My option B was to buy a pre-built desktop. The retail market has brought the cost of buying a new machine tremendously (I love the Gateway Media Center PC I bought a few years ago), but there are a few things I don’t like about buying from the retail market.

Components cost $1K

1. You get a package deal, which often gives you things you don’t really want or need
2. You are most often tied to a specific Operating System
3. You have limited customization

So, I settled on option C, building my own box. This would satisfy my desire to customize the machine components to my liking, pick my own OS, and select only what I really want. I needed to do a bit of research to see what is the best stuff out there. I found some good articles on what and what not to do and got advice from some friends. At the end-of-the-day, this is what I settled on.

Microprocessor

First things first, I needed to pick a CPU. Intel has been the front-runner in developing chips, so I looked in to their line. Honestly, I didn’t really even know what was out there. I settled on the Intel Core i7 920 processor.

The i7 920 is a 64-bit architecture, so you can add a lot more memory. The clock runs at 2.66 GHz, and has 4 cores (and is able to run 8 threads). That’s like putting 8 processors on one chip. My laptop has 1 core and 1.6 GHz, so this was multiplying my processing power by 16 (Moore’s Law in action).

The processor also comes with a larger-than-life heat sink (the size of a CD spindle) and fan (which sits on top of the heat sink to keep it cool).

Motherboard

Once I decided on the processor, I by default had picked the Intel X58 Express Chipset that I would need to use. I decided to go with the ASUS P6T Motherboard, which supports the Intel LGA1366 Platform. It has plenty of ports (built in Ethernet and sound), and plenty of room to grow (6 memory slots).

Memory

The memory modules needed to be DDR3 and under 1.65V. I wasn’t sure how much memory to get, so I picked a number greater than my current 1GB. So, I made like a linebacker and picked 6. I picked Corsair XMS3.

Hard Drive(s)

I wanted to set up a redundant RAID drive set, so I picked a set of 1TB Seagate Barracuda drives. They have a 32MB cache and run at 7200RPM and the best part was they were under $100 a piece.

Graphics Card

This was a tough one, because there are so many NVidia cards out there from different brands, with different model numbers. It’s a mostly intangible market. The two figures that actually meant something to me were the price tag, and the amount of memory on the card. I lucked out and found a great associate when I went to pick up my order at MicroCenter. He directed me to an EVGA NVidia card that has 1GB of memory for $70. I about crapped my pants when I saw that. A good graphics card makes the world of difference.

Case, Power Supply, and Additional Fan

When I went to the store, I found the Antec Three Hundred ATX Case, and the Antec Basiq 500 Watt power supply. The case has two built in fans, and three spaces for additional fans. I picked up an additional fan for the front for $20.

DVD-RW Drive

The DVD drive I bought was a $20 Samsung OEM Super-WriteMaster Dual/Double Layer 22x DVD±RW Burner.

Keyboard

I picked up a $15 Microsoft Curve keyboard as well. This one is quite ergonomic. Strike one up for M$.

Dual 17″ Monitors & Mouse

I already owned two 17″ LCD Monitors and a Logitech V450 Nano, so I didn’t need to add any additional cost for that.

FInished in Four Hours

Operating System

After using Ubuntu Linux at work for the last year, it was not a difficult choice to make Ubuntu Linux 64bit my core Operating System (I also run a Virtual Box VM of Windows XP inside of Ubuntu).

The Total Package

My shopping trip to MicroCenter was well worth it. The sales associates were very helpful, and it was nice to have the piece of mind to touch and see your product and take it home immediately. The total cost for the trip was $1000.

On another note, Blip TV has a number of the keynotes from RailsConf 2007 online.

My brother-in-law was asking me about what I thought about Macs the other day. Personally, I think they’re pretty cool. Steve Jobs and the gang has built a Marketing Machine around a simple aesthetic and a powerful platform, and he is going to win over the 20% on the outside of the technological bell curve. These people are both the new users who like what Macs look like and don’t have enough experience on Windows to lose experience points from their ‘learning Windows learning curve’ by having to learn a new OS. The other people that Jobs attracts are power users, in particular those who are involved in developing media–Designers and Programmers of different types.

Jobs will probably never get the middle of the market, the average business user, and therefore students will continue to use Windows, because they will eventually have to use it in the office someday. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle that will not slow down for a really long time, unless Bill Gates does something really bad (perhaps another Windows Vista .

So, it looks like I’ll be staying on a PC, and laughing at the Mac commercials for a long time, at least until I go from the top 85% to the top 90% of the user bell curve.

1. Windows hangs and becomes unresponsive
2. On closing Windows, an error message comes up that I don’t recognize
3. Deleting files takes forever and sometimes crashes my system

I’ve got to figure out the first two, but I’ve figured out the last. Deleting a file would try to put the file in my recycling bin, but my recycling bin was a bit on the large size and needed to be emptied. After clearing it out, everything is running smooth. Now, I’ve got to fix the first two.

Mass-communication is paid for in advertising dollars. Newspapers, Radio, and TV all work the same way. Ratings are used to set the advertising rates which brings in revenue to the business. This pays for the operating expenses of production. With the rise of digital media, TV networks are now streaming more and more of their content. This means more cash for the networks for the same work of production. This brings a disparity because the Networks get more profit without compensating the Writers for their work on these new distribution channels. Residual income from secondary distributions are a necessary part of a writer’s income that is typically relied upon during periods of unemployment common in the writing industry.

To celebrate the increased equity towards the Writers, here’s Lazy Sunday, an SNL sketch that was viewed more than five million times at YouTube before being removed by NBC in February 2006. This clip is on Hulu, which pays the Network through advertising, and now the Network gives the Writer’s a cut too. Cheers!

400,000 numbers cover the The Darfur Wall, one for each victim of genocide in Darfur. By donating one dollar you can light a number, turning it from dark gray to brilliant white. As we light the wall, we honor each lost life, cast light upon a tragedy too many have ignored, and overcome one barrier to peace.

It’s fast and easy to donate, and 100% of donations benefit four Darfur relief organizations. Please visit The Darfur Wall and light a number for peace.