Nerds V Dorks - Page 2

**billybunter** · February 20th, 2012, 09:17 AM

I've owned six PCs. Windows 2000 and vista were crap

I bought my current machine an HP Pavilion 7000 series last October. Windows 7 is great inho. I had a mac I used for music and recording, but it packed up. I would like a new mac and keep thinking about buying one, maybe I will now.

**Brecht** · February 20th, 2012, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billybunter

I've owned six PCs. Windows 2000 and vista were crap

I bought my current machine an HP Pavilion 7000 series last October. Windows 7 is great inho. I had a mac I used for music and recording, but it packed up. I would like a new mac and keep thinking about buying one, maybe I will now.

Yeah, Windows 2000 was horrible but they fixed it with Millenium Edition. As for Macs, they're fashion computers. Just a fancy appearance. Estreeter made the point that a PC helps you to learn more and I would add the fun of the possibility to modify it your own way. If you prefer it simple, that's alright.

spark20 · February 21st, 2012, 11:45 AM

I owned 5 PCs/4 Laptops since 2001 (currently on a Lenovo ThinkCentre M90p Windows 7, Intel Quad-core 2.83 GHz, 16 GB DDR3 RAM, AMD FirePro GL V7900 Graphics Card, Sound Blaster X-fi Titanium), but my first hands on a PC was my dad's AST Premium with Windows 3.11 (priced at $2,499 December 1993 at Circuit City)

It's specs were:
Intel 486DX CPU clocked at 33Mhz
2MB RAM
SVGA Video
Quantum 360 MB Hard Drive
Sound Blaster 16 Sound Card
3.5" Floppy Disk Drive

Upgrades:
Upgrade to 4MB RAM: $129 at Frys Electronics
US Robotics 28.8 Kb/s External Fax Modem: $129 at Good Guys
Yamaha Double Speed CD-ROM Drive: $119 at CompUSA

Prodigy Internet Service: $2.49/hr in 1994 (it was like paying for phone sex...lol. One month my dad got furious at me after he received $460 worth of internet connection charges on the phone bill, took me 4 months to pay it off)

My favorite games were: The Secret of Monkey Island, Police Quest 3 & 4, Sim City 2000, Doom (no sound, not enough memory), Wolfesnstien 3-D, 7th Guest (not alone), Syndicate, Sid Meiers's Civilization.

Throughout my K-12 education I had to put up with Apple products, which gave me school-related nightmares. I never owned an Apple machine nor would I intend to buy one anytime soon. I will always regard Apples as computers for the barristas and liberal arts/humanities majors.

I'll talk nerdy to those...lol.

penfold007 · February 21st, 2012, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norbert84

Yeah, Windows 2000 was horrible but they fixed it with Millenium Edition.

Think you have that back to front, 2000 was where they finally made a useable OS out of the NT kernel at about the fifth attempt and was very stable compared to all that had gone before. Me was the final DOS kernel version of Windows and possibly the worst of them all, it leaked memory like a sieve and fell over whenever asked to do anything difficult - I am (or was) a huge enthusiast for the MS-DOS kernel and a decade ago knew a terrifying amount about it

(most of it forgotten now, of course)

To this girl:

I'd say that my name is in the credits for Ralf Brown's interrupt list, and hope she likes old-school nerds

**Cheekymonkey** · February 22nd, 2012, 03:11 AM

Mac definitely!
I have learned through many years experience and frustrations boiling over that PC is fine is you have a mind that thrives on troubleshooting/ problem-solving and really like admin (backing up and doing endless security checks), but my mind favors the simple and orderly. Macs are simply more fun to use. Difficult to describe until you try one, but when I first got one I was constantly asking myself, "Why could PCs not have thought of that?". A bit like a car - you can have one that drives to the shops in a kind of pedestrian way or one that really wants to open up, and turns corners tightly, simply put, a pleasure and joy to drive.
Macs may be three times the price but for me well worth it in every way. Could never go back.

**palo5** · February 22nd, 2012, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheekymonkey

Macs may be three times the price but for me well worth it in every way

The question is: if they are three times the price, do they deliver three times as much?

