostly used in Industry. Our furnaces heat the air directly then a fan blows it through the house. Not many homes use water in their heating system.

My suggestion.

Get out the blankets then on Monday call the repair man.

[Marko69]

Starting to cope with the freezing-ness of the house, it's the lack of hot water that's the pain in the ass. The wife is moaning her tits off something bad......, it's funny how all is calm until something technical goes wrong!

Hi there Dean, a fellow UK-er on the lions site. My eldest son is doing his Phd @ London Imperial but has been living with his girlfriend in rented accommodation in Oxford. He loves it there.

[CGVT]

Can't help you Marko69. I live in southern Alabama (south US) I've battled my air conditioner all summer. Windows open and night temps in the 40s-50s, day temps in the 70s-low 80s this time of year. I'll heat my house with my gas fireplace this winter.

I had an oil fired boiler and forced hot water heat when I lived in Vermont (northeast US) but I never had any problems with it.