Beyond

Before we go into the fairly easy process of fitting a graphics card; Let’s look at why you’d want to do so in the first place:

Most if not all motherboards are equipped with onboard graphics: The Northbridge of the chipset gives them a limited graphics capability.

"Limited" is the operative word here; especially on lower-end motherboards: The low-end AMD motherboards that I tend to use more-than-not, (Customers who request a cheap computer for no more than office-type work get what they ask for. In fact; despite the motherboards in question being allegedly "low-end", they’re fairly versatile.) usually have a paltry 64MB of graphics capability; in addition to which they ’steal’ the 64MB of memory for their operation from system RAM. - Yes they eat into the memory-sticks that you fit into the RAM - slots and gain priority to their full potential, whether or not they’re using it. Most other motherboards operate on a similar principle, to a varying extent. The top-end motherboards tend to be suitable for use with less attachments; However these motherboards are commonly used by gamer/overclocker-types; who add the latest of everything at the cutting-edge of technology anyway. - Just so that they can be proud geeks, until the following week when technological advancement moves on another notch.

How much difference, exactly, does this RAM-robbing by the onboard-graphics actually make? : In reality not one heck of a lot; especially if you fit a minimum of 2GB RAM to every computer like I do. RAM’s now fairly inexpensive; particularly if you’re using DDR2, which is dirt-cheap these days. Why the big fuss then? Well it’s not just the fact that the onboard graphics make 2GB - Nice round figure. - RAM, look like 1.94GB; it’s also that the graphics are really lousy with that tiny amount of memory. As we’ll go on to discuss; 64MB graphics blows at the best of times:

Any figure below 128MB of graphics RAM, (That is RAM or memory allocated exclusively for use with the graphics module.) will cause your graphics to suck big-time on a decent modern desktop or laptop. Oh you’ll without doubt get a great picture; a great still-picture that is. Anything moving at speed = fail. Try scrolling up or down fast: It’ll take the raster a fraction of a second to catch up with itself.

(It reminds me of those Looney Tunes cartoons; where characters run off at speed and their front-half almost disappears before their back-half starts moving. Imagine the inverse of that happening on your screen when you stop scrolling and you’ll have some idea of what I’m on about.)

…And if you mean to play any games…Well the Microsoft free games which have shipped with every M$ operating system since or before NT will probably run OK; but 2fps, if you’re lucky, won’t get you very far with Crysis or Doom. (Maybe a blue-screen?)

- So unless you’re intent on using Office and IM only; it’s always a good idea to upgrade the graphics capability with a graphics-card.

Most decent usable graphics-cards can cost anything from around £17 / $24 upwards. Unless you’re gaming with the latest games; a little above this price-range should suffice for low to middle-end systems. The exact card you choose will depend upon the operating system you’re running. - For instance, XP can’t run anything in Direct X 10; so it’s pointless having a Direct X 10-capable graphics card on an XP system: Unless you intend to upgrade to Vista or Windows 7 that is. (Check for hardware compatibility first.)

Most graphics-cards these days are PCIe cards.  (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express.); which is an active connection method that channels multiple serial-data-streams from the motherboard to the graphics-card; as opposed to its earlier counterparts, PCI, PCI-X, and AGP, which stream data in a parallel format as a single-channel.

There are all different types and sizes: Big ones, small ones, some as big as your…I’m not going into the particular types and sizes here as that is, really, beyond the scope of this article: For the purpose of which we’ll just keep it nice and simple; without referring to SLI…Oops!

I’m not going to write about VGA, DVI, RGB, etc, plugs/sockets either. Google is your friend; as are the links.

Screw that.

That’s the complicated part out of the way; in as simple terms as I am able to muster. Now the easy bit; fitting it: -

Everything you need to know is covered in the following article at this link.

Yes I am cheating. Yes it’s out of character for me. Yes I am behind schedule and almost out of time. It’s a good site anyway: It saves me taking pics or finding and snagging pics. It saves me writing loads more… OK I admit it’s probably better than I’m able to produce in the remaining time that I have scheduled. So go there to find out how to fit one. It’s certainly not rocket-science:

You’ll need a screwdriver, a screw that can be screwed in by the screwdriver and that fits the corresponding hole, (There’s my female technical terminology making its appearance again.) a PCIe graphics card, a computer with a PCIe x 16 socket to fit the card in, and about 5 minutes.

Go read it; and comment on this one before you do so. (Comment box is below.) (Why don’t they put a down-arrow key on keyboards? - Perhaps they could also put a f…  - File it! key on them also.)

Can you tell things aren’t quite going to plan?