**Darth Joules** · February 22nd, 2012, 11:56 AM

I think Cheekymonkey has almost hit the nail on the head there, though the car analogy is a bit off.

Macs are bespoke PCs. I'm harking to their powerstations, like the G4, etc; the stuff that was Apple's bread and butter before Jobs decided to shift the focus to flashy lifestyle PCs, iPods, etc. The hardware assembly and the Apple OS gives the user a hassle free, it-does-was-it-says-on-the-tin experience. Which is why they were so favoured amongst design studios. You weren't a techie, you didn't want to waste time "troubleshooting/ problem-solving", you wanted a machine that got the job done and did it well. And that is what Macs are to a "T".

Whereas PCs (not Macs) are more of a DIY job like a Lego kit with different brands of bricks. Some fit together well and do the job they was built for. And some just don't. When I used to assemble/repair PCs as a side job I used to get a lot people who bought X brands cobbled together PC that promised "it will play games at super-duper resolution" only to let them know they've been sold a bundle of horse ploppies. Similar can be said of the MS OSs once they've been burdened with a rainbow of half QA'd shite software. However on the bright side, the PC has far greater flexibilty, function and range, and they don't have to cost a king's ransom. The PC is the jack-of-all-trades, you make of it what you will.

**Cheekymonkey** · February 22nd, 2012, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by palo5

The question is: if they are three times the price, do they deliver three times as much?

Maybe not in power/ memory etc. (though they are powerful and fast enough for most users), but for me they certainly do deliver three times the ease, reassurance, comfort, and joy to use.
The Apple Protection plan offered for three years on new ones gets you unlimited phone tech support from the most mundane problems which was perfect for a technophobe/ useless/ should-have-read-the-manual- type of mope like me. Using a PC was very problematic and stressful, but maybe for most of you used to using PC this is not an issue and so the triple price is no way justified.

**billybunter** · February 22nd, 2012, 04:41 PM

I've never used a laptop, I don't get this no mouse idea

I know you can use buy a little mouse for a laptop, but I just don't like them. I have tried mates' laptops, but they don't download loads of music bittorrents like me.

**dbailey** · February 22nd, 2012, 05:45 PM

Got my first laptop in 90. It ran on dos and had 500Kb of memory and a 20 mb hard disk. It stored to floppies

I was as with all my other machines supplied by work until 2 years ago I bought my son's old HP laptop that I use now.

I have never had a PC and I don't know how to use a mouse, being more at home with a mouse pad or a clit or nipple.

My lad bought a Mac a few years back so he could develop some software for mac OS. When he finshed the project he wiped the OS and installed Windows.

I dont as a rule by any apple products and look for better value alternatives

Phone, android HTC wildfire (bought also from son)
MP3, Creative Zen Vision M 30gb

February 20th, 2012, 09:17 AM	#11
billybunter R.I.P. Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Gone But Not Forgotten Posts: 14,404 Thanks: 51,687 Thanked 252,372 Times in 14,171 Posts	I've owned six PCs. Windows 2000 and vista were crap I bought my current machine an HP Pavilion 7000 series last October. Windows 7 is great inho. I had a mac I used for music and recording, but it packed up. I would like a new mac and keep thinking about buying one, maybe I will now. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

February 21st, 2012, 11:45 AM	#13
spark20 Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 33 Thanks: 518 Thanked 277 Times in 28 Posts	I'm a total Geek I owned 5 PCs/4 Laptops since 2001 (currently on a Lenovo ThinkCentre M90p Windows 7, Intel Quad-core 2.83 GHz, 16 GB DDR3 RAM, AMD FirePro GL V7900 Graphics Card, Sound Blaster X-fi Titanium), but my first hands on a PC was my dad's AST Premium with Windows 3.11 (priced at $2,499 December 1993 at Circuit City) It's specs were: Intel 486DX CPU clocked at 33Mhz 2MB RAM SVGA Video Quantum 360 MB Hard Drive Sound Blaster 16 Sound Card 3.5" Floppy Disk Drive Upgrades: Upgrade to 4MB RAM: $129 at Frys Electronics US Robotics 28.8 Kb/s External Fax Modem: $129 at Good Guys Yamaha Double Speed CD-ROM Drive: $119 at CompUSA Prodigy Internet Service: $2.49/hr in 1994 (it was like paying for phone sex...lol. One month my dad got furious at me after he received $460 worth of internet connection charges on the phone bill, took me 4 months to pay it off) My favorite games were: The Secret of Monkey Island, Police Quest 3 & 4, Sim City 2000, Doom (no sound, not enough memory), Wolfesnstien 3-D, 7th Guest (not alone), Syndicate, Sid Meiers's Civilization. Throughout my K-12 education I had to put up with Apple products, which gave me school-related nightmares. I never owned an Apple machine nor would I intend to buy one anytime soon. I will always regard Apples as computers for the barristas and liberal arts/humanities majors. I'll talk nerdy to those...lol. __________________ Proud to be United-Statesian

