smart computer use?

Utilizing the Furby platform to build a super computer?

Surprisingly, the Furby CPU can be overclocked significantly, with a corresponding boost in computing power. The biggest problem, however, is that of cooling, because for some reason the units are covered with an insulating fuzzy layer that encourages the buildup of heat rather than enhancing cooling like a standard aluminum heat sink would have. This particularly ill-considered and impractical design decision was probably something that the marketing department came up with, perhaps because of something related to the name “Furby.”

Interesting. Hacking a Furby is a somewhat common hobby, as evidenced by the amount of information available on the internet, try a google search. For example, certain types of remote controls have been proven to affect a Furby.

It is also fairly easy to pick up a Furby from eBay.

If you’re intrigued enough to dig deeper into the world of Furby hacking, you might benefit from some visual inspiration:

The Furby is a weird thing to behold.

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Winston’s Lego Computer, I like it:

I’m using it as a spare PC right now. When my powerhouse machine is busy rendering videos or running processes I use it to browse the web, check e-mail, and maybe watch DVDs.

It’s one thing to build a lego computer, it’s another thing to actually use it like this guy.

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You might have old computer stuff around. Probably some old computers that are still useful in some respect but not really useful for any of the resource hog stuff you like to do on your pc these days.

Build a DVR system out of that old pc.

This is a great tutorial about building a DVR system out of a mediocre pc. One point I particularly like was the inclusion of SlimServer to stream your mp3 collection from home.

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I’ve recently become interested in ways to speed up Windows XP. The reason for this is that the machines I use on a consistent basis aren’t exactly the most powerful or capable computers by todays standards. They are all around the 4-5 year mark. Running a lot of the newer applications available is becoming a pain or just not possible at this point.

I remember doing the same thing for Windows 98 back when I had machines that were getting to slow with that OS, so I figured I’d better now figure out some good optimization ideas for XP.

I’ve used XP enough to know some basic things that keep the machines from running slow. I make sure to keep the amount of applications running in the background to a minimum, I uninstall stuff I don’t use to keep the hard drive clutter down, and I turn of most visual effects.

But, a quick scour of the internet will yield many examples and tips of stuff to do to make your Windows XP machine run more efficiently.

Here’s a quick example of a tip from an article at Connected Internet about speeding up Windows XP:

1. Disable Indexing Services

Indexing Services is a small little program that uses large amounts of RAM and can often make a computer endlessly loud and noisy. This system process indexes and updates lists of all the files that are on your computer. It does this so that when you do a search for something on your computer, it will search faster by scanning the index lists. If you don’t search your computer often, or even if you do search often, this system service is completely unnecessary. To disable do the following:

* Go to Start
* Click Settings
* Click Control Panel
* Double-click Add/Remove Programs
* Click the Add/Remove Window Components
* Uncheck the Indexing services
* Click Next

It’s a great little tip. There’s many more out there that, as a whole, should make your machine just a little snappier.

Here’s some more links regarding speeding up Windows XP that I found to be useful:

• The complete guide to optimizing Windows XP
• How can I speed up my Windows XP pc?
• 99 performance tips for Windows XP

Of course, one other major thing is just having enough RAM. Not enough RAM seems to be the easiest to fix performance inhibitor that comes up most often. It is also a relatively cheap upgrade in the PC world. But, that is another topic for another day.

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A computer, in the sense of a personal computer used for work or play, is a strange thing. A computer can give many years of crazy-reliable service. A computer can also be your worst nightmare if it never works right.

Clean your computer. Never clean the inside with anything other than air. Clean the outside just enough so it doesn’t look like a 5 year old machine. Don’t use chemicals.

Upgrade when you need to. Unnecessary upgrading, at least in my experience, leads to computer crashes more often than upgrading only when you need to. Machines that I like to upgrade just to try to get that better edge tend to end up in the chop shop, while the machines I don’t try to improve all the time tend to be the mainstays that are used when before-mentioned machines are in the chop shop.

Because of this last point I believe you should always build/buy the best machine you can afford. If the machine works out well and has staying power, it’ll last you for years as opposed to months because you have a machine that is suited to be powerful in the future as well as in the present.

Scenario: Your fan works fine but you read somewhere that you should get one that moves more air? An upgrade is not necessary.

Scenario: You have a hard drive that is about 40 gig, but there is a 160 gig on sale for $180? If you’re not filling up that 40, you don’t need the upgrade.

Conversely, if your machine is not at your bidding, as in, your machine can’t do what you need a computer to do, upgrade or replace it. Otherwise it’s just wasting your time a certain percentage of the time. CD burner is shot? Get a new one. Hard drive making noise? Back it up and figure out a way to replace it. Overheating? Add more or better fans, clean the machine or whatever you gotta do.

I’m a victim of not upgrading computers when I should. I hate to spend money on computer, pretty much more that anything else. I like the idea of a computer that just does it’s thing well, and I don’t expect any thing more from it in return other than reliable useability. No crashes, no major hardware failures. No situation where an OS needs to be reinstalled to make things right.

That’s probably why I’m typing this from a machine that is 4 years old but still worked better than the last couple of machines. Machines that I thought were going to be fun machines to play around with and try to upgrade here and there.

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