Today, multi-core processors are quite the norm. In fact you’ll not see any new desktop computers, and very few laptops, on sale that have only single-core processors any longer. Why? Well multi-cored processors have just so many performance advantages over their single-cored counterparts that it would take far too much space to list them all here.

There are still quite a few computers out there, however, that are still running a single-core processor. If you own one of them you may have considered upgrading; but are a little unsure or hesitant about it.

Unless you’re fairly experienced and know what’s what you’re right to be such. In most cases there’ll be more work involved than simply removing the old processor and fitting a new one.

I’m not intending to do a "where is the processor located" paragraph. If you don’t know where your processor is located then I advise you to allow someone who knows what they’re doing to do the upgrade for you. I won’t be held responsible for someone pretending to know what they’re doing messing it up either: Get someone that you know is experienced with computer construction to help. Joe Bloggs from down the road may say they’re experienced with computers simply because they talk to their friends on Instant Messenger; but in reality they don’t have any more idea of what they’re doing than a seamstress has of rocket science. I’ll include some of the basics as a reminder, though.

There are a number of things you’ll need to do in preparation. The main thing is to find out all about your existing hardware first. The reason for that will become clear further on.

If you have an older computer with a single-core processor then you’ll probably need to upgrade the motherboard as well as the CPU to go multi-core. If it’s a particularly old computer then I’d suggest simply buying a new one with a multi-cored processor fitted from the word go.

What about upgrading your existing processor on your existing motherboard? It’s a possibility; but you’d have to take into account things such as motherboard’s capability, as well as its processor socket:

For instance; an AMD socket AM2 CPU will fit into a socket AM2+ motherboard; but not vice-versa: Therefore if your existing processor is, for example, a socket AM2 Athlon 64 single-cored device, which you want to upgrade; then, providing that your motherboard is capable of running a dual-cored CPU, (CPU=processor.) you’ll have no problems in replacing your existing CPU with a socket AM2 Athlon 64×2 dual-cored processor, providing that the motherboard’s chipset is capable of supporting the operating frequency of the new component. You’ll probably need to run a maintenance-reinstall of your operating system though; as a system configured for a single-cored processor probably won’t instantly recognize that the new processor has 2 cores, and will only run 1 of the cores unless it’s reconfigured.

Further to the above; if you want to upgrade from a single-core Athlon 64 to a quad-core Phenom, which is socket AM2+, you’ll need to upgrade the motherboard as well as the CPU, as a socket AM2+ CPU simply won’t fit into an AM2 socket. Also the motherboard with an AM2 socket probably won’t be capable of supporting more than a dual-core CPU.

That’s just one example. There will be many more similar situations cropping up, not only with AMD processors, where you’ll need to do some planning and forward thinking before even embarking upon your project.

Like I said; there’s a lot to consider; in addition to simply swapping the processor. If in doubt I suggest a motherboard and processor upgrade would be the best option, and do remember that certain motherboards go with certain processors: You can’t run an Intel socket 774 CPU on an AMD socket AM2 motherboard, for instance. (Also, don’t forget to install, and upgrade after getting the thing running, if possible, the new motherboard’s drivers.)

In my opinion, the best thing to do would be a total-rebuild (Strip everything out of the case and renew it with new and compatible parts, or ditch your old machine and build a new one.); after which you can install any really important files that you want to keep to your new hard-drive from a backup you took of your old system.

I can’t tell you exactly how to do it in every situation without writing a large and detailed e-book on the subject: That’s not something I intend doing at this moment in time. This guide simply informs you of some of the pitfalls and of some of the things you should consider first, before embarking on the project.

For your further convenience I’ll make a checklist of a number of the things you should take into account before attempting to upgrade a processor on an existing motherboard:

———————————————————————————————

CHECKLIST

Should you Upgrade the Processor on your Existing Motherboard?

If your motherboard is 5 years old or more then no.

If your motherboard was manufactured in the last 3 years than maybe; depending upon the following:

Is your motherboard’s processor socket the same as the socket designation of the processor that you want to replace your existing one with?

OR, in some rare circumstances:

Will the new part fit into and be fully accommodated by the existing motherboard’s processor socket?

If NO to both of the above you’ll need to replace the motherboard.

IF YES to either of the above:

Is your existing motherboard capable of running a multi-cored processor with the number of cores which the intended replacement has?

If NO to the above you’ll need to replace the motherboard.

If YES:

Is your existing motherboard capable of handling any increased power consumption due to the upgrade?

If NO to the above you’ll need to replace the motherboard.

If YES:

Are you aware that you’ll probably need to run a maintenance reinstall of the operating system? Are you able and clued up with doing this? Do you realise that there may be further problems associated with this operation that require a detailed knowledge of computer hardware, operation, and techniques?