February 22nd, 2012, 11:56 AM	#17
Darth Joules Veteran Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 3,531 Thanks: 11,945 Thanked 79,771 Times in 3,160 Posts	I think Cheekymonkey has almost hit the nail on the head there, though the car analogy is a bit off. Macs are bespoke PCs. I'm harking to their powerstations, like the G4, etc; the stuff that was Apple's bread and butter before Jobs decided to shift the focus to flashy lifestyle PCs, iPods, etc. The hardware assembly and the Apple OS gives the user a hassle free, it-does-was-it-says-on-the-tin experience. Which is why they were so favoured amongst design studios. You weren't a techie, you didn't want to waste time "troubleshooting/ problem-solving", you wanted a machine that got the job done and did it well. And that is what Macs are to a "T". Whereas PCs (not Macs) are more of a DIY job like a Lego kit with different brands of bricks. Some fit together well and do the job they was built for. And some just don't. When I used to assemble/repair PCs as a side job I used to get a lot people who bought X brands cobbled together PC that promised "it will play games at super-duper resolution" only to let them know they've been sold a bundle of horse ploppies. Similar can be said of the MS OSs once they've been burdened with a rainbow of half QA'd shite software. However on the bright side, the PC has far greater flexibilty, function and range, and they don't have to cost a king's ransom. The PC is the jack-of-all-trades, you make of it what you will. Last edited by Darth Joules; February 22nd, 2012 at 11:56 AM.. Reason: typo

February 22nd, 2012, 04:41 PM	#19
billybunter R.I.P. Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Gone But Not Forgotten Posts: 14,404 Thanks: 51,687 Thanked 252,372 Times in 14,171 Posts	I've never used a laptop, I don't get this no mouse idea I know you can use buy a little mouse for a laptop, but I just don't like them. I have tried mates' laptops, but they don't download loads of music bittorrents like me. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

February 22nd, 2012, 03:11 AM	#15
Cheekymonkey Vintage Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Wherever I Lay My Toupee Posts: 694 Thanks: 3,062 Thanked 14,875 Times in 686 Posts	Mac definitely! I have learned through many years experience and frustrations boiling over that PC is fine is you have a mind that thrives on troubleshooting/ problem-solving and really like admin (backing up and doing endless security checks), but my mind favors the simple and orderly. Macs are simply more fun to use. Difficult to describe until you try one, but when I first got one I was constantly asking myself, "Why could PCs not have thought of that?". A bit like a car - you can have one that drives to the shops in a kind of pedestrian way or one that really wants to open up, and turns corners tightly, simply put, a pleasure and joy to drive. Macs may be three times the price but for me well worth it in every way. Could never go back.

February 22nd, 2012, 05:45 PM	#20
dbailey Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Wharfedale, Yorkshire, UK Posts: 2,298 Thanks: 137,964 Thanked 24,965 Times in 2,218 Posts	Got my first laptop in 90. It ran on dos and had 500Kb of memory and a 20 mb hard disk. It stored to floppies I was as with all my other machines supplied by work until 2 years ago I bought my son's old HP laptop that I use now. I have never had a PC and I don't know how to use a mouse, being more at home with a mouse pad or a clit or nipple. My lad bought a Mac a few years back so he could develop some software for mac OS. When he finshed the project he wiped the OS and installed Windows. I dont as a rule by any apple products and look for better value alternatives Phone, android HTC wildfire (bought also from son) MP3, Creative Zen Vision M 30gb