PC Problems? I am a PC TECH.

[Naked Freedom]

do you think CDs and DVDs are reliable.....
Cyclic Redundancy Error , i don't know why it happens but it left me quite unsure of the optical disks....so i stopped creating backups on them....i think blu ray disks will suit the purpose better....but they are quite expensive comparatively.
what do u think of the static external hard disks? are they reliable??
but here also the cost is way too much...what to do???

[johndowe]

Originally Posted by Naked Freedom

do you think CDs and DVDs are reliable.....
Cyclic Redundancy Error , i don't know why it happens but it left me quite unsure of the optical disks....so i stopped creating backups on them....i think blu ray disks will suit the purpose better....but they are quite expensive comparatively.
what do u think of the static external hard disks? are they reliable??
but here also the cost is way too much...what to do???

Hi there.

CD's and DVD's are reliable, but bad burns do happen occasionally, read my post on burning CD's & DVD's post #4 on this thread, if you use NERO, you can have it verify the disk right after the burn, if your data is important, it would be very wise to check the verify box, and follow my instructions and you should make very few bad copies, over the last few months i have made over 1000 CD & DVD's and only made 5 or 6 bad copies, i always use the same brand of disks that work well with my burner to minimize the number of bad copies.

Blu Ray is essentially the same technology as CD's and DVD's, only the write density is increased, and the light emiting diode is blue instead of infra red, so the reliability should be the same, but you will have to have a more powerfull computer to burn a disk, because the burn speed is higher, you will need at least a 2GHz dual core computer, the Blu Ray recorders are expensive also, the capacity is 25Gb single layer 50Gb dual layer, so you will have to have at least that amount of free hard disk space free to make a 1:1 copy, but less if you copy files that are on your computer, in DVD drives i like LG, they will burn almost any CD & DVD BRAND, i would ASSUME that they would put the same effort in their Blu Ray drives as they did for their DVD drives, but it is just an assumption, maby mr.Excaliborg can have more practical info about Blu Ray drives.

JohnDowe.

[Excaliborg]

blue-ray? i'd rather take a death-ray gizmo thank you very much. but anyway if you really want to find out the nitty gritty of blu-ray go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc.

i have burnt one cd and one dvd in the last year and i only had about ten faulty burns since i bought my first writer. so yes optical storage mediums are reliable. but the thing is that you have to take care of your discs. put them in a case, dont leave them in a cd/dvd drive for extended periods, no excessive heat or cold. and dont touch the recorded surface.

i always tell people when it comes to pc parts and accessories, you get what you pay for. so dont buy cheap blank discs or components. it sounds silly to do it but one of the best pieces of advice i can give anybody is that before you buy something computer related, google it and read more than one review of whichever product you are going to buy. it may save you from buying a lemon.

[Excaliborg]

first off let me say that at one stage or another we were all n00bs. someone who knew nothing when it came to technology. we learn by looking, reading and asking. lucky for me only two people saw me as a n00b, and they fixed that by giving me a stack of pc mags and a pile of hardware and telling me to have fun.

but i digress. all too often i see people asking help in an infantile manner, using excessive question makrs and exclamation marks(not here though). the only thing this does is piss everyon else off. so dont whine, cry, moan and groan. state the nature of the problem in the best english(or whatever language you use) possible. also include what you have done to resolve the issue. provide as much detail as possible, what you were doing at the time the error occured, etc. remember that google is your friend, use it wisely.

the same goes for walking into a store and buying a pc or pc components. dont just walk up to the nearest salesperson and plonk down your cash and shout "GIMME PC!". you should have a clear mental picture of how much you are willing to spend and what you are going to use the pc for.

i hope these rambling thoughts of mine help in some way.

[johndowe]

Originally Posted by Excaliborg

first off let me say that at one stage or another we were all n00bs. someone who knew nothing when it came to technology. we learn by looking, reading and asking. lucky for me only two people saw me as a n00b, and they fixed that by giving me a stack of pc mags and a pile of hardware and telling me to have fun.

but i digress. all too often i see people asking help in an infantile manner, using excessive question makrs and exclamation marks(not here though). the only thing this does is piss everyon else off. so dont whine, cry, moan and groan. state the nature of the problem in the best english(or whatever language you use) possible. also include what you have done to resolve the issue. provide as much detail as possible, what you were doing at the time the error occured, etc. remember that google is your friend, use it wisely.

the same goes for walking into a store and buying a pc or pc components. dont just walk up to the nearest salesperson and plonk down your cash and shout "GIMME PC!". you should have a clear mental picture of how much you are willing to spend and what you are going to use the pc for.

i hope these rambling thoughts of mine help in some way.

