How to Buy a Computer (When You Know Nothing About Computers)

It annoys me a little that sales people want you to spend anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars on a computer basically sight-unseen, or flood you with techno-babble that is as meaningless to them as it is to you.

Consider the computer sales staff much the same as you would a car sales staff. They are NOT your friends, their job is to sell you a PC, preferably an expensive one. In fact other than specific, pointed questions you should ignore them.

First tip: Get a laptop. They are sleek, sexy, portable and can do anything you need a computer to do. IF you are planning on installing 8 hard drives and liquid metal cooled overclocked CPU heat sinks, this is not the guide for you anyway. If possible get a good sized LCD monitor a keyboard that you like, and the pointer device of your choice. You'll need those for a desktop too. Don't get a netbook. If you need THIS guide, you probably won't have much use for a netbook. Cool as they are, they aren't a full computer and you'll be wanting some capability the netbook doesn't have sooner or later.

Try out the computer. Type on the keys, use the touchpad or mouse. See how it feels to you. Does it fit your hands? Can you read the screen?

(At this point the sales staff tends to start hanging about. If you engage them in conversation, they will immediately start asking stupid questions and trying to sell you something more expensive. It's not their fault, just doing their job. Ignore them.)

Now, make the computer work for you. Open and close some programs. Reboot. push the "special" keys if it has them. Is it slow? Does it respond crisply? Does a particular activity seem to cause it to stop or "freeze" even for a second or two? IF so, move on. This is a brand new computer. If it's draggy now, wait til you've got a few months worth of web surfing and forwarded email on it.

(By the way, at this point the sales staff will get nervous, either because they have no idea what you are doing, or because they suspect that you do. Either way, ignore them.)

Do this for more than one computer, even if you fell in love with the first one. Anything that seems wrong or off-putting is absolutely a good reason not to buy it.

Regarding the specifications, the techno-babble: For the moment processor speed is not a limiting factor. That is, your processor can handle more than you are likely to throw at it. You can pretty much assume that part is more or less on par. The two spec you _do_ need to note are memory and drive space. They are confusing because they are measured in the same units, "bytes". Memory is usually much smaller than drive space. A good memory level for summer of 2009 is about 4GB (four giga bytes, sometimes referred to as 4 gigs). Hard drive space is usually hundreds of GB. Maybe up to 512GB by now. Either way, more is better on both of these - but not to the point of a custom build. That is if someone offers to add memory or drive space, pass. It'll be cheaper to buy a slightly higher end computer.

(If at some point the store management has shown up asking what you are doing in a polite but firm manner, you should probably politely but firmly tell them that you are test driving their computers and plan to purchase one soon, you'll call them if you need them, thanks.)

Do NOT buy a computer yet.

Go to another store (or ten) if feasible and repeat the process. Make yourself wait at least 24 hours before buying the one you choose. If it still looks like a good price and still feels right, go for it.

Why the "Land of the Free" can't be free

From John Stuart Mill's "Representative Government"

Thus a people may prefer a free government, but if, from indolence, or carelessness, or cowardice, or want of public spirit, they are unequal to the exertions necessary for preserving it; if they will not fight for it when it is directly attacked; if they can be deluded by the artifices used to cheat them out of it; if by momentary discouragement, or temporary panic, or a fit of enthusiasm for an individual, they can be induced to lay their liberties at the feet even of a great man, or trust him with powers which enable him to subvert their institutions; in all these cases they are more or less unfit for liberty.

Our great sins begin with apathy, extend to aversion, and fall finally to ignorance and greed. How many times do we hear about the "intent of the Framers" of the Constitution as an argument towards broadening the powers of government? Are we so foolish as to believe, and so blind not to read? Today we cling to the feeble protection of the Bill of Rights, as if these amendments were ever the sole barrier between Liberty and government run amok. But hear what the Framers said who didn't even want to include the Bill of Rights:

I go further, and affirm that bills of rights, in the sense and in the extent in which they are contended for, are not only unnecessary in the proposed constitution, but would even be dangerous. They would contain various exceptions to powers which are not granted; and on this very account, would afford a colorable pretext to claim more than were granted. For why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do? Why for instance, should it be said, that the liberty of the press shall not be restrained, when no power is given by which restrictions may be imposed? I will not contend that such a provision would confer a regulating power; but it is evident that it would furnish, to men disposed to usurp, a plausible pretense for claiming that power.

Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist No. 84.

The Drought

There is a fundamental difference between the Constitution of the United States of America and almost any other government document in history. But it isn't separation of powers, or the two party system (which isn't even in the constitution) nor even the bi-cameral legislature. The thing that makes the CUSA special, and even today nearly unique is the distinction it makes between Les Droits de l'Homme and the "powers" of government.

The Bill of Rights was almost excluded... not because it was debated as to whether Freedom of the Press, and all the rest were bad principles, but because a large faction felt that these rights were so obvious as to need no explicit definition.