If NO; I suggest seeking further expert advice before anything else.

IF YES, and you are satisfied that you’d be able to handle any ensuing situation, or are willing to take that risk, then proceed.

End of Checklist.

———————————————————————————————

*If you’re a geek then rebuilding a computer, even if it’s your first time, will be a great learning curve for you. Try not to mess it up. (I have ruined a computer before whilst learning, years ago,; so it does happen.)

If you do upgrade your processor from a single to a multi-core component, if it’s possible, you’ll notice a marked performance improvement. I suggest adding some more memory at the same time to make that improvement even greater.

Maybe you’ve already upgraded your processor from a single-core to a multi-cored component? What’s your experience of this? Don’t be afraid to comment. I know comments appear to be a bit sparse at present; but it would be good to break the mould.

If you’re Pagan; especially if you’re a techno-Pagan, interested in Paganism, or even just browsing, then please do visit this site. I very much doubt you’ll regret doing so.

What I am going to say is that I stumbled across it today; not for the first time, and had time to have a better look at it. I was quite amazed to be honest: So much so that I’m giving it a page of it’s own at no profit to myself whatsoever. - In fact I haven’t even notified the owner; who I have known online for a while, that I am doing so.

Why am I doing so? Because I like it: It’s a very good site in my opinion. I appreciate that you might not all be as enthralled with it as I was; but it’s well worth a visit.

This year I’ll be recommending a number of sites: Pagan, technology-oriented, individual; anything that really stands out to me. Some I’ll do for no profit: Some I’ll charge to recommend.

Feel free to submit your URL for consideration if you like. If I decide to review I’ll let you know along with my price, should I decide to charge. Drop me a line at urlsubmit at kustomkomputa dot co dot uk. if you want to submit your blog or a blog.

Have you ever wondered what route your internet activities are taking?

You’ve just visited kkomp.com from wherever you’re logging onto your computer or handheld device; but your download of the page you requested didn’t come straight from the server to you: Instead it went through a number of other servers, acting as relays, to get to you. You may be surprised how many of these it passed through en-route.

You can find out the identities of these servers with the Windows command "tracert". ("traceroute" on a Mac.)

- For instance; if I wanted to see which servers my communication passes through to kkomp.com’s server; I first open a command prompt in XP. (Start>Run, and type "cmd" in the dialogue-box. ¬) I get a DOS window with the following in it: -

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Sharron>_

The _ is the command-prompt. At the command-prompt I type "tracert kkomp.com"; thus: -

C:\Documents and Settings\Sharron>tracert kkomp.com

The computer responds by pinging all the servers en-route and asking them to identify themselves: -

Tracing route to kkomp.com [213.171.218.145]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

The first stop is my BT Home Hub router: -

  1    19 ms   100 ms    99 ms  BThomehub.home [192.168.1.254]

Then the separate BT internet network switches. (Because I use BT internet in the UK, and BT have their own mini-web which connects to the real internet at various nodes. You’ll probably get something different, unless you’re a BT customer in the UK.):-

  2    25 ms    25 ms    24 ms  217.47.206.250
  3    23 ms    23 ms   104 ms  217.47.206.161
  4   197 ms   103 ms    31 ms  213.123.109.6
  5    25 ms    26 ms   192 ms  217.41.169.17
  6   144 ms    64 ms    24 ms  217.41.169.66
  7   109 ms   193 ms    97 ms  217.41.169.126
  8   217 ms    69 ms   103 ms  217.41.169.38
  9   158 ms    24 ms    94 ms  217.47.144.50
10   229 ms    25 ms    26 ms  core2-pos12-1.reading.ukcore.bt.net [194.72.0.213]

It’s made it to the big switch at Reading…

11   161 ms   102 ms    27 ms  core2-pos0-0-0-13.ilford.ukcore.bt.net [62.6.201.201]

Which passed it on to another big BT switch at Ilford… 

12   127 ms   123 ms   179 ms  core2-pos9-1.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net [194.74.65.118]

Which sent it to the real internet…

13   125 ms   245 ms    40 ms  linx.bb-c.the.lon.gb.oneandone.net [195.66.224.98]
14   116 ms   248 ms   144 ms  88.208.255.61

It’s just about to hit Fasthosts’ main server…

15   222 ms    82 ms    64 ms  pc2.prt0.fhdis.fasthosts.net.uk [88.208.255.1]

Followed by one of their internal web-servers…

16    53 ms    32 ms    32 ms  213.171.217.3

…And to the individual hosting server.

17   176 ms   158 ms    61 ms  server213-171-218-145.livedns.org.uk [213.171.218.145]

Trace complete.

