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Archive for the 'Hardware' Category


Good News! An Overdrive Update!!

Posted by buckeyebrarian on November 11, 2008

Overdrive announced several months ago their intent to start releasing material in MP3 format to allow iPod users to use their digital audiobooks and music. They have now delivered on that promise. Checking the MOLDI site (mentioned in a previous post), I saw a big announcement of their inclusion. I have to say I’m pleased as punch, both as a iPod owner and a Librarian. This sould go a long way toward making this service more useful for our customers and I couldn’t be happier.

This service is still in the larval stage of course. There are currently only 177 titles available in MP3, only 4.4% of the 3,993 titles available in WMA format. However, this will only increase. It also looks (at least at first glance) that a good job has been done in selecting interesting titles for the “first run”.

I look forward to having the chance to take advantage of this new service.

Posted in Audio\Visual, Hardware, Internet, Libraries & Prof., Library 2.0, Library Technology, Technology | Tagged: , , , , , | No Comments »

My New Project…

Posted by buckeyebrarian on November 8, 2008

Okay, so I bought Mass Effect for PC the other day. Don’t ask me if it’s any good, because I don’t know (good reviews though). I installed the game and, after finishing the long install process, found that I had to dial everything down so much and had such appalling load times that it was the next best thing to unplayable.

My ol’ Dell has served me well (Yes, I know, I’m a poet! Har har! Focus please!), but it has reached the end of its upgradeable lifespan (No PCIe slots only AGP, old Pentium 4 CPU). I therefore determined that the time had come to get myself a new gaming rig.

By nature, PC gaming equipment is a moving target and staying bleeding edge is both expensive and time consuming. I therefore decided that I want a system that’s solid (not top of the line) and has enough “head room” to upgrade. I looked around at what was out there on the market and I decided on a rig from Gateway (good reviews, apparently they make decent gaming systems). I showed this to dad (my final authority on hardware) and he said (paraphrase) “Looks good, did you price components to see what it would cost to build it yourself?”

“Well, no…”

“Oh, okay. Looks good.”

“D’you think I could do better going that route?”

“Possibly. Take a look at Extreme Tech. They’ll help you figure out what you need.”

So I, with some trepidation,  looked.

I asked, “This is very interesting, would you help with construction?” (Knowing full well he’s been wanting to scratch build a PC for awhile).

“Sure” (Really had to twist his arm didn’t I? He’s a good Dad!)

So I started shopping (always fun, Newegg is essential for this incidentally). The more I looked at stuff, the more possible it seemed. Armed with Extreme Tech and Wikipedia, I knew enough to compare numbers and match up capabilities. I came up with a list of parts, and Dad and I refined it. Then I pulled out the ol’ Visa…

So I’m kind of geeking out now…

Stuff should arrive by Tuesday at the latest. I am psyched. I’m getting a lot of PC for less money than the Gateway I picked out. I don’t need all the fat associated with pre-made systems (keyboards, cheapo speakers and mice), not to mention all the “bonus” software that Gateway would install…

Here’s what I bought:

Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W

  • More than enough. As it happens, a Quad core processor doesn’t actually add much to most Gaming rigs.

ASUS P5Q Pro

  • Feature rich motherboard without being overkill. Crossfire X support means I can add a second GPU down the road (bwa ha ha).

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

  • Sufficiently speedy and commodious for my purposes.

Visiontek 900241 Radeon HD 4850

  • One word. Sweet.

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium 70SB088000004

  • I can’t bring myself to use on board sound, so I got this. Nice card. 7.1 stereo support (I like having the option).

Seagate 7200.01 250 GB

  • Games average 5-7 GB these days. I’m not writing papers on this machine or storing my music, so this should be plenty. If not, then I’ll add more (1 TB drives are getting downright cheap these days).

LITE-ON LH20A1S DVD-Burner

  • A solid optical drive. $27 (Matt, remember our first CD-Rom drive. What was that $300+ bucks?)

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP

  • A nice roomy Tower size case. Many expansion bays. Blue LEDs in the front (I glows blue when orcs are close! Sorry, I couldn’t stop myself on the Tolkien reference).

PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W EPS12V

  • Nice Ferrari-Red power supply (Opaque case so no one will ever see it.) More than enough “head room” to do dual GPUs in the future.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit English for System Builders

  • Extreme Tech How-to writer actually prefers Vista. Much better for gaming. “System builders” version lower priced (nice).

Overall, it’s a solid machine with room to grow that comes in under $1000 (after mail-in rebates). I’ll try to post updates on how things turn out. I hope to have the build done by the 20th, as my brother will be visiting that week end and I’ll want to show off.

As for Mass Effect? I’ll try to write a review when I get a chance. All I can say now is that its pretty darn expensive!

Posted in Gaming, Hardware, Life, Technology | Tagged: , | No Comments »

MOLDI (My kingdom for a decent movie selection!)

Posted by buckeyebrarian on November 6, 2008

In the penultimate exercise for Learn & Play @CML, we were tasked with exploring the world of downloadables on MOLDI. For those among the uninitiated, that stands for the Mid-Ohio Library Digital Initiative a project that provides access to digital media to library patrons (learn more).

I found the system fairly easy to use, though I will say that I am used to purchasing things online and the experience is similar (if not identical). The only potential hiccup I can see for others is the possible need to install the Overdrive software, but that only needs to be done once!

I must say that the quality of the selection is much improved from the last several times I’ve looked at it, especially the eAudiobooks! The audiobook selection in sci-fi and fantasy is excellent and very current (previously a sore point with me)! The eBooks and Music have improved as well (I like classical music).

However, the improvement in the selection does not carry over into the “eFlicks”. There’s a mix of quirky retro stuff like old sci-fi B-flicks and silent films which is very nice. There are also some comedy specials (ex Howie Mandell & Bill Engval) and neat documentaries. What is lacking is anything that could remotely be called mainstream or blockbuster. Now, I understand that there is likely to be trouble getting Hollywood to give up there latest and greatest in this format! Sure! That’s unsurprising! What bothers me is that there are no older blockbusters or true classics (think AFI 100) on the list. It seems that if we’re going to offer such a service that we need to have more of what a general audience would want to see, especially if (as I’ve heard) libraries are expecting downloadable content to replace DVDs and CDs down the road. I’d also like to begin seeing high-definition offerings in the near future. I understand why there haven’t been any to this point and agree with the logic, but the market penetration for HD is growing quickly and price drops this holiday season are expected to increase it even more. For those folks who have their TVs hooked up to their PC (neither difficult or uncommon) or have the new widescreen HD laptops, this would be a great new feature!

Posted in Audio\Visual, Hardware, Learn & Play, Library Technology, Life, Technology | Tagged: , , , , | No Comments »

And the Winner is…

Posted by buckeyebrarian on February 19, 2008

…Blu-ray!!!!!!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, Toshiba has waved the white flag, announcing that it is quitting production on the HD-DVD format. This comes as welcome news to Sony, the principal developer of the competing technology Blu-Ray. It means that they finally get what they’ve wanted since the Beta-Max days: to force everyone to use a format they’ve devised and pay handsomely for the privilege. They failed with Beta, UMD, and others, but now have a winner with Blu-Ray. No word on when\if Toshiba will develop and sell Blu-ray player of their own.

It sounds like the early adopters among you who bought HD-DVD are out of luck. I’m just glad we’re finally through another format war, as they are always rather onerous.

Posted in Audio\Visual, Hardware, Technology | No Comments »