A Cautionary Tale

I don’t mess about with hardware and although, I could probably do quite complicated work on PCs at one time, I couldn’t now, as my knowledge is way out of date.

But this tale from the BBCs web site, shows how you might fall into all sorts of security holes if you do.

Their technology correspondent changed the motherboard on his home PC and consequently, the various security systems thought he was committing credit card fraud, as the computer address had changed.

Now he, thought he knew what he was doing.  He did hardware-wise, but he got caught out, by intelligent checking software on the Internet.

when I feel, one of machines is getting to the end of it’s life, I buy another machine and gradually swap everything over, still doing most of the work on the old machine.

So whhen it dies, I just move the last update over and put the old machine in the bin.

David Versus Goliath Or ARM Versus Intel

I have just read this article in the Motley Fool about David or ARM Holdings taking on Goliath or Intel.

The article has been given the title The Reason ARM Holdings Is Dominating Intel, but interestingly the web page is called Why ARM Holdings Destined  Destroy Intel. This name is chosen by the blogging software, from the first title used for the article taking out the short connecting words, like is and to. Look at the title and web address of this post.

But I suppose someone in management at The Motley Fool felt it was a bit provocative.

I don’t, as I think Intel is doomed.

As we need to process and store more and more data, one of the biggest limitations will be the amount of power needed.

As an example look at the average smart phone. It may have lots of features and processing power, but this often comes at the price of a short period of operation before the phone needs recharging. Now virtually all smart phones are built around ARM chips, as the Intel chips use too much power. This power consumption of ARM chips is one of the main reasons they are dominant in portable devices like smart phones and tablets.

The vast server farms have a similar problem and I’ve read that about ten percent of the world’s electricity consumption could be used to power them in the future. So a low-power route would be to everybody’s advantage. And ARM is the low power processor, although Intel are starting to design processors that are more efficient. Intel might be able to put up a strong fight, but I believe there’s one big reason, why it won’t.

Intel is a conservative company, that sticks to a philosophy that has worked for years.  And getting companies with a vast investment in a proven philosophy to change, when the writing appears on the wall is not easy! Especially, when you are selling product to equally conservative companies, who don’t want to change their philosophies.

Let’s say you are a server manufacturer like Hewlett-Packard. You know you have to go with lower powered processors to maintain your market share.

You have two choices; wait for Intel’s product to arrive or design your own low-power processors around the ARM technology and get them manufactured by any one of a number of companies.

The second approach is probably the one with the lowest risk, so you at least have to try it. If it fails, you can still go with Intel’s new low power chips.

If you don’t succeed, then it is absolutely certain that someone else will develop a low power server using ARM technology. So your traditional market will go bang anyway!

It also has the great advantage, that if you do it successfully, Intel will start to worry, that you’ll go down the same route with all the other chips you buy from them. so you may get better prices for the other chips.

If you don’t succeed, then it is absolutely certain that someone else will develop a low power server using ARM technology. So your traditional market will go bang anyway!

The main loser in either scenario is Intel.

You have to remember how dominant IBM was in the 1960s.  They had a philosophy that worked well, but where are they now! They’re just a shadow of their former selves where hardware is concerned. Smaller and more innovative companies chipped away at their market.

I would also throw in a view on how hardware designers and programmers think. Basically, ninety percent are anarchists, who believe in destroy and rebuild much better, so they will always decry the architecture of companies like Intel and go for something that appeals to their dark side.

ARM was that forbidden fruit that only a few companies used.  But now it is so mainstream, you can satisfy your own preferences and those of management as well.

In five or ten years time, they’ll be writing articles about how the new processor on the block is going to destroy ARM.

While The Big Cats Play The Rodents Strike

Whilst most people in the United States are preoccupied by an election, two British rodents and a few friends have struck.

ARM Holdings and Imagination Technologies are part of a consortium that has bought the rights to the majority of the patent portfolio of rival RISC chip business MIPS Technologies.  It’s here on The Register.

This could be a very important deal for the British computer technology industry.

Smart Bank Managing

When David was Metier’s bank manager, he did not put us in the bank’s database as a software company, but as a computer leasing company, as we leased the hardware and software as a package. He once told me, this was because those that be in the bank considered computer software to be decidedly high risk, but computer leasing, which was generally huge mainframes to FTSE 500 companies was a low one. He didn’t point out to those-that-thought they-knew-better, that some of the bank’s biggest losses had been in computer leasing.  But then David had trust in his customers and knew those that would deliver.  We did!