C:\Documents and Settings\Sharron>

Target neutralised.

Here’s the actual window’s content without my comments: -

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Sharron>tracert kkomp.com

Tracing route to kkomp.com [213.171.218.145]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    19 ms   100 ms    99 ms  BThomehub.home [192.168.1.254]
  2    25 ms    25 ms    24 ms  217.47.206.250
  3    23 ms    23 ms   104 ms  217.47.206.161
  4   197 ms   103 ms    31 ms  213.123.109.6
  5    25 ms    26 ms   192 ms  217.41.169.17
  6   144 ms    64 ms    24 ms  217.41.169.66
  7   109 ms   193 ms    97 ms  217.41.169.126
  8   217 ms    69 ms   103 ms  217.41.169.38
  9   158 ms    24 ms    94 ms  217.47.144.50
10   229 ms    25 ms    26 ms  core2-pos12-1.reading.ukcore.bt.net [194.72.0.21
3]
11   161 ms   102 ms    27 ms  core2-pos0-0-0-13.ilford.ukcore.bt.net [62.6.201
.201]
12   127 ms   123 ms   179 ms  core2-pos9-1.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net [194.74.65.
118]
13   125 ms   245 ms    40 ms  linx.bb-c.the.lon.gb.oneandone.net [195.66.224.9
8]
14   116 ms   248 ms   144 ms  88.208.255.61
15   222 ms    82 ms    64 ms  pc2.prt0.fhdis.fasthosts.net.uk [88.208.255.1]
16    53 ms    32 ms    32 ms  213.171.217.3
17   176 ms   158 ms    61 ms  server213-171-218-145.livedns.org.uk [213.171.21
8.145]

Trace complete.

C:\Documents and Settings\Sharron>

Try it for yourself: You can use any domain or IP address in place of kkomp.com .

Here you learn something new every day; even New Year’s Day. Happy New Year. May 2009 bring you much enlightenment.

Microsoft’s 30GB Zunes are failing on a colossal scale. Around 2AM, (In an American time-zone presumably. My source is indefinite as to which one.) 30GB Zunes that were switched on reset themselves. When they were switched on again they froze in the loading process, becoming totally unresponsive and practically useless.

Zune users have dubbed this crisis Z2K9; a parody of the Y2K bug. (Although the New Year hasn’t even started at time of writing. Reports of this problem are continually appearing across the internet.

It would seem that the bug lies within the latest firmware at this point; as many who failed to update their firmware seem to be unaffected.

The source material I used was unable to give a proper explanation as to why this was happening; and as yet I am none the wiser myself. I’m sure that an explanation will soon be forthcoming though.

It’s certainly one method of advertising; but probably not a good one.

Have you had similar problems? If so please do tell in the comments.

Addendum: Here’s the official fix: -

“Microsoft’s responded to the Zune 30GB failure, blaming a leap-year handling bug. And they’ve provided a fix. Which is to wait til New Years, when the bug will go away by itself…”

Read more…

British Telecommunications (BT) appear to have a good and fairly reliable standard of service with respect to their technology and technological services; such as internet, telephone, and the other technologies that they cover. I find that it’s pretty solid, made of sturdy stuff, and things rarely go wrong.

When they do go wrong, though, the flaws start to show. I’ve mentioned this a few times before, and I feel that it’s a subject that I should cover again, as despite my earlier posts, as well as the public’s experiences with their appalling customer-services regarding their foreign call-centres, combined with my reporting them for dodgy advertising practices and awful customer relations practices, nothing seems to have changed: They just nonchalantly carry on regardless.

Whenever I ring BT for whatever reason I get stress. They usually pass me around departments; each one of which interrogates me with the same stet spiel before passing me on to the next. Most are in India and I have to say everything in triplicate before they understand me anyway. As a bonus they appear to have been trained to think that no BT customer is intelligent enough to use a word of more than 2 syllables or to have any idea whatsoever of using a computer. When I do finally get through to the right department, I usually find that I’m talking to a fairly young Indian girl with an extremely strong Indian accent who appears to think she knows everything there is to know about everything, talks down to me in a patronising manner - slowly as if I was retarded - avoiding using technical terms, and despite my indicating that I build computers and install software + have qualifications in analogue and digital electronics, treating me as if I was a technophobe with an IQ of 10. If I ask to talk to her supervisor it takes about 10 minutes to get her supervisor on the line after 5 minutes of requesting; only for the supervisor to read from the same script that was earlier read to me, and tell me that she can’t help me any further than she already has, but if I’d like to pursue the matter further I should ring another of BT’s trillions of departments, (Probably in a room next door, or at the back of the call-centre in India.) on such-and-such a number. (When I do I find that I’m told that I’m speaking to the wrong department, and after being transferred through another X departments - undergoing identification interrogation at each of them, I find I end up speaking to the same Indian girl who offers to put me on hold while she transfers me yet again; after which the line goes dead.