Hi there.

Great advice, in computers the First piece of advice i give to some one who's looking to buy a computer is: DON'T BUY A MAC, BUY A PC.

WHY? 2 reasons: 1- $$$$, with MAC's and anything APPLE you have to pay for EVERYTHING, iPhone, iMac & iPod. 2- Software, this is the most important one, 99.9% of the Mac software is avaliable for the PC, BUT about 70% of PC software is avaliable for the MAC, and not just the cheap stuff as some MAC enthusiasts will tout.

JohnDowe.

[johndowe]

Originally Posted by Naked Freedom

do you think CDs and DVDs are reliable.....
Cyclic Redundancy Error , i don't know why it happens but it left me quite unsure of the optical disks....so i stopped creating backups on them....i think blu ray disks will suit the purpose better....but they are quite expensive comparatively.
what do u think of the static external hard disks? are they reliable??
but here also the cost is way too much...what to do???

Hi there.

External hard disks, there are 3 sizes, the microminiature ones, that can fit on your key chain, 40gigs or so, bigger than flash drive but much more fragile, then there are the medium and large size, they are made with laptop and regular computer hard disks, so they are just as reliable, they are housed in a small case with a USB to hard disk interface, the laptop version uses the USB power, the bigger version uses an external power supply, they are a good media for back-ups and are very easily updated, the price is a bit high ($150) but, what is the price of losing your data? If your data is VERY importand and valuable you should have multipls back-ups, external hard disk AND CD/DVD.

JohnDowe.

[johndowe]

Hi there.

Hey Excaliborg, I like your avatar, cute kitty.


JohnDowe.

[tslover586]

is there a software that i can get my hands on for free that will allow me to watch live tv over the internet.
if not what is the best priced best quality software that i can get to do this.

[johndowe]

Originally Posted by tslover586

is there a software that i can get my hands on for free that will allow me to watch live tv over the internet.
if not what is the best priced best quality software that i can get to do this.

Hi there.

Yes there are, very many, there are 3 types:

First: The pay per month, type you install the software, select the chanels you want, the quality is usually pretty good, some charge a base monthly rate and you can watch 24/7, others you pay a fixed amount and you have so many minutes after you have to buy more.

Second: The pay the software once an watch for ever no additionnal charges, the software is not that expensive and it works well, the quality is pretty good, but varies depending of the source.

Third: FREE internet tv uses internet explorer, and either Real Pleayer, Quick time (iTunes), Win's Media Player, and/or Winamp See POST #6 on this thread, the programs are FREEWARE, but the quality of the shows and visual quality vary greatly, and there are literally thoughsands of chanels to choose from and from EVERY country on the earth.

The only bad side is internet usage, if your internet limit is low, it will be over very quickly and you MAY get a LARGER bill than you expected, aspecially with mobile internet where you get only a few 3-6 gigs per month at $50-$100+ every month, and it gets REAL expensive to exceed those limits.

To find the sites that offer these services you google: "tv on the internet" without the quotes and you will get the usual google millions of results...

None of these require any special hardware, other than a P3+ computer and hi speed internet access.

As for the best quality, because of internet and other media and software limitations, the internet TV picture quality is at the moment inferior to regular TV, so you have to try to find what you want and see itf the quality and reliability is acceptable.

ADDITONNAL: if you have a hi quality video card with all the bells and whistles, and a TV with Video in, you can connect your TV to your computer and watch internet TV on your (hopefully) big screen TV, or play your favorite game, it won't increase the quality but it will allow the whole family or freinds to watch, or even watch regular TV on your PC, only expensive video cards do that, but there are some inexpensive ($20) TV in cards that allow you to do this, AND record TV also, i have one of those cards and it works fine, with an antennae or cable tv.

JohnDowe.

[Excaliborg]

Originally Posted by johndowe

Hi there.

Hey Excaliborg, I like your avatar, cute kitty.


JohnDowe.

yeah me too. thats stoner cat. he and i are alike in some ways.