Spring Systems
Mar 31st, 2008 by Eats Wombats
Ordinarily, I should begrudge yet another weekend spent in class, this time listening to lectures on the subject of law and corporate governance. However, the lectures were unexpectedly good and London turned sunny and the clocks went forward an hour and, it struck me suddenly, that we are now very much closer to the end than the beginning of the MBA.
That felt good and, at the same, a little sad. An interlude I’ve enjoyed so far, will come to an end. I am, I think, more conscious of living in the moment than when when I last had a student ID.
On Friday I realized that I’d purchased or built 7 computers in the last 14 months. I had just built 3, all from components, in one day. It must be spring.
My Linux PC, an old Shuttle SB86i, died recently and I ended up building 3 new systems, two for me — a replacement PC and a little server — and, while I was at it, one for the boy.
My Ubuntu Linux box is now a new PC, not a retired Windows box. It’s a Silverstone Sugo SG03 case (a black version of the silver one below) with
an Asus P5K-VM motherboard. The server is in a black Silverstone LaScala LC12 (right, a “Mini ITX” case scarcely bigger than a hardback book) with a Jetway motherboard. And my Vista PC looks like the one on the left, in a Sugo SG01 case. All Silverstone cases, as it happens; small and, above all, QUIET.
The server will also run 24×7, live in a cupboard in the hall, and never use more than 12 Watts. Frustratingly, the case had a faulty power connection and I wasn’t able to finish the system. A new power lead (connection between the case and motherboard) is in the mail.
So far, I just leave the network storage (a ReadyNAS NV box) running all the time. Although it’s Linux based, and therefore it’s possible to do so, I’ve decided for now against installing extra software on it. The extra box will mean a higher electricity bill, but low wattage hardware will limit the impact. Perhaps if I replace all our spotlights with LED versions as well we’ll end up actually saving electricity overall. (Electricity costs in the UK have risen A LOT in the last year.)
Next month, the Logitech Squeezebox Duet will be available, and I’ll replace our wireless router with a new Netgear Wireless-N model.
You and your gadgets
said the boss. I prepared to look as innocent as possible (no, I have never had to sneak new hardware into the house). Each system cost about half of what last year’s cost. I was ready to point this out if necessary, and I half wondered if she might bring up getting another cat, but all she said was
You need to give them names
I will never again buy a PC with an odd motherboard. The Shuttle had to be thrown away (I gave it to a Shuttle reseller). Although I salvaged memory, a CPU, a hard drive and a DVD drive, all but the first of which I could re-use at once, it still felt like an environmental crime. I’m sure the motherboard expired because a 10 Yuan part died. How long before computers have to be recycled in the EU, like cars?
The Grouch spent last weekend un-and reassembling bits of old PC all over the kitchen table. I have a thing about Sunday lunch being sacred so asked the kids to help Daddy clear enough space to eat at, even though I had to serve up from the draining board. Wasn’t expecting to be asked if KY Jelly tasted like jelly babies, though. Hubby dearest had run out of thermal grease and used an alternative - am still thanking lucky stars that kids not yet old enough for their question to have had a different reaction on my part, and won’t repeat what I threatened hubby with, but it did not involve using thermal lube.
Gulp…
My mind is racing.