Right BT: I’ve had enough. - As have millions of others who’ve switched their telephone service and/or ISP to another provider.

- They’re crafty bleeders too: Every time I phone them to get a better deal from them, (I must admit that they can be bargained and bartered with, and that’s a good thing. - But they’ll only drop a certain amount: If you push them too far they’ll just end the call.) I end up signing a 12 or 18-month contract in order to get what I want. That means that I spend over half the time tied to them.

A bit more on bartering with BT: If you feel that you’re not getting a fair deal, and/or you know that you can get a better deal elsewhere as regards price; ring their sales department - Which is at least partially located in the UK, ask to speak to someone in authority, and tell them exactly why you think you’re not getting a good deal from them.

Don’t lie: They may be incompetent but they’re not stupid. If you lie they’ll just politely tell you that they are unable to help you and end the call. Be honest with them and they’ll hopefully be fair with you. I can almost guarantee that they’ll tie you into a contract; but don’t be put off by that: If you’re properly self-aware then you’ll be able to negotiate further deals whilst under contract on the basis that you renew your contract for a full-term.

Snide Ba—rds!

OK back to the point: BT; you are getting to a point where you are going to shoot yourself in the foot if you squeeze any harder: That thing which you’re squeezing has become a trigger which will lead to your eventual self-destruction in the present economic climate. Either get your act together or prepare to slowly and tortuously go under.

I feel that the only reason why anyone would use BT’s internet services is because they’re less fault-prone than anyone else’s: That’s the positive side to them. They work and they work properly 99.99% of the time. - However, aside from their abysmal PR efforts, BT are rather expensive, also they’re neither the fastest ISP in the UK, nor are they future-proofed at the present moment. In fact Virgin Media are beginning to appear a nicer and nicer alternative as time goes by.

Virgin Media aren’t quite as reliable as BT in my opinion: They have got a lot better in this respect though, and they continue to do so. To anyone in a cabled area who’s thinking of changing ISP; I suggest Virgin Media as one of the best options. As for those in a non-cabled area; I suggest Virgin Media or BT - BT being the most reliable of the two for now, as two of the best options; whereas Virgin Media will probably have more chance of being the better of the two in the future. The choice is yours out of the two.

There is a single lower-cost provider who I would recommend to the same, even in some cases to a greater, extent than either of these two, though. More on that further down.

Other ISPs?

Other ISPs? Well I’m not too bothered about most other ISPs as far as landline communications are concerned. Mobile communications are a different matter and are outside the scope of this article. Most other ISPs probably use BT or Virgin Media’s equipment to carry their data, and probably buy up spare capacity in wholesale amounts; hence their pricing policies being discounted in some way. When something goes wrong, though, they have to check their own equipment first -The delay caused at this point can be anything between immediately and eternally. Following that, if they can’t find a fault, they have to ask their providers to check if there are any faults on the carrier equipment, which is requested but usually goes to the back of the queue. Some parts of some cheaper networks have been known to be down for weeks at a time in the past. - If you pay peanuts you get the services of monkeys.

BUT…

There is one that is cheap-er than BT, but is pretty reliable: That being the Utility Warehouse, who actually own a percentage of the network that they use, in addition to purchasing spare-capacity from other carriers. - Which is why I advertise them on this site. A FTSE-listed company that can win an award from Which? magazine must be worth considering as an option. I’ll say no more; but why not click on the ad and find out more about them? They’re a UK-only service currently, so I hope I haven’t wasted your time if you live outside the UK.

If there’s anything you’d like to add, contradict, or express an opinion on, then please do comment.

I wouldn’t describe building a PC as "easy"; but it’s not as difficult as one might imagine. Unlike constructing an electronic circuit, such as an amplifier, for example; there’s nothing extremely fiddly, such as soldering or quality engineering to worry about: That’s all been taken care of already by the component manufacturers.

It’s like putting a jigsaw together: Every piece fits in a certain configuration as a part of the whole. The pieces are already made, so you don’t have to make them yourself: you only need to fit them together in the correct fashion.

*At this point I’ll state that this article isn’t a comprehensive how-to: It’s just some notes from my recent rebuild experience.*

You may have heard that I recently had a computer die on me. I’d built it from scrap parts as a replacement for another one that went funny earlier. I have no idea exactly what caused the fault that killed it. It blue-screened and then just died a second later. Following on from that when I tried to restart it the BIOS couldn’t find the processor; so I assumed that the chipset had fried: ‘New motherboard required if this was the case.

