The Mystic Bird

There some reason why that little question should give you pause? You betcha there is! When was the last time you peeked inside your computer? Aw, come on! You never have? Well, if you’ve owned it for a while you might want to have a look because the fans that keep the insides cool probable are having a tough time of it by now due to dust buildup.

I had noticed a whining noise in mine on startups that made me nervous enough to have a look inside and when I popped open the case, I was shocked at all the dust built up inside. Shouldn’t have been I suppose but I never really gave it a second thought as I sat here beside it typing away.

The fans were covered slightly with dust and so was pretty much everything else. It was actually embarrassing. One fan was even slowed down by the buildup to a point that it was having a time at startup. It was first on my cleaning project.

Then the other fan over the heat-sink for the CPU and then the entire case got a good shot of air to blow out all the dust hidden or not.

End result? A much quieter running machine and cooler to boot.

One thing to note is that I used a hose from an air compressor that I had turned down to around 30 psi and kept it away from direct contact with any of the various boards so I wouldn’t blow any required components away.

Go ahead. Open that case up and have a look. You might be surprised at what you find.

Going back to a few posts I made about me deciding on a new computer, reworking the desktop or building a new one….I decided on buying a new one. A laptop actually. And it has Vista on it. Before you reach for that submit button below the comment box, hear me out first.

Yes, I prefer Ubuntu (Linux) to Windows. No argument there. However, until I get a handle on running Windows in a virtual environment that I can trust to be there when I need it, I need a Windows machine for my projects. The software and applications I’ve bought over the years will mostly work on Vista with few exceptions but didn’t work out very well via Wine in Ubuntu.

Remember, I’m no programmer or code expert when it comes to operating systems.

Thus, I needed a machine that would be there for my projects which in turn leaves me the option of upgrading my desktop the way I’d like to over time instead of taking a general approach in a short time frame. I much prefer this alternative as it will give me the time to upgrade certain components first without causing any issues with the OS (operating system) just yet. (more…)

Before you say it…yes, I know that it would probably be cheaper to buy one but for what I’d like to have in my new one, it might just be better to build it instead. Plus the experience would be invaluable too.

However, from some of the research I’ve been doing lately, it seems there is a vast market for “refurbished or reconditioned” computers. Most come with no peripherals like monitors, keyboards or a mouse but are certified as being the same as what you’d buy in a store. Warranties are varied depending on who you’d buy from but that’s where the shopping comes into play. Comparing prices, warranties and machines would probably net me around 15 to 30% savings over a new machine. It’s just that the refurbished one would be around 3 to 6 months old by the time it becomes available for purchase again due to all the stringent testing that goes on before they put a refurbished computer back on the market again.

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