shawnville » Computing http://shawnville.com Freelance Web Design Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:11:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Windows 7 http://shawnville.com/notebook/2009/11/20/windows-7/ http://shawnville.com/notebook/2009/11/20/windows-7/#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:07:14 +0000 shawn http://shawnville.com/?p=270 I put the new Windows 7 Pro on my work laptop today (Dell Latitude E 5500), and was very impressed in how well it works. The laptop seems more responsive than it did with Windows XP.

I have been using Windows 7 RC1 on my home computer for about 3 months now, and it has been pretty solid. I will continue to use it until the RC runs out June 2010.

My favorite feature is the Windows XP mode, where I can install older programs that won’t work with Windows 7. Cool thing is that after you install a program to the virtual pc, it shows up on the Windows 7 side as well.

]]> http://shawnville.com/notebook/2009/11/20/windows-7/feed/ 0 Laptop Resurrection http://shawnville.com/notebook/2008/06/03/laptop-resurrection/ http://shawnville.com/notebook/2008/06/03/laptop-resurrection/#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:12:10 +0000 shawn http://shawnville.com/2008/06/03/laptop-resurrection/ I have been resurrecting an old laptop of mine this past week.  It is my longest living laptop, since 2001.  It is a Toshiba Satellite 1755, with a 700MHz Intel Celeron and 192MB of RAM.  I am still debating on what to do with it.  I might make a wall computer out of it, or mount it in my kitchen somewhere.

The laptop had broke screen brackets, which my dad had welded back together in 2004.  I gave the laptop to my mom after I got my Dell Inspiron 5100.  About a year ago the back light went out in the LCD, so I had to rob a light out of a parts laptop I had laying around.  The laptop still gets about an hour and a half of battery time.

Toshiba Satellite 1755 Toshiba Satellite 1755 Home work room
]]> http://shawnville.com/notebook/2008/06/03/laptop-resurrection/feed/ 0 Google http://shawnville.com/notebook/2008/05/21/google/ http://shawnville.com/notebook/2008/05/21/google/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 00:33:07 +0000 shawn http://shawnville.com/2008/05/21/google/ Just got back from the Google data center grand opening in Lenoir, NC.  We didn’t get to tour any of the buildings, but we did get to be on site where we could at least see the top of the data center.  We were not allowed to bring any cameras or camera phones. 

Google’s Lenoir data center site

]]> http://shawnville.com/notebook/2008/05/21/google/feed/ 0 WarDriving http://shawnville.com/notebook/2007/07/14/wardriving/ http://shawnville.com/notebook/2007/07/14/wardriving/#comments Sat, 14 Jul 2007 05:47:11 +0000 shawn http://shawnville.com/2007/07/14/wardriving/
WarDriving Rig
I setup my 94 Toyota truck for WarDriving.
It is a really fun hobby. I go out usually twice a month, at about 1 AM.

Laptop Mount
Laptop Mount
I got the top of the mount from mobilelaptopmount.com, and built the rest from pipe I got from Lowes.
The Laptop
D500 Laptop
The Laptop I am using is a Dell D500 I use for working on wireless equipment at work.
I also use an Orinoco PC24E-H-FC pcmcia card for the WarDriving.
1 Watt Amplifier
Hyperlink 1 Watt Amp
I got a 1 Watt Bi-Directional Amp from HyperlinkTech.com to boost the signal to my laptop.
7 dBi Antenna
7 dBi Antenna
I am using a 7 dBi gain antenna with a magnet mount.
Power Inverter
400 Watt Inverter
I mounted a 400 Watt power inverter to power the laptop and amplifier.
]]> http://shawnville.com/notebook/2007/07/14/wardriving/feed/ 0 New TV and PVR http://shawnville.com/notebook/2007/04/02/new-tv-and-pvr/ http://shawnville.com/notebook/2007/04/02/new-tv-and-pvr/#comments Tue, 03 Apr 2007 02:02:40 +0000 shawn http://shawnville.com/2007/04/02/new-tv-and-pvr/ I got me a new TV a few months ago. It’s a Hitachi 51″ CRT Projection HD Monitor (51F59). I decided to run the satellite tv through a computer PVR so I can record and pause live tv. The software on the computer is GB-PVR.
Big Screen TV HTPC HTPC Big Screen TV

]]> http://shawnville.com/notebook/2007/04/02/new-tv-and-pvr/feed/ 0 Work Room http://shawnville.com/notebook/2006/10/09/work-room/ http://shawnville.com/notebook/2006/10/09/work-room/#comments Mon, 09 Oct 2006 05:06:29 +0000 shawn http://shawnville.com/2006/10/09/work-room/ I converted an unused room in my house into a computer workroom. I built a nice work bench, put in speakers, and a tv. Completely networked, and it has a 4 port KVM. Oh, and yes, those are Futurama comics on the wall.
Workstation workstation MDF

]]> http://shawnville.com/notebook/2006/10/09/work-room/feed/ 1 Wireless http://shawnville.com/notebook/2004/12/05/wireless/ http://shawnville.com/notebook/2004/12/05/wireless/#comments Sun, 05 Dec 2004 21:13:52 +0000 shawn http://shawnville.com/2004/12/05/wireless/ I’m starting on a wireless project, I am going to link 3 houses together with 2.4GHz. I am going to build the antennas from scratch except my main link, I will probably by a sector. I should have pictures and the details up when I’m done with the project.
Shawn

]]> http://shawnville.com/notebook/2004/12/05/wireless/feed/ 0 PMC Enterprises http://shawnville.com/notebook/2004/04/23/pmc-enterprises/ http://shawnville.com/notebook/2004/04/23/pmc-enterprises/#comments Fri, 23 Apr 2004 23:37:55 +0000 shawn http://shawnville.com/2004/04/23/pmc-enterprises/ Congratulations to Phil for finally getting a Website. He runs a little company called PMC Enterprises. He does any thing from web design to network installation. He also teaches an entry level web design class at our local community college. Check out his site for all the details.
Shawn

]]> http://shawnville.com/notebook/2004/04/23/pmc-enterprises/feed/ 0 Dells, Soyos, and DDR RAM oh my… http://shawnville.com/notebook/2004/01/29/dells-soyos-and-ddr-ram-oh-my/ http://shawnville.com/notebook/2004/01/29/dells-soyos-and-ddr-ram-oh-my/#comments Thu, 29 Jan 2004 17:02:49 +0000 shawn http://shawnville.com/2004/01/29/dells-soyos-and-ddr-ram-oh-my/ I’m typing this post on my brand new Dell Inspiron 5100. First Dell I have owned and I like it very much (lots of power). Picture
I also built me a new desktop. Its got a Soyo Dragon Platinum Ultra with an AMD Athlon 2600, a gigabyte of PC3200 DDR RAM, 100 GB Special Edition Western Digital hard drive, a GeForce 4 FX 5700 Ultra, a Sound Blaster Audigy 2, all rapped up in a Thermaltake Xaser III V1000d Blue Series (the one with the window) case, powered by a 550 Watt power supply. Nice little computer.
Shawn

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