There’s the old construction on the left. (Excuse the picture quality.) I’d already started taking it apart at that point, so it does look rather untidy. I’ve just rebuilt this machine; and I’m actually writing this article on it.

I stripped it down and started again; therefore I in essence built the machine from scratch. While doing so I took pics of a number of stages and of some of the parts, with a view to blogging the event. This blog has suffered from a lack of posts due to this project and other work, so I  thought it a good idea to use this project as subject matter.

First things first; a motherboard:

I purchased a fairly cheap Gigabyte motherboard for this project: It cost me about £38 at the time. I’d decided to use a socket AM2 AMD Athlon 64 x 2, 2.2GHz processor, as in my other working machine, for this one.

Some people have a low-opinion of AMD chips. Myself, I’ve always found them to be reliable and sturdy. Also they’re cheaper and the motherboards that run them cost less too. Since this was a rebuild that I didn’t want to spend too much on I was quite happy with my choice.

Of course I’d need a CPU cooler too, which consists of a heatsink and fan in order to prevent the processor from overheating. I had this one in stock and was going to use it. However I found that the original cooler was a better one, and surprisingly that it fitted onto a socket AM2 fitting perfectly; therefore having cleaned it up I used it instead.

I also invested in a new hard-drive. I could have used the old one; there was nothing wrong with it. - But I added the old one to my other machine and started this build with a brand new disk.

All-in-all the motherboard, processor, and hard-drive, cost me £108 Inc. VAT at 15%.

So to construction; and the pic on the right shows the case with the new motherboard fitted.

Always remember before starting out; earth thyself: Static electricity builds up in your body and on your clothes, and it kills computer components. personally I always wear an earthed wrist-strap when building computers, just to take any static safely to earth rather than letting it flow through the components I’m using and killing them.

After this point I got a buzz,  and I just ploughed on ahead with construction while not bothering to take any more pics of it.

In short, though, it was just a matter from here of fitting the PSU, connecting the appropriate power leads to the motherboard, inserting the processor into the socket on the motherboard, pulling the little lever while pressing down on it to seal it in the socket, smearing some heat-conducting grease on the top of it, fitting and aligning the cooler, and pulling down the lever on it to tighten it to the surface after clipping the clips onto the processor surround.

Installing the RAM: I inserted 2 x 1GB 667MHz DDR2 sticks into the memory slots and pushed down until they clicked into place.

Following that I connected up the front panel to the appropriate pins. I had problems with the sound jacks on the front as the connections didn’t match with the new motherboard at all. In the end I left the two front sound jacks unconnected, and only connected the 2 front USB ports, the HD activity LED, and the power-indicator LED, to the appropriate pins.

I popped the new HDD into a drive-bay, screwed it in, and connected it up to a SATA power lead from the PSU and to the motherboard’s SATA controller via a SATA connector lead. The same with the DVD-RW drive. (I used the existing DVD-RW as there was no point getting a new one. - Same with the existing floppy-drive.

"Floppy-drive! Why bother with a floppy?" You ask.

I like floppy-drives. I find them useful. I also still like CRT monitors and Outlook Express too. That’s just me: I don’t expect anyone to do similar if they don’t want to.)

So having put the thing together it was time for the initial power-up: Fingers crossed. Bingo: POST. I did take a pic of it, but it was so crappy I deleted it.

After a few minor adjustments to the BIOS, it’s time to install Windows XP:

Pop the XP pro CD into the DVD-RW drive… Let’s get the HDD formatted: NTFS - A decent file-system.

Install Windows…

- Et voila mes amis.

That wasn’t exactly the hardest thing on earth to do; although the construction is the easy, quick, and interesting part for me: It’s the 12 or so hours afterwards installing, optimising, and configuring, all the software that really gets my goat: That’s one reason I don’t do upgrades as a rule for customers: Even after spending 12 hours on it; they still moan about something: That’s why I just build the comp and install and optimise Windows and the motherboard drivers after a new build only, professionally. People can add their own software afterwards and screw up the operating system any way they like once the comp is delivered and paid for.

So that’s the rebuild; and it is a rather excellent job although I do say so myself.

Last month; October 2008, I reported on BT’s plans to create its own fibre-optic network in the UK, starting with Muswell Hill, London, and also Whitchurch, South Wales, (Not Whitchurch in Hampshire.) at a total cost of some 1.5 billion. Short-sighted shareholders, however have basically vetoed those plans for the time being. The shareholders expressed concerns about spending that much money in the current economic climate.

