Experts Exchange
Posted by Administrator on Oct 27, 2005
I have been using Experts Exchange for approximately a 1.5 years now and I have been very pleased. It is a support community for software development, database design, database administration and more. Some of the channels cover software applications such as Quark, Word, Excel, etc. Other channels focus on server technologies such as SQL, Exchange, MySQL, etc.
For $9.99 per month (discounted when purchased as an annual subscription) it has been a great value. The way it works is as a paying member you are entitled to post unlimited questions to any channels. You assign a point value to your question and accept the best answer. Accepting an answer awards the points to the expert. The points experts earn can be used to ask questions instead of paying for a subscription. With an subscription you are able to search all of the questions and answers aswell.
I have used the site to get assistance with Visual Basic programming questions, MS Access and SQL questions and much more. I would definately recommend this site and service to anyone.
New Video Ipod
Posted by Administrator on Oct 12, 2005
Today apple released a new video ipod and itunes 6. My only question is, what is the point? Video on the ipod, who needs it! It is appr. a 2 inch display, I have a tv already! Not to mention, do we really need another way to watch tv? People spend too much time watching tv, get a life!
Patrick pointed out to me a cool possibility. If the video ipod can generate out good quality video and sound to a tv, then it could serve as a portable Tivo.
Still, not entirely necessary, but cool.
Why Apple picked Intel over AMD
Posted by Administrator on Sep 16, 2005
This is an interesting article about why Apple selected the Intel chip over the AMD. It provides good insight for any pc buyer as well.
Apple’s Announcement: Ipod Nano
Posted by Administrator on Sep 7, 2005
Is it that big of a deal? Though the Apple Ipod Nano is impressive, it does not seem like that major of an announcement. I would have much rather heard about Intel processors in Macs sooner than previously announced. The Ipod Nano does boost an impressive 2 and 4 gig solid state memory configuration.
Overall, the device size is small and sleek. It cannot get any smaller without making the already small but clear color display too small. It doesn’t look like Apple will continue making the Ipod Mini any longer. I am tempted to run out and get one.
Why did Apple feel it was necessary to make a minier mini? Was it too big for anyone? Is this really revelutionary?
Also, does Apple really want to stop with the blue, pink and whatever other color they had. I thought they were doing well with the colors. Is black or white a good idea? Bottom line, I still want one!
Dell Servers (PowerEdge 1850 & 2850)
Posted by Administrator on Sep 6, 2005
Great servers. I would recommend them to anyone. I have been working on both the PowerEdge 1850 and 2850 rackmount servers and love them. Lots of great things to talk about. They are stable, reliable and impressive.
Dell’s Open Manage software provides amazing control and information about your server (via http). Everything from RAID configuration information and management tools to temperatures and fan health information. The other nice thing is the Dell startup cd. I used it for setting up Windows 2003, 2000 and Linux and it worked great.
It easily walks you through the setting up of the hardware and assists in the creation of the unattended installation scripts. Set it up on one, save out the scripts and use them on all other like servers.
Additionally, the servers are fast. The performance is second two none. The hardware layout is clean and easy to access for adding cards, memory, etc. Upgrading a server requires enough considerations, you should not need to focus on physically getting into the box.