Computer

Sweet Little Acer Aspire One PC

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My spouse’s notebook computer died a few weeks ago, about 1 year after the 1 year warranty expired. This was not very satisfying. I also had my notebook PC die this past year, so it is starting to look like notebooks are disposal devices. Funny, my desktop PCs just keep on going year after year … Read more

Ernie Gets a Linux Upgrade

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One of my old PCs sitting in the basement had Windows 98 on it. The computer was named Ernie by my daughter many years ago. (The taller computer we had at the time received the name Bert, as in Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street.) The OS seemed to be dieing a slow death as … Read more

Too Much Data

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Disclaimer: I am a little ticked off that my digital scanner (radio receiver, not a graphics scanner) decided to toss its cookies today and lose all of its programmed data. The day before, my Yaesu FT-8900 got amnesia, losing all of its channels. (It seems to not appreciate the voltage dip when the car engine … Read more

Visit to Akihabara

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Every once in a while, I pass through Tokyo, Japan on business travel. When the schedule permits, I make a trip over to Akihabara (AKA “Electric Town”), the center of electronic and computer gadgets in Tokyo. This place is amazing, offering everything from resistors to wide-screen televisions (and, yes, ham radio equipment). The only thing … Read more

My Hard Drive Would Never Fail

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I powered up my PC a few days ago and it gave me a very blank stare. Actually, it had one small message for me: operating system missing. Hmmm, that did not sound too good. I investigated further…booted the computer from a CD. Did “chkdsk” which told me my hard drive was Missing in Action.Lucky … Read more