Chief executive Ian Livingston was better foresighted, and said that he still believes that BT should go ahead and make the investment, which he initially announced not long after becoming chief executive. Although he echoed the shareholders’ concerns, there appears little point in cutting back on investment, job creation, resources, and investment, simply because the media have decided that everything financial is doom and gloom. All that will do is aid the recession to deepen, and amplify its effect upon the company in question.

“‘But we need to have the environment in which our shareholders feel there is a good chance of us making a return,” Said Livingston. “If we cannot have that environment this is not the time to be taking on sure-fire losses.”

Also, last week, BT announced that it plans to lay off 4,000 of its own staff and also 6,000 contractors, in order to reduce operating costs by £1.25 billion.

That seems a rather silly move to my mind; but in the light of that move it can now fund all but 250 million for the above project. - It will not do so, however. - So where does the money end up? Probably it appears on the end-of-year profits so that the BT bosses can award themselves another pay-rise as a reward for increased productivity under "detrimental economic conditions": I wouldn’t be at all surprised; the greedy ba—-ds!

New research data from Point Topic, which details profiles of broadband DSL and ADSL services worldwide, indicates that the number of new broadband lines added to the UK’s infrastructure between July to September was a clear 20 per cent below previous forecasts.

"To keep on track Britain needed to add 390,000 broadband lines in the July to September quarter, said Tim Johnson, chief analyst at Point Topic. "We estimate that the actual number was only 313,000. That’s 20% down on the target". Point Topic also estimates that Virgin Media may have gained another 60,000 cable modem customers at the expense of BT and other smaller alternative broadband ISPs, who actually lost around 70,000 customers during this period.

Local loop unbundling - where ISPs such as Carphone Warehouse, Utility Warehouse, and Sky install their own equipment in BT’s telephone exchanges - was found to be the main driver of continuing growth in broadband, adding 323,000 lines in the third quarter of 2008.

"By the end of 2009 there should be about 18.4 million broadband lines in Britain, 300,000 short of what was expected six months ago." Continued Johnson.

He predicts that this means that fewer people will switch from dial-up lines to broadband, and about 240,000 more homes will be without any kind of internet access by the end of 2009.

To my mind that is utterly diabolical: Nearly 1/4 million homes giving up internet access altogether! It underlines the tightfisted nature of the British consumer in general; slashing costs indiscriminately in the face of a shortage of beer-money or reserve cash for cosmetics, without a second thought for the effect on themselves caused from the denial of a principal technology. Of course this shortsighted approach is in the face of a financial assault by the money-grabbing profiteering UK ISPs who, as with most British business, will stop at nothing to rob the public of as much money as possible while at the same time delivering the minimum service that they can possibly get away with.

I honestly didn’t realise that there were so many people in the UK who still used dial-up! Why use dial-up? At the end of the day it costs more than a broadband connection, is far slower, and in some cases less reliable too.

I know that in America many people in far-flung reaches of the continent have no choice as there is as yet no broadband or cable service in their area. That’s possibly acceptable in such a huge country, at least temporarily so anyway. This is the UK though: This is a small group of overpopulated islands. Th4ere is no excuse whatsoever for there not to be a countrywide broadband service in the UK at this point in the 21st Century. If the powers that be would invest their profits rather than pocketing them, I’m quite sure that the task could be completed in a short time. The only thing standing in the way is British greed.

What do you think about this subject? Do you agree that the UK needs to pull its socks up, and fast?

Multinational British-based telecommunications company BT has chosen  around 15,000 homes/businesses in Muswell Hill, London, and in Whitchurch, South Wales, to be the launching-points for its new internet service  of its "Fibre-to-the-Cabinet" internet-delivery-system.

BT are claiming this service could give customers speeds of up to 40Mbps, and is scheduled to be in operation in the summer of 2009.

BT are unclear as to which ISPs will be using the scheme as yet, but have said that those ISPs will be setting the prices for their services once this matter has been further sorted out. Further details for the next stage of the operation, in which the service will be on offer on a larger (Nationwide?) scale, is to be announced in 2010.

According to David Campbell, director of next generation access at BT Openreach:-

"Services in these areas will be available to all UK communication providers on a wholesale basis. The sites were chosen in consultation with communications providers and took into account feedback from regional development agencies, devolved authorities and similar organisations."

"It was also necessary to take into account current network topology and our ability to run testing procedures in the chosen areas. We have a good mix of areas, allowing us to test our products in both urban and semi-rural environments."

What’s the big deal though? Is this all too little too late? In 1994/5, the then NTL cabled most of the more easily-accessible areas of the UK with its fibre-optic cables, on which, since the merge with Virgin Media, a 40Mbps internet connection has been available for quite some time.