Moreover, the Bill of Rights does not "grant" anyone any rights. To the framers of the Constitution "rights" were self-evident all people (Ok, well, at least white male landowners) were endowed with by the creator. Any governing authority which contravened or expropriated those rights was violating more fundamental "laws" than any Constitution.

The right to be secure in our persons and belongings is "inalienable" meaning that the government can infringe those rights, but it CAN NOT take them away. The right to keep and bear arms isn't a "grant;" the entire "ban guns" legal argument is based upon a fallacy. The wording is that the "Right... shall not be infringed." Shall not, not mostly not, or we're giving it to you, but we can take it back, etc etc.

So before we start in on why gun control is bad, or good, or whatever, let me jump back to the point:

It is our DUTY and PRIVILEGE to put a stop to infringements of these rights, for ourselves, and to the extent we are able, for others. Firstly, don't vote for someone who doesn't fully and wholeheartedly support your inherent, inalienable rights. Talk to the officials who are elected. They are there to represent everyone, not just the people who voted for them or gave them money. Make your voice heard. Because if you don't stop it within the bounds of Constitutional authority, every American citizen, natural born or naturalized, is honor bound to those who died to get it for you in the first place to take up arms against their own government if necessary.

No one can tell you when that necessary point is, but it should be a Damocletian sword over every government official. I get agitated by the "Never Forget" slogans and the yellow ribbons because most of those campaigns (which aren't bad of themselves) have completely forgotten why we are here, how we got here, and what we are ostensibly fighting for. It is crucial to learn and teach and remember that this country was won from a tyrant by a Revolutionary Army. Our America the Beautiful once had a government comprised almost entirely of "traitors," "seditionists," and "treasonous insurrectionists." This Land of the Free was born in the blood of "freedom fighters". And the Home of the Brave became such because of the courage of farmers, tradesmen, professionals, clergy... who decided that the time was right and that action was necessary.

So the explanation that there is a law which makes it mandatory to "voluntarily self-assess" the tax which I "owe" the government rings hollow in my ears, and the ears of any well-informed American. It rings like the steel of the oppressor's sword.

For now, we pay "our" taxes. For now we still sit by and let the new aristocracy gather more and more "authority" to themselves. But one day, one day, Americans - farmers, tradesmen, professionals, clergy - will decide they have had enough.

And on that day the Tree of Liberty, long in the drought, will be refreshed.

And while I'm complaining...

The Microsoft License model has it's problems, and I have complaints about it (I use Linux almost exclusively, but in this Windows World, even I get stuck using or supporting M$ products).

For those who don't do serious systems support, when you buy a M$ product these days, you get... nothing. Not one single solitary atom of physical tangible anything to show for it. (Excluding media kits, which they are beginning to NOT SELL.) What you are buying is THE PRIVILEGE of running their (usually) crappy software without getting sued.

I have complaints about this.

To actually activate this privilege (aka "license") you have to go to https://eopen.microsoft.com which is actually one of their LEAST published URL's. There you have to sign in and give them a variety of personal and business info. None of which is needed to "activate the license," that is already done by this point; all they need for that is a pair of numbers which they email to you. The info collected is required before you can simply navigate around the site.

I have complaints about this.

They specifically say on the website to "Click 'Cancel' if you do not want to provide this information." Which I don't. So I click. And nothing happens. I'm still stuck at the same required info page. So I figure, this must be a scripting issue since I am using my trusty Firefox browser (on linux). So I switch to IE7, the latest and greatest, running on Vista Ultimate, the latest and greatest, the flagship of the desktop. Log in, go to download my product (did I mention that you now have to download EVERYTHING? ) and what? the same screen! Click cancel and get THE SAME RESPONSE (i.e. nothing, if you got lost.) Even their own browser won't act right on this page.

Needless to say, I have complaints about this.

So I enter some bogus information (why is that even an option?) and deselect the "May we spam you" checkboxes. Now I can finally download "my" files. But I can't switch back to FF, the whole page brainfarts and dies if I do that now. So still in IE7 I proceed to download my stuff, which requires about 25 clicks and authorize-me's and do-you-trust-this-website's.

Yeah, I have complaints about this.

And in the middle of all that, this jewel pops up on the screen:







This shows an IE7 screenshot which states that the browser can't handle the download, if the image is too small to read. You have to download an additional (3rd party) download manager to get "your" files.

I have complaints about this.

Not that it will do any good.

(edit credit to: darren)

We are everywhere... We have a plan... We will be taking over...

Ok, so there really isn't a plan.

But there is another Jonas Bull:





And, obviously the Jonas's (Jonasae?) should be running the world.

So if you are a Jonas, especially a Jonas Bull (Jonas Brothers or fans need not apply!) find me on facebook or through this blog and we'll start getting that planet-wide-dominion plan put together...

Snow Day

These are all at my office or on the way.
No snow at my house this morning.
:-(

Say what?

Indeed.