COMPUTERS, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY

[Stanley]

Quite. Should some of us get out more?
Scan sent me this: Buy the New Intel i7 4790K Processor with an Asus Maximus VII Motherboard and save over £30. Don't worry, I'm not going to do it but it just goes to show how progress marches on!

[Pluggy]

I got the same email, £30 off something costing the better part of £400 isn't that much of a bargain in my book.

I shouldn't worry Stanley, the one you have wouldn't be overshadowed by the Scan Offer. By its benchmark its only 9.2% faster than the one you have, you wouldn't notice the difference. Not bad for a 15 month old computer. I keep toying with the idea of putting new gizzards in mine but its already light years ahead of many brand new computers (The processor first saw light of day in 2008 and the motherboard in 2010, - your's is 400% faster), You can buy some pitifully underpowered computers these days. The modern 'cunning wheeze' is to put lots of RAM and a big hard drive in it (both of which are cheap) and make a lot of noise about it. No matter it runs like a lethargic slug thats overdosed on Valium with its puny processor. The processor is the expensive part that makes most difference, and it doesn't get a mention.

[Stanley]

You gave good advice when we built FM3! Kev's FM2 must still be ahead of the field. I must say that this one still amazes me when I ask it to find an image, bit like having Commander Data from Star Trek on the team....

[Big Kev]

Kev's FM2 must still be ahead of the field.

It's still doing its thing very well. I would like to put more RAM in it though so, if anyone has 16GB of 800mhz DDR2 (4x4 or 2x8) going cheap

[Stanley]

You're getting as bad as me Kev.... Bit like the mid life crisis red Ferrari! I take a certain pleasure out of running the best OS on the fastest computer and my grandchildren love it! Almost as effective as the ear ring.... One of them was overheard telling a friend that her Granddad was 'COOL!'

[David Whipp]

You may recall that Tom built a high spec PC for himself and within a fortnight built an even better one (with me getting the slightly lower spec).

Due to competition for keyboard time at our house (Lucy is busy with a novel she won't show us and Alison always has some 'work' to do at home), Tom has now been commissioned to produce a third machine with Lucy in mind. Although reasonable, the spec isn't a match for the two previous ones, "It'll do for Lucy," said Tom...

[Pluggy]

Kev's FM2 must still be ahead of the field.

It's still doing its thing very well. I would like to put more RAM in it though so, if anyone has 16GB of 800mhz DDR2 (4x4 or 2x8) going cheap

Looks like you hit the same problem as Stanley when he was talking about upgrading the FM2 before he settled on the FM3, old RAM is expensive and difficult to get in large sizes....

I have a bit of old DDR 2 kicking about but its only 1 & 2 GB sticks, which doesn't go very far with 4 slots and an urge for 16 GB.

[Big Kev]

Kev's FM2 must still be ahead of the field.

It's still doing its thing very well. I would like to put more RAM in it though so, if anyone has 16GB of 800mhz DDR2 (4x4 or 2x8) going cheap

Looks like you hit the same problem as Stanley when he was talking about upgrading the FM2 before he settled on the FM3, old RAM is expensive and difficult to get in large sizes....

I have a bit of old DDR 2 kicking about but its only 1 & 2 GB sticks, which doesn't go very far with 4 slots and an urge for 16 GB.

Indeed, plenty of 1 and 2GB sticks laying around here at work. I can't justify £500 on RAM. 'er indoors would make me suffer for that

[Stanley]

That's the problem. Cheaper to build a new machine! (And somewhere in a dusty warehouse there is a pile of forgotten RAM.....)

[Stanley]

Pluggy, I have a question. Am I right in thinking that Ubuntu does small updates as soon as you log on?

[Pluggy]

Not as such, but it does the same trick as Windows and will often install stuff that came with updates prior to being shut down.

[Stanley]

Thanks Pugs... Not a worry, just intriguing. I usually force an update search when I log in even if none are shown on the icon and this morning, it gave me a message that I often get,"updates have just been uploaded". Whatever, it's a good service!

[Stanley]

Thanks to Canonical for 70mb of Linux updates. Trouble-free download and restart as usual. Wonderful service.

[Stanley]

I bought an Ipod Air on Amazon yesterday. Don't worry, it isn't for me but I shall have a play before I pass it on.....

[Gloria]

My old laptop (8yrs) keeps flashing an orange light amongst the others which are usually on. I have googled it and it maybe the battery. I run the computer from the mains through the battery----- should I be worried about the flashing??
Pluggy, it's the same laptop you fixed, stilll flogging on.