It would appear that BT are intending to do exactly the same; thus giving the already-cabled areas a choice of hi-speed internet, while leaving the rural outlying areas with the paltry choice of slow-dial-up or expensive satellite internet services.

If the above paragraph is true, then nothing changes other than an increase in variety for the select recipients in more densely-populated areas; screw the rest of them.

Having areas of 40Mbps connection whilst continuing to have areas where, to keep costs down, customers opt for a 56Kbps dial-up connection, isn’t really going to be productive: The most vulnerable point in any chain is its weakest link; so if little Jenny, who has a 40Mbps connection, is sending her granny, who has a 56Kbps dial-up connection, a 500MB file of her favourite cartoons, then Jenny may as well have a 56Kbps dial-up connection also for all the time it’ll take to reach granny.

Maybe I’m being a bit melodramatic in the above paragraph; but unless everyone gets a decent deal out of a new development which affects society as a whole, then what is the point of it if it’s just going to produce bottlenecks? I mean what is the point of having a 10-lane motorway for 99% of the distance between towns A and B, if at the end of the motorway is a single-track winding lane making the final connection?

Meanwhile Thailand (Which isn’t exactly a technological superpower.) continues to have its hyperfast-internet which is available to almost everyone; and the traffic between Thailand and the UK is not a massive amount. I wonder why? Perhaps it’s because they get fed up with waiting for the British to receive their message? It leaves Thailand within the second; gets to the UK 3 seconds later, and reaches its final destination as a complete download later that week! Am I being melodramatic again? Not in all cases: I’ve known email from abroad to reach its UK destination 3 days later. In some cases even longer than that. When snail-mail becomes faster than the internet it’s clear that someone somewhere is doing something wrong.

So come on BT: I hope everyone, regardless of area, local population, and accessibility, is going to benefit from this: If they don’t it all seems pretty pointless and just another one of the UK’s famous postcode-lotteries.

Prologue Rabbit:

Quite some time ago - 2 years plus; I’m not exactly sure how long, I got an invite from a friend to join Facebook. I’d heard a lot about it but wasn’t really into social networking at that time: Times were good economically, and I was concentrating on getting a computer-building enterprise running. I wasn’t that fussed on spending hours posting my life online and getting chatted-up by lonely losers using the internet as a last-ditch attempt at getting a date with anyone they could find.

Anyway I eventually gave Facebook a try - And I found it so sucky at the time that after not long I closed down my account in protest. I kept a MySpace account going but abandoned it and forgot the login details.

More than two years later; having become a Twitter, FriendFeed, etc, user - I found that everyone and anyone was using Facebook. Yesterday I made up my mind to give them a second chance and opened an account: The new look Facebook is so much better, more user-friendly, and functional.

The Guts:

…And so to the purpose of this article; having released and dispensed with the drivel:-

I’m going to be honest and say that I’m not an iPhone owner or user. What? A geek without an iPhone?!: Dracula without fangs, a tree not made of wood! Well, approve or disapprove; I’m a Wintard and I use Windows Mobile on my mobile phone supplied by BT, and some Linux variant on my Sony Ericsson X750i, I think it is. I simply don’t see the point of buying an iPhone, and I have possible gripes with Apple - But that’s another story. Since I don’t own an iPhone I can’t tell you much about this App from experience: So I’m going to cheat and quote a little from TechCrunch.com:

“While previous releases of the Facebook application supported the News Feed feature, only mobile photo uploads and status updates were displayed. In version 2.0, the News Feed has been completely overhauled to match item-for-item with that of the site itself, throwing news posts, relationship and interest updates, and all photo uploads into the mix. Furthermore, users are now able to comment on any given bit of news, or limit the feed to only the categories they wish to peruse.”

Ah what the heck: Click the link below and read:

Facebook Rolls Out Version 2.0 of their iPhone Application

Yes; maybe it’s not standard practice to just hand over to another blog mid-story: A little deviation from the norm won’t hurt anyone nevertheless; plus I’ve done Michael Arrington, Greg Kumparak, and the rest of the TC crew a favour.

…And Finally…

Something else that’s hitting the headlines is the House of Representatives’  Web site - Which has been overwhelmed this week by a tidal-wave of visitors trying to e-mail their Congressperson and/or download George Bush’s Financial Bailout Bill that the House rejected. The site saw three to four times its normal traffic yesterday, 29th September,, according to Jeff Ventura, a spokesman for the House Chief Administrative Officer.

That’ll teach ‘em to vote “no”: DDOS ‘em as punishment, lol.

And now; Some advertising:

I know that I’ve spoken a number of times, here on this blog as well a in comments on other blogs, about the deplorable state of the internet