When David once asked me what was the difference between hardware and software, I told him, that the former hurts when you drop it on your foot and the latter doesn’t.

Where is Google?

I like this little Iconia tablet, except that it is set up with so much junk I don’t want. Like  Bing! Wasn’t he a singer? I can’t seem to be able to get Google as my default search engine. It’s not on the list of search providers.

Trying the iPad

I went into PC-World at Tottenham Hale to try an iPad.  The reason is that I need a simple to use computer to take with me on my travels.  Currently, I use a Samsung Netbook, but the keyboard isn’t the best for my hands.

So what do I need to do on the move.

• Browse the Internet.
• Send and receive e-mails.
• Update this blog.
• Buy travel tickets.
• I might want to write a few applications.
• I would also want it o be able to run my software Daisy, as I feel the two concepts are made for each other.

The iPad seems to fit a lot of these criteria and I was also able to use the touch screen keyboard easily.  The last bit surprised me.

But the trouble with the iPad is that it’s an Apple product and is more about style rather than substance.  I also feel strongly that the device needs to be Windows-based so that I can run Daisy. That may seem a bit of a small need, but just wait until I find a suitable Windows-based one and install Daisy!

Thanks though to Kevin in PC-World, who showed me professionally what the device can do!

How to Replace a Key On a Laptop

I am a computer professional of long standing or should that be sitting.  But my expertise is software and not hardware!

On the other hand, my friend, Pula, has had little computer training, other than on how to use Windows and the various applications. But she comes from a family that prefers to face up to challenges rather than duck them!

So when the B key on her laptop became sticky, she attempted to fix-it. Getting the key out was the easy part, but putting it back was a but tricky.

So Pula struck and searched the Internet for some help and found this web site, where there was a page for her computer.

Well done Pula! If she can do it without any experience, surely you can try!

HP 77870 or Similar

I have a similar one to these 9 track tape drive in the cellar.  It was bought for a job for a major bank, but they welched on the deal, so I ended up with a piece of hardware I didn’t want.  At £14,000 too!  And that was in 1995.

HP 77870 or Similar

So it’s sat there just annoying me for 15 years.  It has about 10 hours on the clock and of course some dust, but it is fully enclosed.

If anybody wants one contact me.  I also have the SCSI Interface somewhere, but I suspect it would be best as a plug-in replacement for one that has failed.

Note in the picture there’s a LaserJet IID parked on top of the tape drive.

How to Keep Your Computer Running Smoothly

This post really has been brought about because many of my friends seem to struggle keeping their computers working smoothly.  And it doesn’t seem to matter whether they are Macs or Windows PCs.

Children and Young Adults

A lot of the problems I have found seem to stem from allowing teenage and sometimes older children to use the machine, as they gum it up with massive video and music files and inappropriate software.  This would not normally be a problem, but many older people are careful with their computers and often run one that is a bit older and therefor short of both disc space and memory. 

So the answer should be no, when your child asks if they can update their iPod.

Not Enough Memory

I also find that a lot of PCs don’t have enough memory, so make sure that you have at least two gigabytes. To find out how much you have go to the Control Panel and display the System.  This should tell you.  It is usually a simple matter to purchase more memory from someone like Crucial over the Internet.  Installation is not difficult on many machines, but if you can’t do it yourself, there are plenty of your friends who can do it.

Slow Starting Up

Slow start-up of a computer is often caused by loading too many programs at the beginning.  Many software companies think that their products are so important that they preload every time you start the machine.  But do you really want them loaded every time. This page says how you remove them for Windows XP.  For Vista it is quite similar except that you’ll need to find the Run command, which is in Accessories.

Updating Windows and Programs

I also always update my computer to the latest versions of Windows.  Some people set the settings to do this, but set it for the middle of the night and then it either doesn’t get done or makes your computer extremely slow in the morning.  If your computer always seems to have a hangover when you start it up, move the update download to a more convenient time.

Backing Up

And then there is the need to backup everything regularly.  I backup all my important documents and my e-mails to an external hard disc at least once a week.  Good external hard discs, usually cost about £50 and just plug in to your USB ports. 

You can also back-up to SD cards, like you get in digital cameras.  This is to be recommended for important documents and pictures, that say go with a particular project you have worked on.  Can you be sure that DVDs will still be readable in twenty years?  I suspect they will, but I reckon SD cards are a better bet.  You can get very affordable and good ones from Memory Bits.

Cleanliness

A last point and one that is often forgotten.  Keep your computer clean!