[Pluggy]

My old laptop (8yrs) keeps flashing an orange light amongst the others which are usually on. I have googled it and it maybe the battery. I run the computer from the mains through the battery----- should I be worried about the flashing??
Pluggy, it's the same laptop you fixed, stilll flogging on.

The vast majority of laptops will run without a battery at all when on mains. I wouldn't worry about it. Its probably internal electronics warning you the battery has 'had it'. Some later machines, annoy you with warning messages on the screen telling you to buy a new battery and you have to press a key to get it to boot. There should be an option 'I don't care about the battery, b*gger off and leave me me alone' but that doesn't fit the manufacturers agenda.......

[Gloria]

Thankyou, you have put my mind at rest. It's not giving me any warnings on the screen so I will kick on and ignore it. Thanks again .

[Tizer]

This reminds me of my battery razor which starts to flash when it `needs' recharging and the instructions tell you to put it on the charger as soon as it starts flashing. I quickly discovered that I can continue to use it for almost as long in `flash mode' as in normal mode, so I don't recharge it until it stops altogether. It suits the manufacturer to give such instructions because charging too early probably teaches the battery to flash earlier and you end up buying a new razor sooner.

[Steven Chorkley]

Any new info on the Fibre layout? I know some cabinets are running as you can hear the fans running, however they were due to accept orders by the 30th of June...

FYI, I forgot to say 3 offer a free service to unlock phones and pride themselves over selling unlocked phones.... however every Android phone I have purchased seems to unlock itself when I flash the stock manufacturers ROM to get rid of the bloatware. -- What i'm trying to say is, I might be wrong.

[David Whipp]

Judging by the number of choke points they've been digging up, I assume they've had some problems getting fibre through the ducts...

They do seem to be working on the cabinets themselves now.

[Stanley]

"every Android phone I have purchased " surprised me. You need more than one?

[Pluggy]

He's young Stanley, all different mindset. I get a new phone when the old one gives up the ghost, if you don't have the absolute latest model, you're not cool when you're young. He'll probably have a top of the range Android and a top of the range iPhone.....

[Tizer]

He's young Stanley, all different mindset. I get a new phone when the old one gives up the ghost, if you don't have the absolute latest model, you're not cool when you're young. He'll probably have a top of the range Android and a top of the range iPhone.....

...and an empty bank account, lots of credit and no pension! (Only joking Steven!)

[Tizer]

A new use for touchless technology in the operating theatre
(Press release from Lancaster University and Microsoft)
Pioneering work using touchless technology for vascular surgery is now being extended to neurosurgery. Dr Mark Rouncefield and Dr. Gerardo Gonzalez from the School of Computing and Communications at Lancaster University were part of a collaborative team from Microsoft Research, Guy's Hospital, St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, and King's College London to pilot the technology in the operating theatre. Following the successful pilot of the technology in vascular surgery procedures, the team from Lancaster and Microsoft have now partnered with neurosurgeons at Addenbrookes NHS Foundation Trust and Cambridge University to apply the technology to the manipulation of 3D volumetric models of the brain for neurosurgery. The new system is currently being piloted in the operating theatres.

The pioneering work explores the use of touchless interaction within surgical settings, enabling surgeons to view, control and manipulate medical images without contact. Surgeons operate in a challenging environment where they are required to maintain sterility at all times. Re-scrubbing is time consuming and therefore surgeons are frequently compelled to instruct others to manipulate visual-aid equipment for them; an often impractical and imprecise method. The new gesture-based systems utilize Kinect for Windows hardware and the Kinect for Windows Software Development Kit to allow the surgery teams to maintain a sterile environment, whilst being able to view and manipulate medical images through a combination of gesture and voice control.

Prof. Kenton O’Hara from Microsoft Research said “Adapting the technology for neurosurgery has allowed us to understand how the system works across different surgical domains. As well as refining the gesture set, the new system incorporates enhanced voice control that enables the surgeon to control the system using only voice leaving both hands free to work with surgical instruments.” The touchless interaction software was developed by Gerardo Gonzalez, a post-doctoral researcher at Microsoft Research from Lancaster University.
http://research.microsoft.com/apps/vide ... ?id=174856

[Stanley]

Amazing Tiz.... But if they were operating on me I wouldn't want to know! How long before they go Star Trek and the phone does the surgery.....